1996 AHSME Problems/Problem 30
Problem
A hexagon inscribed in a circle has three consecutive sides each of length 3 and three consecutive sides each of length 5. The chord of the circle that divides the hexagon into two trapezoids, one with three sides each of length 3 and the other with three sides each of length 5, has length equal to , where
and
are relatively prime positive integers. Find
.
Solution 1
In hexagon , let
and let
. Since arc
is one third of the circumference of the circle, it follows that
. Similarly,
. Let
be the intersection of
and
,
that of
and
, and
that of
and
. Triangles
and
are equilateral, and by symmetry, triangle
is isosceles and thus also equilateral.
Furthermore, and
subtend the same arc, as do
and
. Hence triangles
and
are similar. Therefore,
It follows that
Solving the two equations simultaneously yields
so
Solution 2
All angle measures are in degrees.
Let the first trapezoid be , where
. Then the second trapezoid is
, where
. We look for
.
Since is an isosceles trapezoid, we know that
and, since
, if we drew
, we would see
. Anyway,
(
means arc AB). Using similar reasoning,
.
Let and
. Since
(add up the angles),
and thus
. Therefore,
.
as well.
Now I focus on triangle . By the Law of Cosines,
, so
. Seeing
and
, we can now use the Law of Sines to get:
Now I focus on triangle .
and
, and we are given that
, so
We know
, but we need to find
. Using various identities, we see
Returning to finding
, we remember
Plugging in and solving, we see
. Thus, the answer is
, which is answer choice
.
Solution 2
Let be the desired length. One can use Parameshvara's circumradius formula, which states that for a cyclic quadrilateral with sides
the circumradius
satisfies
where
is the semiperimeter. Applying this to the trapezoid with sides
, we see that many terms cancel and we are left with
Similar canceling occurs for the trapezoid with sides
, and since the two quadrilaterals share the same circumradius, we can equate:
Solving for
gives
, so the answer is
.
See also
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