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Geometry Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Find the answer

Let n>3n>3 be a positive integer. Equilateral triangle ABC is divided into n2n^2 smaller congruent equilateral triangles (with sides parallel to its sides). Let mm be the number of rhombuses that contain two small equilateral triangles and dd the number of rhombuses that contain eight small equilateral triangles. Find the difference mdm-d in terms of nn .

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

Solution

First we will show that the side lengths of the small triangles are 1n\tfrac{1}{n} of the original length. Then we can count the two rhombuses.
Lemma: Small Triangle is Length of Original Triangle
Let the side length of the triangle be xx , so the total area is x234\tfrac{x^2 \sqrt{3}}{4} .
Since the big triangle is divided into n2n^2 congruent equilateral triangles, the area of each smaller equilateral triangle is x234n2\frac{x^2 \sqrt{3}}{4n^2} (xn)234.\frac{\left( \frac{x}{n} \right)^2 \sqrt{3}}{4}. Thus, the length of each smaller triangle is xn.\tfrac{x}{n}. \blacktriangleright
Since the lengths of each smaller triangle is xn\tfrac{x}{n} and are parallel to the big triangle’s sides, the triangles are arranged like the below diagram. In diagram, n=4n=4 . Now we can count the rhombuses.

After dividing the triangles, for each line that is not in the border of the big equilateral triangle, there are two smaller equilateral triangles. The longest row in the triangle has n1n-1 lines and the shortest row has 11 line. Thus, there are n(n1)2\tfrac{n(n-1)}{2} lines parallel to one side, resulting in a total of 3n(n1)2\tfrac{3n(n-1)}{2} lines or rhombuses with 2 equilateral triangles.
For a rhombus to have eight triangles, the center line must have two lines and the rows above and below must have one line. We can count the number of segments made of two lines that are not in the last row in the big triangle. The second longest row in the triangle has n2n-2 lines, while the second shortest row has 22 lines. Thus, there are (n2)(n3)2\tfrac{(n-2)(n-3)}{2} valid segments from two lines parallel to one side, resulting in a total of 3(n2)(n3)2\tfrac{3(n-2)(n-3)}{2} rhombuses with 8 equilateral triangles.
Because m=3n(n1)2m = \tfrac{3n(n-1)}{2} and d=3(n2)(n3)2d = \tfrac{3(n-2)(n-3)}{2} , \begin{align*} m-n &= \frac{3n(n-1)}{2} - \frac{3(n-2)(n-3)}{2} \\ &= \frac{3n^2 - 3n}{2} - \frac{3n^2 - 15n + 18}{2} \\ &= \frac{12n - 18}{2} \\ &= \boxed{6n - 9}. \end{align*}

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