Question

Keiko walks once around a track at exactly the same constant speed every day. The sides of the track are straight, and the ends are semicircles. The track has width $6$ meters, and it takes her $36$ seconds longer to walk around the outside edge of the track than around the inside edge. What is Keiko's speed in meters per second?

$\dfrac{\pi}{3}$

$\dfrac{2\pi}{3}$

$\pi$

$\dfrac{4\pi}{3}$

$\dfrac{5\pi}{3}$

Solution:

The straight sides are the same length for both paths, so the difference in length comes only from the two semicircular ends. If the inner radius is $r,$ those ends combine into a full circle, and the extra length is $2\pi(r+6)-2\pi r=12\pi.$

If her speed is $x$ meters per second, then the extra time gives $36x=12\pi,$ so $x=\dfrac{\pi}{3}.$

Thus, the correct answer is A.

2011 AMC 12B Problem 8

Solution:

Problem 8 in Other Years