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Revision as of 10:58, 5 July 2013

Problem

The area of the largest triangle that can be inscribed in a semi-circle whose radius is $r$ is:

$\textbf{(A)}\ r^{2}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ r^{3}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 2r^{2}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 2r^{3}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{1}{2}r^{2}$

Solution

The area of a triangle is $\frac12 bh.$ To maximize the base, let it be equal to the diameter of the semi circle, which is equal to $2r.$ To maximize the height, or altitude, choose the point directly in the middle of the arc connecting the endpoints of the diameter. It is equal to $r.$ Therefore the area is $\frac12 \cdot 2r \cdot r = \boxed{\mathrm{(A) }r^2.}$

See Also

1950 AHSC (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 8 		Followed by
Problem 10
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35 • 36 • 37 • 38 • 39 • 40 • 41 • 42 • 43 • 44 • 45 • 46 • 47 • 48 • 49 • 50
All AHSME Problems and Solutions

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