2009 AIME II Problems/Problem 10
Four lighthouses are located at points ,
,
, and
. The lighthouse at
is
kilometers from the lighthouse at
, the lighthouse at
is
kilometers from the lighthouse at
, and the lighthouse at
is
kilometers from the lighthouse at
. To an observer at
, the angle determined by the lights at
and
and the angle determined by the lights at
and
are equal. To an observer at
, the angle determined by the lights at
and
and the angle determined by the lights at
and
are equal. The number of kilometers from
to
is given by
, where
,
, and
are relatively prime positive integers, and
is not divisible by the square of any prime. Find
+
+
.
Solution 1
Let be the intersection of
and
. By the Angle Bisector Theorem,
=
, so
=
and
=
, and
+
=
=
, so
=
, and
=
. Let
be the foot of the altitude from
to
. It can be seen that triangle
is similar to triangle
, and triangle
is similar to triangle
. If
=
, then
=
,
=
, and
=
. Since
+
=
=
,
=
, and
=
. The answer is
+
+
=
.
Solution 2
Extend and
to intersect at
. Note that since
and
by ASA congruency we have
. Therefore
.
By the angle bisector theorem, and
. Now we apply Stewart's theorem to find
:
and our final answer is .
See Also
2009 AIME II (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 9 |
Followed by Problem 11 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
All AIME Problems and Solutions |
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