Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 3 / 167 of 260 #167 of 1964

Problem 167

AMC 10/12, early questions
Geometry Difficulty 3.5 Find the answer

In triangle ABCABC, the sides aa, bb, and cc are opposite to angles AA, BB, and CC, respectively, and it is given that (2a+c)cosB+bcosC=0(2a+c)\cos B + b\cos C = 0.
(Ⅰ) Find the value of angle BB;
(Ⅱ) Given a+c=4a+c=4, find the maximum value of the area SS of triangle ABCABC.

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

Official solution

(Ⅰ) By the Law of Sines, (2sinA+sinC)cosB+sinBcosC=0(2\sin A+\sin C)\cos B + \sin B\cos C = 0, which can be written as:
2sinAcosB+sinCcosB+sinBcosC=02\sin A\cos B + \sin C \cos B + \sin B\cos C = 0
2sinAcosB+sin(B+C)=02\sin A \cos B + \sin(B+C) = 0
Since A+B+C=πA + B + C = \pi, we have sin(B+C)=sinA\sin(B+C) = \sin A. Thus, the equation becomes 2sinAcosB+sinA=02\sin A \cos B + \sin A = 0. Because sinA0\sin A \neq 0, we can factor out sinA\sin A:
sinA(2cosB+1)=0\sin A(2\cos B + 1) = 0
From this, we get cosB=12\cos B = -\frac{1}{2}. As BB is an interior angle of a triangle, the value of BB is 2π3\boxed{\frac{2\pi}{3}}.

(Ⅱ) The area SS of the triangle can be expressed using the formula S=12acsinBS = \frac{1}{2}ac\sin B. By substituting B=2π3B = \frac{2\pi}{3} and a+c=4a+c=4, we have:
S=12a(4a)sin(2π3)S = \frac{1}{2}a(4-a)\sin\left(\frac{2\pi}{3}\right)
S=34(4aa2)S = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}(4a - a^2)
S=34[4(a2)2]S = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}[4 - (a-2)^2]
To maximize SS, we want to minimize (a2)2(a-2)^2, which occurs when a=2a=2 because 0<a<40 < a < 4. Thus, the maximum value of SS is 3\boxed{\sqrt{3}}.

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