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2001 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 24

Revision as of 20:28, 2 September 2017 by Expilncalc (talk | contribs) (New Solution)

Problem

In $\triangle ABC$, $\angle ABC=45^\circ$. Point $D$ is on $\overline{BC}$ so that $2\cdot BD=CD$ and $\angle DAB=15^\circ$. Find $\angle ACB$.

$\text{(A) }54^\circ \qquad \text{(B) }60^\circ \qquad \text{(C) }72^\circ \qquad \text{(D) }75^\circ \qquad \text{(E) }90^\circ$

Solution

[asy] unitsize(2cm); defaultpen(0.8); pair A=(0,0), B=(4,0), D=intersectionpoint( A -- (dir(15)*100), B -- (B+100*dir(135)) ), C=B+3*(D-B); pair ortho=rotate(-90)*(D-A); \ label("$A$",A,SW); label("$B$",B,SE); label("$C$",C,N); label("$D$",D,NE); label("$E$",E,S); [/asy]

We start with the observation that $\angle ADB = 180^\circ - 15^\circ - 45^\circ = 120^\circ$, and $\angle ADC = 15^\circ + 45^\circ = 60^\circ$.

We can draw the height $CE$ from $C$ onto $AD$. In the triangle $CED$, we have $\frac {ED}{CD} = \cos EDC = \cos 60^\circ = \frac 12$. Hence $ED = CD/2$.

By the definition of $D$, we also have $BD=CD/2$, therefore $BD=DE$. This means that the triangle $BDE$ is isosceles, and as $\angle BDE=120^\circ$, we must have $\angle BED = \angle EBD = 30^\circ$.

Then we compute $\angle ABE = 45^\circ - 30^\circ = 15^\circ$, thus $\angle ABE = \angle BAE$ and the triangle $ABE$ is isosceles as well. Hence $AE=BE$.

Now we can note that $\angle DCE = 180^\circ - 90^\circ - 60^\circ = 30^\circ$, hence also the triangle $EBC$ is isosceles and we have $BE=CE$.

Combining the previous two observations we get that $AE=EC$, and as $\angle AEC=90^\circ$, this means that $\angle CAE = \angle ACE = 45^\circ$.

Finally, we get $\angle ACB = \angle ACE + \angle ECD = 45^\circ + 30^\circ = \boxed{75^\circ}$.

In the Middle Solution

Draw a good diagram! Now, let's call $BD=t$, so $DC=2t$. Given the rather nice angles of $\angle ABD = 45^\circ$ and $\angle ADC = 60^\circ$ as you can see, let's do trig. Drop an altitude from $A$ to $BC$; call this point $H$. We realize that there is no specific factor of $t$ we can call this just yet, so let $AH=kt$. Notice that in $\triangle{ABH}$ we get $BH=kt$. Using the 60-degree angle in $\triangle{ADH}$, we obtain $DH=\frac{\sqrt{3}}{3}kt$. The comparable ratio is that $BH-DH=t$. If we involve our $k$, we get:

$kt(\frac{3}{3}-\frac{\sqrt{3}}{3})=t$. Eliminating $t$ and removing radicals from the denominator, we get $k=\frac{3+\sqrt{3}}{2}$. From there, one can easily obtain $HC=3t-kt=\frac{3-\sqrt{3}}{2}t$. Now we finally have a desired ratio. Since $tan\angle ACH = 2+\sqrt{3}$ upon calculation, we know that $\angle ACH$ can be simplified. Indeed, if you know that $arctan(75)=2+\sqrt{3}$ or even take a minute or two to work out the sine and cosine using $sin(x)^2+cos(x)^2=1$, and perhaps the half- or double-angle formulas, you get $\boxed{75^\circ}$.

Trig Bash

WLOG, we can assume that $BD = 1$ and $CD = 2$. As above, we are able to find that $\angle ADB = 60^\circ$ and $\angle ADC = 120^\circ$.

Using Law of Sines on triangle $ADB$, we find that $\frac{1}{\sin15^\circ} = \frac{AD}{\sin 45^\circ} = \frac{AB}{\sin 120^\circ}$. Since we know that $\sin 15^\circ = \frac{\sqrt{6}-\sqrt{2}}{4}$, $\sin 45^\circ = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$, and $\sin 120^\circ = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}$, we can compute $AD$ to equal $1+\sqrt{3}$ and $AB$ to be $\frac{3\sqrt{2}+\sqrt{6}}{2}$.

Next, we apply Law of Cosines to triangle $ADC$ to see that $AC^2 = (1+\sqrt{3})^2 + 2^2 - (2)(1+\sqrt{3})(2)(\cos 60^\circ)$. Simplifying the RHS, we get $AC^2 = 6$, so $AC = \sqrt{6}$.

Now, we apply Law of Sines to triangle $ABC$ to see that $\frac{\sqrt{6}}{\sin 45^\circ} = \frac{\frac{3\sqrt{2}+\sqrt{6}}{2}}{\sin ACB}$. After rearranging and noting that $\sin 45^\circ = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}$, we get $\sin ACB = \frac{\sqrt{6}+3\sqrt{2}}{4\sqrt{3}}$.

Dividing the RHS through by $\sqrt{3}$, we see that $\sin ACB = \frac{\sqrt{6}+\sqrt{2}}{4}$, so $\angle ACB$ is either $75^\circ$ or $105^\circ$. Since $105^\circ$ is not a choice, we know $\angle ACB = \boxed{75^\circ}$.

Note that we can also confirm that $\angle ACB \neq 105^\circ$ by computing $\angle CAB$ with Law of Sines.

See Also

2001 AMC 12 (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 23 		Followed by
Problem 25
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
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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