1991 AIME Problems/Problem 12
Problem
Rhombus is inscribed in rectangle
so that vertices
,
,
, and
are interior points on sides
,
,
, and
, respectively. It is given that
,
,
, and
. Let
, in lowest terms, denote the perimeter of
. Find
.
Solution
Let be the center of the rhombus. Via parallel sides and alternate interior angles, we see that the opposite triangles are congruent (
,
). Quickly we realize that
is also the center of the rectangle.
By the Pythagorean Theorem, we can solve for a side of the rhombus; . Since the diagonals of a rhombus are perpendicular bisectors, we have that
. Also,
, so quadrilateral
is cyclic. By Ptolemy's Theorem,
.
By similar logic, we have is a cyclic quadrilateral. Let
,
. The Pythagorean Theorem gives us
. Ptolemy’s Theorem gives us
. Since the diagonals of a rectangle are equal,
, and
. Solving for
, we get
. Substituting into
,
We reject because then everything degenerates into squares, but the condition that
gives us a contradiction. Thus
, and backwards solving gives
. The perimeter of
is
, and
.
See also
1991 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 11 |
Followed by Problem 13 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
All AIME Problems and Solutions |