GeometryDifficulty 5.4AIME, harderProve itUnited States
Problem:
Point P lies inside square ABCD such that the areas of △PAB, △PBC, △PCD, and △PDA are 1, 2, 3, and 4, in some order. Compute PA⋅PB⋅PC⋅PD.
Solution
Solution:
Let h1, h2, h3, and h4 be the lengths of the altitudes from P to sides AB, BC, CD, and DA, respectively. Then, the problem statement implies that {h1,h2,h3,h4}={x,2x,3x,4x} for some x. Furthermore, the area of the square is 1+2+3+4=10, so we have h1+h3=10=h2+h4. Hence either ({h1,h3}={x,4x} and {h2,h4}={2x,3x}, or ({h2,h4}={x,4x} and {h1,h3}={2x,3x}. In any case, we get 5x=10 from above, and finish via the Pythagorean theorem: PA⋅PB⋅PC⋅PD=x2+(2x)2⋅(2x)2+(4x)2⋅(4x)2+(3x)2⋅(3x)2+x2 =5010x4 =(5010)⋅(52)2 =810.
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