Maths Olympiad Prep

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Combinatorics Difficulty 4.4 AIME Find the answer

The probability that a set of three distinct vertices chosen at random from among the vertices of a regular n-gon determine an obtuse triangle is 93125\frac{93}{125} . Find the sum of all possible values of nn.

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

Solution

Inscribe the regular polygon inside a circle. A triangle inside this circle will be obtuse if and only if its three vertices lie on one side of a diameter of the circle. (This is because if an inscribed angle on a circle is obtuse, the arc it spans must be 180 degrees or greater).
Break up the problem into two cases: an even number of sides 2n2n, or an odd number of sides 2n12n-1. For polygons with 2n2n sides, the circumdiameter has endpoints on 22 vertices. There are n1n-1 points on one side of a diameter, plus 11 of the endpoints of the diameter for a total of nn points. For polygons with 2n12n - 1 points, the circumdiameter has 11 endpoint on a vertex and 11 endpoint on the midpoint of the opposite side. There are also n1n - 1 points on one side of the diameter, plus the vertex for a total of nn points on one side of the diameter.
Case 1: 2n2n-sided polygon. There are clearly (2n3)\binom{2n}{3} different triangles total. To find triangles that meet the criteria, choose the left-most point. There are obviously 2n2n choices for this point. From there, the other two points must be within the n1n-1 points remaining on the same side of the diameter. So our desired probability is
2n(n12)(2n3)\frac{2n\binom{n-1}{2}}{\binom{2n}{3}}
=n(n1)(n2)2n(2n1)(2n2)6=\frac{n(n-1)(n-2)}{\frac{2n(2n-1)(2n-2)}{6}}
=6n(n1)(n2)2n(2n1)(2n2)=\frac{6n(n-1)(n-2)}{2n(2n-1)(2n-2)}
=3(n2)2(2n1)=\frac{3(n-2)}{2(2n-1)}
so 93125=3(n2)2(2n1)\frac{93}{125}=\frac{3(n-2)}{2(2n-1)}
186(2n1)=375(n2)186(2n-1)=375(n-2).
372n186=375n750372n-186=375n-750
3n=5643n=564
n=188n=188 and so the polygon has 376376 sides.
Case 2: 2n12n-1-sided polygon. Similarly, (2n13)\binom{2n-1}{3} total triangles. Again choose the leftmost point, with 2n12n-1 choices. For the other two points, there are again (n12)\binom{n-1}{2} possibilities.
The probability is (2n1)(n12)(2n13)\frac{(2n-1)\binom{n-1}{2}}{\binom{2n-1}{3}}
=3(2n1)(n1)(n2)(2n1)(2n2)(2n3)=\frac{3(2n-1)(n-1)(n-2)}{(2n-1)(2n-2)(2n-3)}
=3(n2)2(2n3)=\frac{3(n-2)}{2(2n-3)}
so 93125=3(n2)2(2n3)\frac{93}{125}=\frac{3(n-2)}{2(2n-3)}
186(2n3)=375(n2)186(2n-3)=375(n-2)
375n750=372n558375n-750=372n-558
3n=1923n=192
n=64n=64 and our polygon has 127127 sides.
Adding, 127+376=503127+376=\boxed{503}

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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.