2016 AMC 12B Problem 6

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 6 of the 2016 AMC 12B, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2016 AMC 12B solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:parabola triangle area coordinate geometry

Difficulty rating: 1350

All three vertices of $\triangle ABC$ lie on the parabola defined by $y=x^2,$ with $A$ at the origin and $\overline{BC}$ parallel to the $x$ -axis. The area of the triangle is $64.$ What is the length of $BC?$

$4$

$6$

$8$

$10$

$16$

Solution:

Let the vertex in the first quadrant be $(x,x^2).$ By symmetry the base is $BC=2x$ and the height is $x^2,$ so $\tfrac12\cdot2x\cdot x^2=x^3=64.$ Thus $x=4$ and $BC=2x=8.$

Thus, the correct answer is C.

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