Difference between revisions of "2001 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 10"

(New page: == Problem == The plane is tiled by congruent squares and congruent pentagons as indicated. The percent of the plane that is enclosed by the pentagons is closest to <math> \text{(A) }50 ...)
 
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If the side of the small square is <math>a</math>, then the area of the tile is <math>9a^2</math>, with <math>4a^2</math> covered by squares and <math>5a^2</math> by pentagons.
 
If the side of the small square is <math>a</math>, then the area of the tile is <math>9a^2</math>, with <math>4a^2</math> covered by squares and <math>5a^2</math> by pentagons.
Hence exactly <math>5/9</math> of any tile are covered by pentagons, and therefore pentagons cover <math>5/9</math> of the plane. When expressed as a percentage, this is <math>55.\overline{5}\%</math>, and the closest integer to this value is <math>\boxed{56}</math>.
+
Hence exactly <math>5/9</math> of any tile are covered by pentagons, and therefore pentagons cover <math>5/9</math> of the plane. When expressed as a percentage, this is <math>55.\overline{5}\%</math>, and the closest integer to this value is <math>56</math>. <math>\boxed{\mathrm{D}}</math>
  
 
== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==
  
 
{{AMC12 box|year=2001|num-b=9|num-a=11}}
 
{{AMC12 box|year=2001|num-b=9|num-a=11}}

Revision as of 17:33, 23 August 2009

Problem

The plane is tiled by congruent squares and congruent pentagons as indicated. The percent of the plane that is enclosed by the pentagons is closest to

$\text{(A) }50 \qquad \text{(B) }52  \qquad \text{(C) }54 \qquad \text{(D) }56 \qquad \text{(E) }58$

[asy] unitsize(3mm); defaultpen(linewidth(0.8pt));  path p1=(0,0)--(3,0)--(3,3)--(0,3)--(0,0); path p2=(0,1)--(1,1)--(1,0); path p3=(2,0)--(2,1)--(3,1); path p4=(3,2)--(2,2)--(2,3); path p5=(1,3)--(1,2)--(0,2); path p6=(1,1)--(2,2); path p7=(2,1)--(1,2); path[] p=p1^^p2^^p3^^p4^^p5^^p6^^p7; for(int i=0; i<3; ++i) { for(int j=0; j<3; ++j) { draw(shift(3*i,3*j)*p); } } [/asy]

Solution

Consider any single tile:

[asy] unitsize(1cm); defaultpen(linewidth(0.8pt));  path p1=(0,0)--(3,0)--(3,3)--(0,3)--(0,0); path p2=(0,1)--(1,1)--(1,0); path p3=(2,0)--(2,1)--(3,1); path p4=(3,2)--(2,2)--(2,3); path p5=(1,3)--(1,2)--(0,2); path p6=(1,1)--(2,2); path p7=(2,1)--(1,2); path[] p=p1^^p2^^p3^^p4^^p5^^p6^^p7; draw(p); [/asy]

If the side of the small square is $a$, then the area of the tile is $9a^2$, with $4a^2$ covered by squares and $5a^2$ by pentagons. Hence exactly $5/9$ of any tile are covered by pentagons, and therefore pentagons cover $5/9$ of the plane. When expressed as a percentage, this is $55.\overline{5}\%$, and the closest integer to this value is $56$. $\boxed{\mathrm{D}}$

See Also

2001 AMC 12 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 9
Followed by
Problem 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions