2018 AIME I Problem 15

Attempt Problem 15 of the 2018 AIME I below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2018 AIME I solutions, or check the answer key.

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15.

David found four sticks of different lengths that can be used to form three non-congruent convex cyclic quadrilaterals, A,A, B,B, C,C, which can each be inscribed in a circle with radius 1.1. Let φA\varphi_A denote the measure of the acute angle made by the diagonals of quadrilateral A,A, and define φB\varphi_B and φC\varphi_C similarly. Suppose that sinφA=23,\sin\varphi_A = \frac{2}{3}, sinφB=35,\sin\varphi_B = \frac{3}{5}, and sinφC=67.\sin\varphi_C = \frac{6}{7}. All three quadrilaterals have the same area K,K, which can be written in the form mn,\frac{m}{n}, where mm and nn are relatively prime positive integers. Find m+n.m + n.

Answer: 59
Concepts:cyclic quadrilateralarctrigonometryarea
Difficulty rating: 3500
Solution:

The four sticks are chords of the unit circle subtending fixed arcs α,\alpha, β,\beta, γ,\gamma, δ\delta with α+β+γ+δ=360.\alpha + \beta + \gamma + \delta = 360^\circ. The three quadrilaterals are the three distinct cyclic orders of the sides: say AA has arcs in order α,β,γ,δ;\alpha, \beta, \gamma, \delta; then BB (order α,γ,β,δ\alpha, \gamma, \beta, \delta) and CC (order α,β,δ,γ\alpha, \beta, \delta, \gamma) are the other two. The angle between the diagonals of a cyclic quadrilateral is half the sum of the arcs subtended by either pair of opposite sides, so sinφB=sinα+β2\sin\varphi_B = \sin\frac{\alpha + \beta}{2} and sinφC=sinα+δ2=sinβ+γ2.\sin\varphi_C = \sin\frac{\alpha + \delta}{2} = \sin\frac{\beta + \gamma}{2}.

In a circle of radius 1,1, a chord spanning an arc θ\theta has length 2sinθ2.2\sin\frac{\theta}{2}. The diagonals of AA span the arcs α+β\alpha + \beta and β+γ,\beta + \gamma, so their lengths are 2sinφB2\sin\varphi_B and 2sinφC.2\sin\varphi_C. Hence K=12d1d2sinφA=2sinφAsinφBsinφC, \begin{aligned} &K = \frac{1}{2}\,d_1 d_2 \sin\varphi_A \\ &= 2\sin\varphi_A \sin\varphi_B \sin\varphi_C, \end{aligned} a formula symmetric in the three quadrilaterals, which is why all three areas are equal.

Therefore K=2233567=2435,K = 2 \cdot \frac{2}{3} \cdot \frac{3}{5} \cdot \frac{6}{7} = \frac{24}{35}, and m+n=24+35=59.m + n = 24 + 35 = 59.

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