1968 AHSME Problems/Problem 12

Problem

A circle passes through the vertices of a triangle with side-lengths $7\tfrac{1}{2},10,12\tfrac{1}{2}.$ The radius of the circle is:

$\text{(A) } \frac{15}{4}\quad \text{(B) } 5\quad \text{(C) } \frac{25}{4}\quad \text{(D) } \frac{35}{4}\quad \text{(E) } \frac{15\sqrt{2}}{2}$

Solution

The triangle that goes through all the vertices of the triangle is the circumcircle of the triangle. $(7\frac{1}{2})^{2}+10^{2}=(12\frac{1}{2})^{2}$ , so the triangle is a right triangle.The radius of a circumcircle of a right triangle is half the hypotenuse. $\frac{1}{2}\cdot \frac{25}{2}=\frac{25}{4}\implies$ $\fbox{C}$

1968 AHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 11	Followed by Problem 13
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1968 AHSME Problems/Problem 12

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