Regular polygons with , , , and sides are inscribed in the same circle. No two of the polygons share a vertex, and no three of their sides intersect at a common point. At how many points inside the circle do two of their sides intersect?
, 2021
Pick one
Solution
Answer (E): Consider a regular -gon and a regular -gon, with , inscribed in the same circle with no shared vertices. If and are adjacent vertices of the -gon, then minor arc contains at least one vertex of the -gon. Thus side intersects exactly two sides of the -gon inside the circle, and the two polygons intersect in exactly points. It follows that the pentagon intersects the hexagon, the heptagon (the regular polygon with sides), and the octagon in points each; the hexagon intersects the heptagon and the octagon in points each; and the heptagon intersects the octagon in points. The total number of points of intersection is .
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