2013 AIME I Problem 12

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

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Concepts:regular polygoncoordinate geometrytriangle area

Difficulty rating: 2990

12.

Let PQR\triangle PQR be a triangle with P=75\angle P = 75^\circ and Q=60.\angle Q = 60^\circ. A regular hexagon ABCDEFABCDEF with side length 11 is drawn inside PQR\triangle PQR so that side AB\overline{AB} lies on PQ,\overline{PQ}, side CD\overline{CD} lies on QR,\overline{QR}, and one of the remaining vertices lies on RP.\overline{RP}. There are positive integers a,a, b,b, c,c, and dd such that the area of PQR\triangle PQR can be expressed in the form a+bcd,\frac{a + b\sqrt{c}}{d}, where aa and dd are relatively prime, and cc is not divisible by the square of any prime. Find a+b+c+d.a + b + c + d.

Solution:

Note R=45.\angle R = 45^\circ. Because the hexagon's interior angles are 120,120^\circ, segments BC\overline{BC} cut off a corner triangle at QQ with two 6060^\circ base angles, so triangle BQCBQC is equilateral and QB=QC=1.QB = QC = 1. Put QQ at the origin with QRQR along the positive xx-axis. Then C=(1,0),C = (1, 0), D=(2,0),D = (2, 0), and the hexagon's vertices are B=(12,32),B = \left(\tfrac{1}{2}, \tfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right), A=(1,3),A = (1, \sqrt{3}), F=(2,3),F = (2, \sqrt{3}), E=(52,32).E = \left(\tfrac{5}{2}, \tfrac{\sqrt{3}}{2}\right).

Since R=45,\angle R = 45^\circ, line RPRP has slope 1.-1. If it passed through E,E, it would be x+y=5+32,x + y = \tfrac{5 + \sqrt{3}}{2}, which puts FF (with x+y=2+3x + y = 2 + \sqrt{3}) outside the triangle; so the vertex on RP\overline{RP} is F,F, and RPRP is the line x+y=2+3.x + y = 2 + \sqrt{3}. It meets the xx-axis at R=(2+3, 0)R = (2 + \sqrt{3},\ 0) and the line y=3xy = \sqrt{3}\,x (line QPQP) where x(1+3)=2+3,x(1 + \sqrt{3}) = 2 + \sqrt{3}, giving PP height y=3(2+3)1+3=3+32.y = \frac{\sqrt{3}(2 + \sqrt{3})}{1 + \sqrt{3}} = \frac{3 + \sqrt{3}}{2}.

The area is 12QRy=12(2+3)3+32=9+534,\frac{1}{2} \cdot QR \cdot y = \frac{1}{2}(2 + \sqrt{3}) \cdot \frac{3 + \sqrt{3}}{2} = \frac{9 + 5\sqrt{3}}{4}, so a+b+c+d=9+5+3+4=21.a + b + c + d = 9 + 5 + 3 + 4 = 21.

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