2002 AMC 12P Problems/Problem 16

Problem

The altitudes of a triangle are $12, 15,$ and $20.$ The largest angle in this triangle is

$\text{(A) }72^\circ \qquad \text{(B) }75^\circ \qquad \text{(C) }90^\circ \qquad \text{(D) }108^\circ \qquad \text{(E) }120^\circ$

Solution

Let $a, b,$ and $c$ denote the bases of altitudes $12, 15,$ and $20,$ respectively. Since they are all altitudes and bases of the same triangle, they have the same area, so $\frac{12a}{2}=\frac{15b}{2}=\frac{20c}{2}.$ Multiplying by $2$ , we get $12a=15b=20c.$ Notice that a simple solution to the equation is if all of them equal $12 \cdot 15 \cdot 20.$ That means $a=15 \cdot 20, b=12 \cdot 20,$ and $c=12 \cdot 15.$ Simplifying our solution to check for Pythagorean triples we see that this is just a Pythagorean triple, namely a $3-4-5$ triangle. Since the other two angles of a right triangle must be acute, the right angle must be the greatest angle. Therefore, our answer is

2002 AMC 12P (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 15	Followed by Problem 17
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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2002 AMC 12P Problems/Problem 16

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