1952 AMC 12 Problem 49

Attempt Problem 49 of the 1952 AMC 12 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 1952 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

49.

In the figure, CD,CD, AE,AE, and BFBF are one-third of their respective sides. It follows that AN2:N2N1:N1D=3:3:1,AN_2:N_2N_1:N_1D=3:3:1, and similarly for lines BEBE and CF.CF. Then the area of triangle N1N2N3N_1N_2N_3 is:

110ABC\dfrac1{10}\triangle ABC

19ABC\dfrac19\triangle ABC

17ABC\dfrac17\triangle ABC

16ABC\dfrac16\triangle ABC

None of these

Answer: C
Concepts:coordinate geometryarea ratio
Difficulty rating: 2380
Small Hint:

Area ratios are affine-invariant, so choose convenient coordinates for triangle ABCABC

Big Hint:

Locate D,E,FD,E,F by the one-third conditions, intersect the three cevians, and compare the two areas with determinants

Solution:

Use A=(0,1),A=(0,1), B=(0,0),B=(0,0), C=(1,0).C=(1,0). Then D=(23,0),E=(13,23),F=(0,13). \begin{aligned} D&=\left(\frac23,0\right),\\ E&=\left(\frac13,\frac23\right),\\ F&=\left(0,\frac13\right). \end{aligned} Intersecting AD,BE,CFAD,BE,CF in pairs gives N1=(47,17),N2=(27,47),N3=(17,27). \begin{aligned} N_1&=\left(\frac47,\frac17\right),\\ N_2&=\left(\frac27,\frac47\right),\\ N_3&=\left(\frac17,\frac27\right). \end{aligned} The determinant area formula gives [N1N2N3]=114,[ABC]=12. \begin{aligned} [N_1N_2N_3]&=\frac1{14},\\ [ABC]&=\frac12. \end{aligned} Hence [N1N2N3][ABC]=17.\frac{[N_1N_2N_3]}{[ABC]}=\frac{1}{7}.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

← Problem 48#48
Full Exam

Problem 49 in Other Years

1950 AMC 12 · 1951 AMC 12 · 1953 AMC 12 · 1954 AMC 12 · 1955 AMC 12 · 1956 AMC 12 · 1957 AMC 12 · 1958 AMC 12 · 1959 AMC 12