Let A1A2…A2010 be a regular 2010-gon. Find the number of obtuse triangles whose vertices are among A1,A2,…,A2010.
Solution
We will solve the problem for a regular n-gon A1A2…An, n≥3.
Solution 1. Let P(n) be the desired number of obtuse triangles and let P1(n) be the number of obtuse angles A1AiAj, where 1<i<j≤n. Clearly P(n)=n⋅P1(n). Any of the considered angles A1AiAj is obtuse if and only if j≤2n+1, hence P1(n) equals the number of all two-elements of {2,3,…,[2n+1]}. Thus
Solution 2. Let α=AiAj be the largest arc of the circumcircle that contains the vertices of an obtuse triangle, say △AiAkAj. The size of α is less than 180∘ and the number of all obtuse triangles AiAkAj with the common longest side AiAj is identical with the numbers v(α) of those vertices Ak of the n-gon that are inner points of the arc α. Clearly, v(α)∈{1,2,…,[2n−3]}. Since there are exactly n arcs α with the same value v(α), the desired number is
n(1+2+…+[2n−3])=2n⋅[2n−3]⋅[2n−1].
In our problem n=2010, hence the desired result is
22010⋅[22007]⋅[22009]=1003⋅1004⋅1005
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Source: MathNet,
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