Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 3.5 AMC 10/12 Find the answer Canada

In the diagram, ABCDABCD is a
rectangle with area 224224.
Semi-circles with diameters ADAD and
BCBC are drawn inside the
rectangle.

If the shortest distance between the semi-circles is 22, the area of the shaded region is
closest to

Pick one

Solution

Suppose the midpoints of ADAD
and BCBC are PP and QQ, respectively.

Join PP to QQ and label the intersection of PQPQ with each circle SS and TT, as shown.

[[IMAGE0]]

Since AD=BCAD=BC, the semi-circles
have equal diameters, and thus equal radii, rr, and so AP=PD=PS=BQ=QC=TQ=rAP=PD=PS=BQ=QC=TQ=r.

The shortest distance between the two semi-circles is ST=2ST=2, and so ABCDABCD has dimensions AD=2rAD=2r and AB=PQ=2r+2AB=PQ=2r+2.

The area of ABCDABCD is AD×AB=2r(2r+2)=224AD\times AB=2r(2r+2)=224.

Solving this equation, we get 2r(2r+2)=2244r2+4r=224r2+r56=0(r+8)(r7)=0\begin{align*} 2r(2r+2)&=224\\ 4r^2+4r&=224\\ r^2+r-56&=0\\ (r+8)(r-7)&=0\end{align*} and so r=7r=7 (since r>0r>0). The area of the shaded region is
the difference between the area of ABCDABCD and the combined areas of the two
semi-circles, or $224(212π72)\$224-\left(2\cdot\dfrac12\pi7^2\right)\approx
70$.

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Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.