1950 AHSME Problems/Problem 34

Problem

When the circumference of a toy balloon is increased from $20$ inches to $25$ inches, the radius is increased by:

$\textbf{(A)}\ 5\text{ in} \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 2\dfrac{1}{2}\text{ in} \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ \dfrac{5}{\pi}\text{ in} \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{5}{2\pi}\text{ in} \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ \dfrac{\pi}{5}\text{ in}$

Solution

When the circumference of a circle is increased by a percentage, the radius is also increased by the same percentage (or else the ratio of the circumference to the diameter wouldn't be $\pi$ anymore) We see that the circumference was increased by $25\%$. This means the radius was also increased by $25\%$. The radius of the original balloon is $\frac{20}{2\pi}=\frac{10}{\pi}$. With the $25\%$ increase, it becomes $\frac{12.5}{\pi}$. The increase is $\frac{12.5-10}{\pi}=\frac{2.5}{\pi}=\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{5}{2\pi}\text{ in}}$

See Also

1950 AHSC (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 33
Followed by
Problem 35
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