GeometryDifficulty 6.8National olympiadFind the answer
Let ABC be an equilateral triangle of side length 1. For a real number 0<x<0.5, let A1 and A2 be the points on side BC such that A1B=A2C=x, and let TA=△AA1A2. Construct triangles TB=△BB1B2 and TC=△CC1C2 similarly.
There exist positive rational numbers b,c such that the region of points inside all three triangles TA,TB,TC is a hexagon with area (2−x)(x+1)8x2−bx+c⋅43. Find (b,c).
A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.
Solution
1. Identify the problem and given information: - We have an equilateral triangle ABC with side length 1. - Points A1 and A2 are on side BC such that A1B=A2C=x where 0<x<0.5. - Triangles TA=△AA1A2, TB=△BB1B2, and TC=△CC1C2 are constructed similarly. - The region inside all three triangles forms a hexagon with area given by: (2−x)(x+1)8x2−bx+c⋅43 - We need to find the values of b and c.
2. **Determine the area when x=0:** - When x=0, the points A1 and A2 coincide with B and C respectively, making TA degenerate and the hexagon coincides with the original triangle ABC. - The area of ABC is: Area=43 - Substituting x=0 into the given area formula: (2−0)(0+1)8(0)2−b(0)+c⋅43=2c⋅43 - Equating this to the area of ABC: 2c⋅43=43 2c=1⟹c=2
3. **Determine the area when x=0.5:** - When x=0.5, the points A1 and A2 are at the midpoints of BC, making TA a smaller equilateral triangle with side length 0.5. - The area of each smaller triangle is: Area of TA=43(21)2=163 - The hexagon formed by the intersection of TA, TB, and TC has zero area because the triangles overlap completely. - Substituting x=0.5 into the given area formula: (2−0.5)(0.5+1)8(0.5)2−b(0.5)+2⋅43=0 1.5⋅1.52−2b+2⋅43=0 2.254−2b⋅43=0 4−2b=0⟹b=8
4. Conclusion: - The values of b and c are 8 and 2 respectively.
The final answer is (8,2)
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