2002 AIME II Problems/Problem 14
Problem
The perimeter of triangle is
, and the angle
is a right angle. A circle of radius
with center
on
is drawn so that it is tangent to
and
. Given that
where
and
are relatively prime positive integers, find
.
Solution 1
Let the circle intersect at
. Then note
and
are similar. Also note that
by power of a point. Using the fact that the ratio of corresponding sides in similar triangles is equal to the ratio of their perimeters, we have
Solving,
. So the ratio of the side lengths of the triangles is 2. Therefore,
so
and
Substituting for
, we see that
, so
and the answer is
.
Solution 2
Reflect triangle across line
, creating an isoceles triangle. Let
be the distance from the top of the circle to point
, with
as
. Given the perimeter is 152, subtracting the altitude yields the semiperimeter
of the isoceles triangle, as
. The area of the isoceles triangle is:
Now use similarity, draw perpendicular from to
, name the new point
. Triangle
is similar to triangle
, by AA Similarity. Equating the legs, we get:
Solving for , it yields
.
The cancels, yielding a quadratic. Solving yields
.
Add
to find
, yielding
or
.
Solution 3
Let the foot of the perpendicular from to
be
now
Also let
and
This means that
, since
is on the angle bisector of
We have that so
However , so
We now use the fact that the perimeter of is
:
This quadratic factors as
so
, and
See also
2002 AIME II (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 13 |
Followed by Problem 15 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
All AIME Problems and Solutions |
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