Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 4.9 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
A real number xx is chosen uniformly at random from the interval (0,10)(0,10). Compute the probability that x\sqrt{x}, x+7\sqrt{x+7}, and 10x\sqrt{10-x} are the side lengths of a non-degenerate triangle.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Solution:
For any positive reals a,b,ca, b, c, numbers a,b,ca, b, c are the side lengths of a triangle if and only if
(a+b+c)(a+b+c)(ab+c)(a+bc)>0cyc(2a2b2a4)>0 (a+b+c)(-a+b+c)(a-b+c)(a+b-c)>0 \Longleftrightarrow \sum_{\mathrm{cyc}}\left(2 a^{2} b^{2}-a^{4}\right)>0
(to see why, just note that if ab+ca \geq b+c, then only the factor a+b+c-a+b+c is negative). Therefore, xx works if and only if
2(x+7)(10x)+2x(x+7)+2x(10x)>x2+(x+7)2+(10x)25x2+46x9>0x(15,9) \begin{aligned} 2(x+7)(10-x)+2 x(x+7)+2 x(10-x) & >x^{2}+(x+7)^{2}+(10-x)^{2} \\ -5 x^{2}+46 x-9 & >0 \\ x & \in\left(\frac{1}{5}, 9\right) \end{aligned}
giving the answer 2225\frac{22}{25}.

Solution 2

Solution:
Note that x<x+7\sqrt{x}<\sqrt{x+7}, so x\sqrt{x} cannot be the maximum. Thus, xx works if and only if the following equivalent inequalities hold.
x>x+710xx>(x+7)+(10x)2(x+7)(10x)4(x+7)(10x)>17x4(x+7)(10x)>x234x+2894(70+3xx2)>x234x+2890>5x246x+90>(5x1)(x9), \begin{aligned} \sqrt{x} & >|\sqrt{x+7}-\sqrt{10-x}| \\ x & >(x+7)+(10-x)-2 \sqrt{(x+7)(10-x)} \\ \sqrt{4(x+7)(10-x)} & >17-x \\ 4(x+7)(10-x) & >x^{2}-34 x+289 \\ 4\left(70+3 x-x^{2}\right) & >x^{2}-34 x+289 \\ 0 & >5 x^{2}-46 x+9 \\ 0 & >(5 x-1)(x-9), \end{aligned}
so the range is x(15,9)x \in\left(\frac{1}{5}, 9\right), and the answer is
91510=2225 \frac{9-\frac{1}{5}}{10}=\frac{22}{25}

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