2017 AIME I Problems/Problem 4
Problem 4
A pyramid has a triangular base with side lengths , , and . The three edges of the pyramid from the three corners of the base to the fourth vertex of the pyramid all have length . The volume of the pyramid is , where and are positive integers, and is not divisible by the square of any prime. Find .
Solution
Let the triangular base be , with . Using Simplified Heron's formula for the area of an isosceles triangle gives .
Let the fourth vertex of the tetrahedron be , and let the midpoint of be . Since is equidistant from , , and , the line through perpendicular to the plane of will pass through the circumcenter of , which we will call . Note that is equidistant from each of , , and . We find that . Then,
(1)
Squaring both sides, we have
Substituting with equation (1):
.
We now find that .
Let the distance . Using the Pythagorean Theorem on triangle , , or (all three are congruent by SSS):
.
Finally, by the formula for volume of a pyramid,
. This simplifies to , so .