2025 AIME I Problem 12

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Concepts:inequalityfactoringtriangle areavector

Difficulty rating: 3060

12.

The set of points in 33-dimensional coordinate space that lie in the plane x+y+z=75x + y + z = 75 whose coordinates satisfy the inequalities xyz<yzx<zxyx - yz \lt y - zx \lt z - xy forms three disjoint convex regions. Exactly one of those regions has finite area. The area of this finite region can be expressed in the form ab,a\sqrt{b}, where aa and bb are positive integers and bb is not divisible by the square of any prime. Find a+b.a + b.

Solution:

Since xyz(yzx)=(xy)+z(xy)=(xy)(1+z),x - yz - (y - zx) = (x - y) + z(x - y) = (x - y)(1 + z), and similarly yzx(zxy)=(yz)(1+x),y - zx - (z - xy) = (y - z)(1 + x), the conditions are (xy)(1+z)<0and(yz)(1+x)<0.(x - y)(1 + z) \lt 0 \qquad \text{and} \qquad (y - z)(1 + x) \lt 0. Each condition offers two sign patterns, giving four combinations. The combination x>y,x \gt y, z<1,z \lt -1, y>z,y \gt z, x<1x \lt -1 is impossible on the plane: x,z<1x, z \lt -1 forces y>77,y \gt 77, contradicting x>y.x \gt y. Two of the remaining combinations allow a coordinate to run off to infinity, producing the two unbounded regions.

The bounded region is x<y,x \lt y, y<z,y \lt z, x>1x \gt -1 (the fourth constraint z>1z \gt -1 is then automatic): the set 1<x<y<z-1 \lt x \lt y \lt z on the plane. Its closure is the triangle whose vertices come from intersecting the boundary lines pairwise: x=1,x=yx = -1, x = y gives (1,1,77);(-1, -1, 77); x=1,y=zx = -1, y = z gives (1,38,38);(-1, 38, 38); and x=y=zx = y = z gives (25,25,25).(25, 25, 25).

With A=(1,1,77),A = (-1, -1, 77), the edge vectors are BA=(0,39,39)B - A = (0, 39, -39) and CA=(26,26,52),C - A = (26, 26, -52), whose cross product is 1014(1,1,1),-1014\,(1, 1, 1), of length 10143.1014\sqrt{3}. The area is 101432=5073,\frac{1014\sqrt{3}}{2} = 507\sqrt{3}, so a+b=507+3=510.a + b = 507 + 3 = 510.

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