# Difference between revisions of "2013 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 24"

## Problem

Squares $ABCD$, $EFGH$, and $GHIJ$ are equal in area. Points $C$ and $D$ are the midpoints of sides $IH$ and $HE$, respectively. What is the ratio of the area of the shaded pentagon $AJICB$ to the sum of the areas of the three squares?

$\textbf{(A)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{1}{4}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{7}{24}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{1}{3}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{3}{8}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{5}{12}$

$[asy] pair A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J; A = (0.5,2); B = (1.5,2); C = (1.5,1); D = (0.5,1); E = (0,1); F = (0,0); G = (1,0); H = (1,1); I = (2,1); J = (2,0); draw(A--B); draw(C--B); draw(D--A); draw(F--E); draw(I--J); draw(J--F); draw(G--H); draw(A--J); filldraw(A--B--C--I--J--cycle,grey); draw(E--I); label("A", A, NW); label("B", B, NE); label("C", C, NE); label("D", D, NW); label("E", E, NW); label("F", F, SW); label("G", G, S); label("H", H, N); label("I", I, NE); label("J", J, SE); [/asy]$

## Solution

$[asy] pair A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,X; A = (0.5,2); B = (1.5,2); C = (1.5,1); D = (0.5,1); E = (0,1); F = (0,0); G = (1,0); H = (1,1); I = (2,1); J = (2,0); X= extension(I,J,A,B); dot(X); draw(I--X--B,red); draw(A--B); draw(C--B); draw(D--A); draw(F--E); draw(I--J); draw(J--F); draw(G--H); draw(A--J); filldraw(A--B--C--I--J--cycle,grey); draw(E--I); label("A", A, NW); label("B", B, NE); label("C", C, NE); label("D", D, NW); label("E", E, NW); label("F", F, SW); label("G", G, S); label("H", H, N); label("I", I, NE); label("J", J, SE);[/asy]$

First let $s=2$ (where $s$ is the side length of the squares) for simplicity. We can extend $\overline{IJ}$ until it hits the extension of $\overline{AB}$. Call this point $X$. The area of triangle $AXJ$ then is $\dfrac{3 \cdot 4}{2}$ The area of rectangle $BXIC$ is $2 \cdot 1 = 2$. Thus, our desired area is $6-2 = 4$. Now, the ratio of the shaded area to the combined area of the three squares is $\frac{4}{3\cdot 2^2} = \boxed{\textbf{(C)}\hspace{.05in}\frac{1}{3}}$.