2021 AIME I Problem 11

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 11 of the 2021 AIME I, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2021 AIME I solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:cyclic quadrilateralPtolemy’s TheoremBrahmagupta’s Formulasimilarity

Difficulty rating: 3060

11.

Let ABCDABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral with AB=4,AB = 4, BC=5,BC = 5, CD=6,CD = 6, and DA=7.DA = 7. Let A1A_1 and C1C_1 be the feet of the perpendiculars from AA and C,C, respectively, to line BD,BD, and let B1B_1 and D1D_1 be the feet of the perpendiculars from BB and D,D, respectively, to line AC.AC. The perimeter of A1B1C1D1A_1B_1C_1D_1 is mn,\frac{m}{n}, where mm and nn are relatively prime positive integers. Find m+n.m + n.

Solution:

Let P=ACBDP = AC \cap BD and let θ\theta be the acute angle between the diagonals. Since AA lies on line AC,AC, its foot A1A_1 on BDBD satisfies PA1=PAcosθ,PA_1 = PA\cos\theta, landing on the ray of BDBD making the acute angle with ray PA;PA; the same holds for all four feet. So A1B1C1D1A_1B_1C_1D_1 is the image of ABCDABCD under the map that rotates each ray from PP onto the other diagonal (through angle θ\theta) and scales by cosθ:\cos\theta: corresponding triangles at PP are similar with ratio cosθ,\cos\theta, and every side of A1B1C1D1A_1B_1C_1D_1 is cosθ\cos\theta times the corresponding side of ABCD.ABCD. Hence the perimeter is (4+5+6+7)cosθ=22cosθ.(4 + 5 + 6 + 7)\cos\theta = 22\cos\theta.

By Ptolemy, ACBD=46+57=59.AC \cdot BD = 4 \cdot 6 + 5 \cdot 7 = 59. By Brahmagupta with s=11,s = 11, the area is 7654=2210.\sqrt{7 \cdot 6 \cdot 5 \cdot 4} = 2\sqrt{210}. Since the area also equals 12ACBDsinθ,\frac{1}{2} \, AC \cdot BD \sin\theta, we get sinθ=421059,\sin\theta = \frac{4\sqrt{210}}{59}, so cos2θ=133603481=1213481,cosθ=1159.\cos^2\theta = 1 - \frac{3360}{3481} = \frac{121}{3481}, \qquad \cos\theta = \frac{11}{59}.

The perimeter is 221159=24259,22 \cdot \frac{11}{59} = \frac{242}{59}, which is in lowest terms, so m+n=242+59=301.m + n = 242 + 59 = 301.

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