Let be points on the sides of square , respectively, and the areas of are , respectively, where is a given positive real number. If the lines intersect at a single point, find the area of quadrilateral .
Solution
Solution: As shown in Figure 1, let the side length of the square be , and , then .
Thus, from the given conditions, we have
Let intersect at point . Since
,
we have ,
i.e., .
Substituting (2) and (4) into (5) gives , i.e., .
Substituting (6) into (1) gives
.
Substituting (6) into (4) gives
.
Eliminating from (8) and (3), and simplifying, we get
Eliminating from (7) and (2), and simplifying, we get
Solving (9) and (11) gives
Substituting (12) into (11) and simplifying, we get
By the quadratic formula, we get
Noting that the sum of the areas of the four triangles at the corners of the square is , from (12) (taking the positive sign), we know that the area of quadrilateral is (where is any positive real number).
(Wu Weizhao, School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, 510405; Zuo Huaiqing, No. 6 Middle School of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, 510000)