Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 2.6 Junior Find the answer Netherlands

The sides of a triangle have lengths 1313, xx, and 2x2x. Here xx is an integer.
How many possibilities are there for xx?
A) 2 B) 6 C) 7 D) 8 E) 12

Multiple choice: answer with the letter of the option you want.

Solution

Let the sides be 1313, xx, and 2x2x.

By the triangle inequality, the sum of the lengths of any two sides must be greater than the third side.

So, we have:

1. 13+x>2x13 + x > 2x
2. 13+2x>x13 + 2x > x
3. x+2x>13x + 2x > 13

Let's solve each inequality:

1. 13+x>2x    13>x13 + x > 2x \implies 13 > x
2. 13+2x>x    13+x>013 + 2x > x \implies 13 + x > 0 (which is always true for x>0x > 0)
3. x+2x>13    3x>13    x>133x + 2x > 13 \implies 3x > 13 \implies x > \dfrac{13}{3}

Since xx is an integer, x5x \geq 5.

Also, from (1), x<13x < 13.

So the possible integer values for xx are 5,6,7,8,9,10,11,125, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.

There are 88 possible values.

Answer: D) 8

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