2018 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 24

Problem

Let $ABCDEF$ be a regular hexagon with side length $1$ . Denote by $X$ , $Y$ , and $Z$ the midpoints of sides $\overline {AB}$ , $\overline{CD}$ , and $\overline{EF}$ , respectively. What is the area of the convex hexagon whose interior is the intersection of the interiors of $\triangle ACE$ and $\triangle XYZ$ ?

$\textbf{(A)} \frac {3}{8}\sqrt{3} \qquad \textbf{(B)} \frac {7}{16}\sqrt{3} \qquad \textbf{(C)} \frac {15}{32}\sqrt{3} \qquad \textbf{(D)} \frac {1}{2}\sqrt{3} \qquad \textbf{(E)} \frac {9}{16}\sqrt{3} \qquad$

Solution 1

pair A,B,C,D,E,F,W,X,Y,Z,M,N,O,P,Q,R;
A=(0)


label("$A$",A,NW);
label("$B$",B,NE);
label("$C$",C,ESE);
label("$D$",D,SE);
label("$E$",E,SW);
label("$F$",F,WSW);
label("$X$", X, N);
label("$Y$", Y, ESE);
label("$Z$", Z, WSW);
label("$M$", M, NW);
label("$N$", N, NE);
label("$O$", O, SE);
label("$P$", P, NNW);
label("$Q$", Q, ESE);
label("$R$", R, SW);



 (Error making remote request. Unknown error_msg)

The desired area (hexagon $MPNQOR$ ) consists of an equilateral triangle ( $\triangle MNO$ ) and three right triangles ( $\triangle MPN$ , $\triangle NQO$ , and $\triangle ORM$ ).

Notice that $\overline {AD}$ (not shown) and $\overline {BC}$ are parallel. $\overline {XY}$ divides transversals $\overline {AB}$ and $\overline {CD}$ into a $1:1$ ratio. Thus, it must also divide transversal $\overline {AC}$ and transversal $\overline {CO}$ into a $1:1$ ratio. By symmetry, the same applies for $\overline {CE}$ and $\overline {EA}$ as well as $\overline {EM}$ and $\overline {AN}$

In $\triangle ACE$ , we see that $\frac{[MNO]}{[ACE]} = \frac{1}{4}$ and $\frac{[MPN]}{[ACE]} = \frac{1}{8}$ . Our desired area becomes

$(\frac{1}{4}+3 \cdot \frac{1}{8}) \cdot \frac{(\sqrt{3})^2 \cdot \sqrt{3}}{4} = \frac {15}{32}\sqrt{3} = \boxed {C}$

~Llamabonobo

Solution 2

Now, if we look at the figure, we can see that the complement of the hexagon we are trying to find is composed of 3 isosceles trapezoids (AXFZ, XBCY, and ZYED), and 3 right triangles (With one vertice on each of X, Y, and Z). We know that one base of each trapezoid is just the side length of the hexagon which is 1, and the other base is 3/2 (It is halfway in between the side and the longest diagonal) with a height of $\sqrt{3}/4$ (by using the Pythagorean theorem and the fact that it is an isosceles trapezoid) to give each trapezoid having an area of $5\sqrt{3}/16$ for a total area of $15\sqrt{3}/16$ (Alternatively, we could have calculated the area of hexagon ABCDEF and subtracted the area of triangle XYZ, which, as we showed before, had a side length of 3/2). Now, we need to find the area of each of the small triangles, which, if we look at the triangle that has a vertice on X, is similar to the triangle with a base of YC = 1/2. Using similar triangles we calculate the base to be 1/4 and the height to be $\sqrt{3}/4$ giving us an area of $\sqrt{3}/32$ per triangle, and a total area of $3\sqrt{3}/32$ . Adding the two areas together, we get $15\sqrt{3}/16+3\sqrt{3}/32=33*sqrt{3}/32$ . Finding the total area, we get $6*1^2*\sqrt{3}/4=3\sqrt{3}/2$ . Taking the complement, we get $3\sqrt{3}/2-33\sqrt{3}/32=15\sqrt{3}/32 = \boxed {C}$ --- Arpitr20

Solution 3 (Trig)

Notice, the area of the convex hexagon formed through the intersection of the 2 triangles can be found by finding the area of the triangle formed by the midpoints of the sides and subtracting the smaller triangles that are formed by the region inside this triangle but outside the other triangle. First, let's find the area of the area of the triangle formed by the midpoint of the sides. Notice, this is an equilateral triangle, thus all we need is to find the length of its side. To do this, we look at the isosceles trapezoid outside this triangle but inside the outer hexagon. Since the interior angle of a regular hexagon is $120^{\textrm{o}}$ and the trapezoid is isosceles, we know that the angle opposite is $60^{\textrm{o}}$ , and thus the side length of this triangle is $1+2(\frac{1}{2}\cos(60^{\textrm{o}})=1+\frac{1}{2}=\frac{3}{2}$ . So the area of this triangle is $\frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}s^2=\frac{9\sqrt{3}}{16}$ Now let's find the area of the smaller triangles. Notice, triangle $ACE$ cuts off smaller isosceles triangles from the outer hexagon. The base of these isosceles triangles is perpendicular to the base of the isosceles trapezoid mentioned before, thus we can use trigonometric ratios to find the base and height of these smaller triangles, which are all congruent due to the rotational symmetry of a regular hexagon. The area is then $\frac{1}{2}(\frac{1}{2})\cos(60^{\textrm{o}}))(\frac{1}{2}\sin(60^{\textrm{o}}))=\frac{\sqrt{3}}{32}$ and the sum of the areas is $3\cdot \frac{\sqrt{3}}{32}=\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{32}$ Therefore, the area of the convex hexagon is $\frac{9\sqrt{3}}{16}-\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{32}=\frac{18\sqrt{3}}{32}-\frac{3\sqrt{3}}{32}=\boxed{\frac{15\sqrt{3}}{32}}\implies \boxed{C}$

2018 AMC 10B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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2018 AMC 12B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 19	Followed by Problem 21
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2018 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 24

Contents

Problem

Solution 1

Solution 2

Solution 3 (Trig)

See Also