Art of Problem Solving
AoPS Online
Math texts, online classes, and more
for students in grades 5-12.
Visit AoPS Online ‚
Books for Grades 5-12 Online Courses
Beast Academy
Engaging math books and online learning
for students ages 6-13.
Visit Beast Academy ‚
Books for Ages 6-13 Beast Academy Online
AoPS Academy
Small live classes for advanced math
and language arts learners in grades 2-12.
Visit AoPS Academy ‚
Find a Physical Campus Visit the Virtual Campus

2018 AIME I Problems/Problem 15

Revision as of 11:48, 22 September 2020 by Jbala (talk | contribs)

Problem 15

David found four sticks of different lengths that can be used to form three non-congruent convex cyclic quadrilaterals, $A,\text{ }B,\text{ }C$, which can each be inscribed in a circle with radius $1$. Let $\varphi_A$ denote the measure of the acute angle made by the diagonals of quadrilateral $A$, and define $\varphi_B$ and $\varphi_C$ similarly. Suppose that $\sin\varphi_A=\frac{2}{3}$, $\sin\varphi_B=\frac{3}{5}$, and $\sin\varphi_C=\frac{6}{7}$. All three quadrilaterals have the same area $K$, which can be written in the form $\dfrac{m}{n}$, where $m$ and $n$ are relatively prime positive integers. Find $m+n$.

Solution 1

Suppose our four sides lengths cut out arc lengths of $2a$, $2b$, $2c$, and $2d$, where $a+b+c+d=180^\circ$. Then, we only have to consider which arc is opposite $2a$. These are our three cases, so \[\varphi_A=a+c\] \[\varphi_B=a+b\] \[\varphi_C=a+d\] Our first case involves quadrilateral $ABCD$ with $\overarc{AB}=2a$, $\overarc{BC}=2b$, $\overarc{CD}=2c$, and $\overarc{DA}=2d$.

Then, by Law of Sines, $AC=2\sin\left(\frac{\overarc{ABC}}{2}\right)=2\sin(a+b)$ and $BD=2\sin\left(\frac{\overarc{BCD}}{2}\right)=2\sin(a+d)$. Therefore,

\[K=\frac{1}{2}\cdot AC\cdot BD\cdot \sin(\varphi_A)=2\sin\varphi_A\sin\varphi_B\sin\varphi_C=\frac{24}{35},\] so our answer is $24+35=\boxed{059}$.

Note that the conditions of the problem are satisfied when the lengths of the four sticks are about $0.32, 0.91, 1.06, 1.82$.

By S.B.

Solution 2

Let the four stick lengths be $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$. WLOG, let’s say that quadrilateral $A$ has sides $a$ and $d$ opposite each other, quadrilateral $B$ has sides $b$ and $d$ opposite each other, and quadrilateral $C$ has sides $c$ and $d$ opposite each other. The area of a convex quadrilateral can be written as $\frac{1}{2} d_1 d_2 \sin{\theta}$, where $d_1$ and $d_2$ are the lengths of the diagonals of the quadrilateral and $\theta$ is the angle formed by the intersection of $d_1$ and $d_2$. By Ptolemy's theorem $d_1 d_2 = ad+bc$ for quadrilateral $A$, so, defining $K_A$ as the area of $A$, \[K_A = \frac{1}{2} (ad+bc)\sin{\varphi_A}\] Similarly, for quadrilaterals $B$ and $C$, \[K_B = \frac{1}{2} (bd+ac)\sin{\varphi_B}\] and \[K_C = \frac{1}{2} (cd+ab)\sin{\varphi_C}\] Multiplying the three equations and rearranging, we see that \[K_A K_B K_C = \frac{1}{8} (ab+cd)(ac+bd)(ad+bc)\sin{\varphi_A}\sin{\varphi_B}\sin{\varphi_B}\] \[K^3 = \frac{1}{8} (ab+cd)(ac+bd)(ad+bc)\left(\frac{2}{3}\right) \left(\frac{3}{5}\right) \left(\frac{6}{7}\right)\] \[\frac{70}{3}K^3 = (ab+cd)(ac+bd)(ad+bc)\] The circumradius $R$ of a cyclic quadrilateral with side lengths $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ and area $K$ can be computed as $R = \frac{\sqrt{(ab+cd)(ac+bd)(ad+bc)}}{4K}$. Inserting what we know, \[1 = \frac{\sqrt{\frac{70}{3}K^3}}{4K}\] \[4K = \sqrt{\frac{70}{3}K^3}\] \[16K^2 = \frac{70}{3}K^3\] \[\frac{24}{35} = K\] So our answer is $24 + 35 = \boxed{059}$.

~Solution by divij04

See Also

2018 AIME I (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 14 		Followed by
Last question
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15
All AIME Problems and Solutions

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

Retrieved from "https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2018_AIME_I_Problems/Problem_15&oldid=133944"