Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /180 of 520

Geometry Difficulty 6.7 National olympiad Find the answer

We draw a radius of a circle. We draw a second radius 2323 degrees clockwise from the first radius. We draw a third radius 2323 degrees clockwise from the second. This continues until we have drawn 4040 radii each 2323 degrees clockwise from the one before it. What is the measure in degrees of the smallest angle between any two of these 4040 radii?

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

1. Understanding the Problem:
We need to find the smallest angle between any two of the 40 radii drawn at 23-degree intervals on a circle.

2. Listing the Angles:
The angles where the radii are drawn can be listed as follows:
0,23,46,69,92,115,138,161,184,207,230,253,276,299,322,345,8,31,54,77,100,123,146,169,192,215,238,261,284,307,330,353,16,39,62,85,108,131,154,177 0^\circ, 23^\circ, 46^\circ, 69^\circ, 92^\circ, 115^\circ, 138^\circ, 161^\circ, 184^\circ, 207^\circ, 230^\circ, 253^\circ, 276^\circ, 299^\circ, 322^\circ, 345^\circ, 8^\circ, 31^\circ, 54^\circ, 77^\circ, 100^\circ, 123^\circ, 146^\circ, 169^\circ, 192^\circ, 215^\circ, 238^\circ, 261^\circ, 284^\circ, 307^\circ, 330^\circ, 353^\circ, 16^\circ, 39^\circ, 62^\circ, 85^\circ, 108^\circ, 131^\circ, 154^\circ, 177^\circ

3. Finding the Smallest Angle:
To find the smallest angle between any two radii, we need to consider the differences between consecutive angles in the sorted list. The differences are:
23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23,23 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ, 23^\circ

4. Considering the Wrap-Around:
The last angle (177°) and the first angle (0°) also need to be considered. The difference between 177° and 0° is:
360177=183 360^\circ - 177^\circ = 183^\circ

5. Conclusion:
The smallest angle between any two radii is the smallest difference in the list of differences, which is 23°.

The final answer is 23\boxed{23}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.