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Geometry Difficulty 4.3 AIME Find the answer

P1,P2,,Pn\mathrm{P}_{1}, \mathrm{P}_{2}, \ldots, \mathrm{P}_{\mathrm{n}} are points in the plane and r1,r2,,rn\mathrm{r}_{1}, \mathrm{r}_{2}, \ldots, \mathrm{r}_{\mathrm{n}} are real numbers such that the distance between PiP_{i} and PjP_{j} is ri+rjr_{i}+r_{j} (for ii not equal to jj ). Find the largest nn for which this is possible.

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

Solution

Answer: n=4\mathrm{n}=4.

Draw a circle of radius rir_{i} at PiP_{i}. Then each pair of circles must touch. But that is possible if and only if n4n \leq 4.

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