1984 AMC 12 Problem 29
Attempt Problem 29 of the 1984 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 1984 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.
All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
29.
Find the largest value of for pairs of real numbers which satisfy
Answer: A
Small Hint:
Interpret as the slope of a line through the origin
Big Hint:
At an extreme slope, the line is tangent to the circle
Solution:
The circle lies entirely where so is the slope of the line through a point on it. At an extreme, this line is tangent. The distance from the center to must equal so Squaring and simplifying gives hence The larger value is
Therefore, the correct answer is A.
Problem 29 in Other Years
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