Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2009

Geometry Difficulty 4.7 AIME Prove it JBMO

Problem:

In a right trapezoid ABCDABCD (ABCDAB \parallel CD) the angle at vertex BB measures 7575^{\circ}. Point HH is the foot of the perpendicular from point AA to the line BCBC. If BH=DCBH = DC and AD+AH=8AD + AH = 8, find the area of ABCDABCD.

Solution

Solution:

Produce the legs of the trapezoid until they intersect at point EE. The triangles ABHABH and ECDECD are congruent (ASA). The area of ABCDABCD is equal to area of triangle EAHEAH of hypotenuse
AE=AD+DE=AD+AH=8 AE = AD + DE = AD + AH = 8
Let MM be the midpoint of AEAE. Then
ME=MA=MH=4 ME = MA = MH = 4
and AMH=30\angle AMH = 30^{\circ}. Now, the altitude from HH to AMAM equals one half of MHMH, namely 22. Finally, the area is 88.

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