Question

Three non-overlapping regular plane polygons, at least two of which are congruent, all have sides of length $1.$ The polygons meet at a point $A$ in such a way that the sum of the three interior angles at $A$ is $360^\circ.$ Thus the three polygons form a new polygon with $A$ as an interior point. What is the largest possible perimeter that this polygon can have?

$12$

$14$

$18$

$21$

$24$

Solution:

Let two congruent $a$ -gons and one $b$ -gon meet at $A.$ Their interior angles satisfy $2 \cdot 180\left(1 - \tfrac2a\right) + 180\left(1 - \tfrac2b\right) = 360,$ which reduces to $(a - 4)(b - 2) = 8.$

The solutions $(a, b)$ are $(5, 10), (6, 6), (8, 4),$ and $(12, 3).$ The new polygon's perimeter is $2a + b - 6,$ giving $14, 12, 14,$ and $21.$ The largest is $21.$

Thus, the correct answer is D.

1999 AMC 12 Problem 26

Solution: