2008 AIME I Problems/Problem 14
Problem
Let be a diameter of circle . Extend through to . Point lies on so that line is tangent to . Point is the foot of the perpendicular from to line . Suppose , and let denote the maximum possible length of segment . Find .
Contents
[hide]Solution
Solution 1
Let . Since , it follows easily that . Thus . By the Law of Cosines on , where , so: Let ; this is a quadratic, and its discriminant must be nonnegative: . Thus, Equality holds when .
Solution 1.1
Proceed as follows for Solution 1.
Once you approach the function , find the maximum value by setting .
Simplifying to take the derivative, we have , so . Setting , we have .
Solving, we obtain as the critical value. Hence, has the maximum value of . Since , the maximum value of occurs at , so has a maximum value of .
Note: Please edit this solution if it feels inadequate.
Solution 2
From the diagram, we see that , and that .
This is a quadratic equation, maximized when . Thus, .
Solution 3 (Calculus Bash)
(Diagram credit goes to Solution 2)
We let . From similar triangles, we have that . Similarly, . Using the Pythagorean Theorem, . Using the Pythagorean Theorem once again, . After a large bashful simplification, . The fraction is equivalent to . Taking the derivative of the fraction and solving for x, we get that . Plugging back into the expression for yields , so the answer is .
Solution 4
(Diagram credit goes to Solution 2)
Let . The only constraint on is that it must be greater than . Using similar triangles, we can deduce that . Now, apply law of cosines on . We can see that . We can find . Plugging this into our equation, we get: Eventually, We want to maximize . There are many ways to maximize this expression, discussed here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c4h2292700_maximization. The maximum result of that expression is . Finally, evaluating for this value .
~superagh
See also
2008 AIME I (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 13 |
Followed by Problem 15 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
All AIME Problems and Solutions |
The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions.