Problem:
An equiangular hexagon has side lengths in some order. Find the nonnegative difference between the largest and the smallest possible area of this hexagon.
Problem:
An equiangular hexagon has side lengths in some order. Find the nonnegative difference between the largest and the smallest possible area of this hexagon.
Solution:
Extending three sides of the equiangular hexagon gives an equilateral triangle. Thus, if the sides are , in order, then . By a symmetric argument, we see that holds, which means that they must be separated into three groups of two with equal differences.
If the grouping is , then we have around the hexagon. If the grouping is , then we get as the other possibility. Finally, we can use our equilateral triangle trick to find the areas.
For the first, we get a big triangle of side , and must subtract smaller triangles of sides . This gives .
For the other, we get .
The positive difference between these is .