Question

A sphere is inscribed in a truncated right circular cone as shown. The volume of the truncated cone is twice that of the sphere. What is the ratio of the radius of the bottom base of the truncated cone to the radius of the top base of the truncated cone?

$\dfrac{3}{2}$

$\dfrac{1+\sqrt{5}}{2}$

$\sqrt{3}$

$2$

$\dfrac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2}$

Solution:

Let the top radius be $1,$ the bottom radius $r,$ and the sphere radius $a.$ The sphere touches both bases, so the cone's height is $2a,$ and applying the Pythagorean Theorem to the side profile gives $r = a^2.$

The frustum volume is $\tfrac13 \pi (r^2 + r + 1)(2a).$ Setting it equal to twice the sphere volume $\tfrac43 \pi a^3$ and using $r = a^2$ yields $a^4 - 3a^2 + 1 = 0,$ that is $r^2 - 3r + 1 = 0.$

The positive root is $r = \dfrac{3+\sqrt5}{2}.$

Thus, the correct answer is E.

2014 AMC 12B Problem 19

Solution:

Problem 19 in Other Years