2012 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 23

Problem

An equilateral triangle and a regular hexagon have equal perimeters. If the area of the triangle is 4, what is the area of the hexagon?

$\textbf{(A)}\hspace{.05in}4\qquad\textbf{(B)}\hspace{.05in}5\qquad\textbf{(C)}\hspace{.05in}6\qquad\textbf{(D)}\hspace{.05in}4\sqrt3\qquad\textbf{(E)}\hspace{.05in}6\sqrt3$

Solution 1

Let the perimeter of the equilateral triangle be $3s$. The side length of the equilateral triangle would then be $s$ and the sidelength of the hexagon would be $\frac{s}{2}$.

A hexagon contains six equilateral triangles. One of these triangles would be similar to the large equilateral triangle in the ratio $1 : 4$, since the sidelength of the small equilateral triangle is half the sidelength of the large one. Thus, the area of one of the small equilateral triangles is $1$. The area of the hexagon is then $1 \times 6 = \boxed{\textbf{(C)}\ 6}$.

Solution 2

Let the side length of the equilateral triangle be $s$ and the side length of the hexagon be $y$. Since the perimeters are equal, we must have $3s=6y$ which reduces to $s=2y$. Substitute this value in to the area of an equilateral triangle to yield $\dfrac{(2y)^2\sqrt{3}}{4}=\dfrac{4y^2\sqrt{3}}{4}$.

Setting this equal to $4$ gives us $\dfrac{4y^2\sqrt{3}}{4}=4\implies 4y^2\sqrt{3}=16\implies y^2\sqrt{3}=4$.

Substitue $y^2\sqrt{3}$ into the area of a regular hexagon to yield $\dfrac{3(4)}{2}=6$.

Therefore, our answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(C)}\ 6}$.

Solution 3

Let the side length of the triangle be $s$ and the side length of the hexagon be $t$. As explained in Solution 1, $s=2t$, or $t=\frac{s}{2}$. The area of the triangle is $\frac{s^2\sqrt3}{4}=4$ and the area of the hexagon is $\frac{t^2\sqrt3}{4} \cdot 6=\frac{3t^2\sqrt3}{2}$. Substituting $\frac{s}{2}$ in for $t$, we get \[\frac{\frac{3s^2\sqrt3}{4}}{2}=\frac{3s^2\sqrt3}{8}.\] $\frac{s^2\sqrt3}{4}=4 \implies \frac{s^2\sqrt3}{8}=2 \implies \frac{3s^2\sqrt3}{8}=\boxed{\textbf{(C)}\ 6}$.

Notes

The area of an equilateral triangle with side length $s$ is $\dfrac{s^2\sqrt{3}}{4}$.


The area of a regular hexagon with side length $s$ is $\dfrac{3s^2\sqrt{3}}{2}$.

See Also

2012 AMC 8 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 22
Followed by
Problem 24
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 AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png