Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 5.2 AIME, harder Find the answer

The lines y=x,y=2xy=x, y=2 x, and y=3xy=3 x are the three medians of a triangle with perimeter 1. Find the length of the longest side of the triangle.

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

Solution

The three medians of a triangle contain its vertices, so the three vertices of the triangle are (a,a),(b,2b)(a, a),(b, 2 b) and (c,3c)(c, 3 c) for some a,ba, b, and cc. Then, the midpoint of (a,a)(a, a) and (b,2b)(b, 2 b), which is (a+b2,a+2b2)\left(\frac{a+b}{2}, \frac{a+2 b}{2}\right), must lie along the line y=3xy=3 x. Therefore, a+2b2=3a+b2a+2b=3a+3b2a=b\begin{aligned} \frac{a+2 b}{2} & =3 \cdot \frac{a+b}{2} \\ a+2 b & =3 a+3 b \\ -2 a & =b \end{aligned} Similarly, the midpoint of (b,2b)(b, 2 b) and (c,3c)(c, 3 c), which is (b+c2,2b+3c2)\left(\frac{b+c}{2}, \frac{2 b+3 c}{2}\right), must lie along the line y=xy=x. Therefore, 2b+3c2=b+c22b+3c=b+cb=2cc=12b=a\begin{aligned} \frac{2 b+3 c}{2} & =\frac{b+c}{2} \\ 2 b+3 c & =b+c \\ b & =-2 c \\ c & =-\frac{1}{2} b=a \end{aligned} From this, three points can be represented as (a,a),(2a,4a)(a, a),(-2 a,-4 a), and (a,3a)(a, 3 a). Using the distance formula, the three side lengths of the triangle are 2a,34a2|a|, \sqrt{34}|a|, and 58a\sqrt{58}|a|. Since the perimeter of the triangle is 1, we find that a=12+34+58|a|=\frac{1}{2+\sqrt{34}+\sqrt{58}} and therefore the longest side length is 582+34+58\frac{\sqrt{58}}{2+\sqrt{34}+\sqrt{58}}.

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