2013 AMC 12A Problem 19

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 19 of the 2013 AMC 12A, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2013 AMC 12A solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:power of a point prime factorization

Difficulty rating: 2200

19.

In $\triangle ABC,$ $AB = 86,$ and $AC = 97.$ A circle with center $A$ and radius $AB$ intersects $\overline{BC}$ at points $B$ and $X.$ Moreover $\overline{BX}$ and $\overline{CX}$ have integer lengths. What is $BC?$

$11$

$28$

$33$

$61$

$72$

Solution:

By the Power of a Point Theorem, $BC\cdot CX = AC^2 - AB^2$ where $AB$ is the radius. Thus $BC\cdot CX = 97^2 - 86^2 = 2013.$

Since $BC = BX + CX$ and $CX$ are integers, they are complementary factors of $2013 = 3\cdot 11\cdot 61.$ As $CX \lt BC \lt AB + AC = 183,$ the only possibility is $CX = 33$ and $BC = 61.$

Thus, the correct answer is D.

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