Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 5.3 AIME, harder Find the answer

Example 14 (1982 National High School League Question) If all the diagonals of a convex nn-sided polygon F(n4)F(n \geqslant 4) are equal, then:

Pick one

Solution

Solution: Choose C. Reason: Using a regular pentagon as a counterexample can negate conclusion A; using a square as a counterexample can negate conclusion B; using an isosceles trapezoid as a counterexample can negate conclusion D. Therefore, the correct conclusion can only be C. In fact, to affirm C positively, it still needs to be proven that nA1A3+A1AnnA_{1} A_{3}+A_{1} A_{n} leads to a contradiction. Therefore, the number of sides of a convex polygon with all diagonals equal cannot be 6\geqslant 6, i.e., it can only be a quadrilateral or a pentagon. Examples of a square and a regular pentagon show that convex quadrilaterals and pentagons with all diagonals equal do exist.

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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.