2006 AMC 12B Problem 24

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Concepts:trigonometric identityquadraticarea

Difficulty rating: 2480

24.

Let SS be the set of all points (x,y)(x, y) in the coordinate plane such that 0xπ20 \le x \le \dfrac{\pi}{2} and 0yπ2.0 \le y \le \dfrac{\pi}{2}. What is the area of the subset of SS for which sin2xsinxsiny+sin2y34?\sin^2 x - \sin x \sin y + \sin^2 y \le \frac{3}{4}?

π29\dfrac{\pi^2}{9}

π28\dfrac{\pi^2}{8}

π26\dfrac{\pi^2}{6}

3π216\dfrac{3\pi^2}{16}

2π29\dfrac{2\pi^2}{9}

Solution:

Fixing y,y, solve sin2xsinxsiny+sin2y=34\sin^2 x - \sin x \sin y + \sin^2 y = \dfrac34 as a quadratic in sinx:\sin x: sinx=12siny±32cosy=sin ⁣(y±π3).\sin x = \frac{1}{2}\sin y \pm \frac{\sqrt3}{2}\cos y = \sin\!\left(y \pm \frac{\pi}{3}\right).

Within S,S, sinx=sin ⁣(yπ3)\sin x = \sin\!\left(y - \tfrac{\pi}{3}\right) gives the line x=yπ3,x = y - \tfrac{\pi}{3}, while sinx=sin ⁣(y+π3)\sin x = \sin\!\left(y + \tfrac{\pi}{3}\right) gives x=y+π3x = y + \tfrac{\pi}{3} for yπ6y \le \tfrac{\pi}{6} and x=y+2π3x = -y + \tfrac{2\pi}{3} for yπ6.y \ge \tfrac{\pi}{6}.

These lines split SS into regions; testing the corners shows the inequality holds only in the middle band. Its area is (π2)212(π3)2212(π6)2=π26.\left(\frac{\pi}{2}\right)^2 - \frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{\pi}{3}\right)^2 - 2 \cdot \frac{1}{2} \left(\frac{\pi}{6}\right)^2 = \frac{\pi^2}{6}.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

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