2017 AMC 12B Problems/Problem 15
Contents
[hide]Problem 15
Let be an equilateral triangle. Extend side beyond to a point so that . Similarly, extend side beyond to a point so that , and extend side beyond to a point so that . What is the ratio of the area of to the area of ?
Solution 1: Law of Cosines
Solution by HydroQuantum
Let .
Recall The Law of Cosines. Letting , Since both and are both equilateral triangles, they must be similar due to similarity. This means that .
Therefore, our answer is .
Solution 2: Inspection
Note that the height and base of are respectively 4 times and 3 times that of . Therefore the area of is 12 times that of .
By symmetry, . Adding the areas of these three triangles and for the total area of gives a ratio of , or .
Solution 3: Coordinates
First we note that due to symmetry. WLOG, let and Therefore, . Using the condition that , we get and . It is easy to check that . Since the area ratios of two similar figures is the square of the ratio of their lengths, the ratio is
2017 AMC 12B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | |
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