1991 AIME Problems/Problem 14

Problem

A hexagon is inscribed in a circle. Five of the sides have length $81$ and the sixth, denoted by $\overline{AB}$, has length $31$. Find the sum of the lengths of the three diagonals that can be drawn from $A_{}^{}$.

Solution

[asy]defaultpen(fontsize(9)); pair A=expi(-pi/2-acos(475/486)), B=expi(-pi/2+acos(475/486)), C=expi(-pi/2+acos(475/486)+acos(7/18)), D=expi(-pi/2+acos(475/486)+2*acos(7/18)), E=expi(-pi/2+acos(475/486)+3*acos(7/18)), F=expi(-pi/2-acos(475/486)-acos(7/18)); draw(unitcircle);draw(A--B--C--D--E--F--A);draw(A--C..A--D..A--E); dot(A^^B^^C^^D^^E^^F); label("\(A\)",A,(-1,-1));label("\(B\)",B,(1,-1));label("\(C\)",C,(1,0)); label("\(D\)",D,(1,1));label("\(E\)",E,(-1,1));label("\(F\)",F,(-1,0)); label("31",A/2+B/2,(0.7,1));label("81",B/2+C/2,(0.45,-0.2)); label("81",C/2+D/2,(-1,-1));label("81",D/2+E/2,(0,-1)); label("81",E/2+F/2,(1,-1));label("81",F/2+A/2,(1,1)); label("\(x\)",A/2+C/2,(-1,1));label("\(y\)",A/2+D/2,(1,-1.5)); label("\(z\)",A/2+E/2,(1,0)); [/asy]

Let $x=AC=BF$, $y=AD=BE$, and $z=AE=BD$.

Ptolemy's Theorem on $ABCD$ gives $81y+31\cdot 81=xz$, and Ptolemy on $ACDF$ gives $x\cdot z+81^2=y^2$. Subtracting these equations give $y^2-81y-112\cdot 81=0$, and from this $y=144$. Ptolemy on $ADEF$ gives $81y+81^2=z^2$, and from this $z=135$. Finally, plugging back into the first equation gives $x=105$, so $x+y+z=105+144+135=\boxed{384}$.

See also

1991 AIME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 13
Followed by
Problem 15
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All AIME Problems and Solutions

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