1983 AIME Problems/Problem 15
Problem
The adjoining figure shows two intersecting chords in a circle, with on minor arc . Suppose that the radius of the circle is , that , and that is bisected by . Suppose further that is the only chord starting at which is bisected by . It follows that the sine of the minor arc is a rational number. If this fraction is expressed as a fraction in lowest terms, what is the product ?
Solution
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Let be any fixed point on circle and let be a chord of circle . The locus of midpoints of the chord is a circle , with diameter . Generally, the circle can intersect the chord at two points, one point, or they may not have a point of intersection. By the problem condition, however, the circle is tangent to BC at point N.
Let M be the midpoint of the chord such that . From right angle triangle , . Thus, .
Notice that the distance equals (Where is the radius of circle P). Evaluating this, . From , we see that
Next, notice that . We can therefore apply the tangent subtraction formula to obtain , . It follows that , resulting in an answer of .
See also
1983 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 14 |
Followed by Last Question | |
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