SMT 2013

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

1. In triangle ABC, AC = 7. D lies on AB such that AD = BD = CD = 5. Find BC.

Answer: 51
Solution: Let mA = x and mB = y. Note that we have two pairs of isosceles triangles, so
mA = mACD and mB = mBCD. Since mACD + mBCD = mACB, we have
180 = mA + mB + mACB = 2x + 2y = mACB = x + y = 90 .
Since ACB is right, we can use the Pythagorean Theorem to compute BC as
p

102 72 = 51 .
For a shortcut, note that D is the circumcenter of ABC and lies on the triangle itself, so it must
lie opposite a right angle.
2. What is the perimeter of a rectangle of area 32 inscribed in a circle of radius 4?

Answer: 16 2

Solution: It turns out the rectangle is actually a square with side length 4 2, and hence has

perimeter 16 2 .
3. Robin has obtained a circular pizza with radius 2. However, being rebellious, instead of slicing
the pizza radially, he decides to slice the pizza into 4 strips of equal width both vertically and
horizontally. What is the area of the smallest piece of pizza?

Answer: 3 + 1 3
Solution 1: Let O be the center of the circle, and let A and B lie on the circle such that
mAOB = 90 . Call M the midpoint of AO and N the midpoint of BO. Let C lie on minor
arc AB such that CM OA, and let D lie on minor arc AB such that DN OB. Finally,
let CM and DN intersect at E. Now, the problem is to find the area of the region bounded by
DE, EC, and minor arc CD.
Notice that ON = 1 and OD = 2, so ON D is a 30-60-90 right triangle. Since DN and AO are
parallel, mN DO = mAOD = 30 . We now see that the area of the region bounded by AM ,
M E, ED, and arc DA can be expressed as the sum of the areas of triangle ON D and sector
AOD minus the area of square M ON E, which evaluates to

1
22
3
1 3+
1=
+ 1.
2
12
2
3
Finally, let x denote the desired area. Then, the area of sector AOB is
!

3
22

1+2
+ 1 +x=
= x =
+1 3 .
2
3
4
3
Solution 2: When the pizza is sliced 4 times in both directions, the result is 4 unit squares,
8 congruent approximate quadrilaterals (one edge is curved), and 4 congruent approximate
triangles (again, one edge is curved). Call the area of an approximate quadrilateral x and an
approximate triangle y. Since all these pieces form a circle of radius 2, we get
8x + 4y = 4 4.

SMT 2013

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

Now, consider the long horizontal slice at the bottom of the pizza, consisting of 2 approximate
quadrilaterals and 2 approximate triangles. Define the endpoints of the slice to be A and B.
Define the center of the pizza to be C. Consider the sector of the pizza cut out by AC and BC.

This is one third of the pizza, as ACB = 120 , and ABC

= BAC = 30 . Therefore, the
area of the sector is 4/3 and the area of triangle ABC is 3. Hence, we get
2x + 2y =

4
3.
3

Therefore, we have the system

2x + y = 1
4
2x + 2y =
3.
3
Solving this system gives

3
x= 1+
3
2

y = + 1 3.
3
Therefore, the smallest piece of pizza has area

+1 3 .
3

4. ABCD is a regular tetrahedron with side length 1. Find the area of the cross section of ABCD
cut by the plane that passes through the midpoints of AB, AC, and CD.
Answer:

1
4

Solution: First, note that the plane also passes through the midpoint of BD by symmetry,
e.g. across the plane containing AD perpendicular to BC. Let M , N , O, and P denote the
midpoints of BA, AC, CD, and DB, respectively. M N = N O = OP = P M = 21 because they
are all midlines of faces of the tetrahedron. Hence, the cross section is a rhombus. Furthermore,
MO
= N P because both equal the distance between midpoints of opposite sides (alternatively,
this congruence can be demonstrated by rotating ABCD such that N and P coincide with the

2
1
previous locations of M and O). Hence, M N OP is a square, and its area is 12 =
.
4
5. In square ABCD with side length 2, let P and Q both be on side AB such that AP = BQ = 12 .
Let E be a point on the edge of the square that maximizes the angle P EQ. Find the area of
triangle P EQ.

Answer:

3
4

Solution: For any choice of E, we can draw the circumcircle of P EQ. Angle P EQ is inscribed
inside the minor arc of chord P Q, which is of constant length (it must always be the minor
arc because P EQ is clearly always acute). Therefore, maximizing mP EQ is equivalent to
maximizing the measure of minor arc P Q, which in turn is equivalent to minimizing the radius
of the circle.

SMT 2013

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

Hence, we wish to find the smallest circle that intersects ABCD at P , Q, and at least one other
point. A circle of radius 1 can be tangent to sides BC and AD, while a circle with a smaller
radius clearly cannot touch any of the sides of the square. Hence, it is this circle we desire. Let

this circle be centered at O. OP Q is equilateral, so the height from O to P Q has length 23 .

This is also the height from the points of tangency on AD or BC to P Q. E may be either one

3
.
of these points, resulting in P EQ having area
4
6. ABCD is a rectangle with AB = CD = 2. A circle centered at O is tangent to BC, CD, and
AD (and hence has radius 1). Another circle, centered at P , is tangent to circle O at point T
and is also tangent to AB and BC. If line AT is tangent to both circles at T , find the radius of
circle P .
Answer:

3 5
2

Solution: Let the radius of circle P be r. Draw OP , noting that it is perpendicular to AT at

T . Let Q be the point of tangency between circle O and AD. If we drop a perpendicular from
P to meet OQ (extended) at R, then we know that OR = 1 r and OP = 1 + r, so by the

Pythagorean theorem, P R = 2 r. Thus, AQ = 2 r + r.

Let AB be tangent to P at U . By the Two-Tangent Theorem, AQ
= AT
= AU . Since U B = r,
we have

3 5
.
(2 r + r) + r = 2 = r =
2

7. ABCD is a square such that AB lies on the line y = x + 4 and points C and D lie on the graph
of parabola y 2 = x. Compute the sum of all possible areas of ABCD.
Answer: 68
Solution 1: First, shift the coordinate system so that the line goes through the origin and the
parabola is now at x = y 2 + 4.
|b|
Let CD lie on the line y = x + b. The distance between lines AB and CD is therefore
, which
2
can be proven by drawing 45-45-90 triangles. This distance is precisely AD = BC, so CD must
also have this length. Hence, the y-coordinates of C and D must have difference |b|
2 , again by
45-45-90 triangles.

Substituting x = y b to x = y 2 + 4 yields y 2 y + (b + 4) = 0. The difference between two

p
2
solutions is 1 4(b + 4) = |b|
2 , which simplifies to b + 16b + 60 = 0. The area of ABCD is
1 2
1
2 b , so we want 2 times the square of the possible values of b as our answer. We can compute
2
this as 16 260
= 68 .
2
Solution 2: Let C = (y12 , y1 ) and D = (y22 , y2 ), and assume without loss of generality that
the points are positioned such that y1 < y2 . Viewing this in the complex plane, we have
B C = (D C)i, so B = (y12 + y1 y2 , y22 y12 + y1 ). Plugging this into y = x + 4 gives us
y2
y22 2y12 + y2 4 = 0. Since AB k DC, the slope of DC is 1, so yy21 y
2 = 1 = y1 + y2 = 1.
1
2
Solving this system ofequationsgives us two pairs of solutions for (y1 , y2 ), namely (1, 2) and
(2, 3). These give 18 and 50 for CD, respectively, so the sum of all possible areas is
18 + 50 = 68 .
8. Let equilateral triangle ABC with side length 6 be inscribed in a circle and let P be on arc AC
such that AP P C = 10. Find the length of BP .

SMT 2013

Answer:

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

46

Solution: Note that BP = AP + CP . To prove this, form equilateral triangle AP D where D

lies on the extension of CP . Then triangle ACD is congruent to triangle ABP (and can obtained
by rotating triangle ABP by 60 degrees). Therefore, CD = AP + P C = BP . Alternatively,
apply Ptolemys Theorem to cyclic quadrilateral ABCP , which gives BP = AP + CP directly.
Next, apply the Law of Cosines on triangle AP C to deduce that AP 2 + CP 2 + AP CP = 62
(we have used the fact that mAP C = 120 , since it is opposite the 60 angle ABC). Hence,

(AP + CP )2 = 36 + 10 so BP = AP + CP = 46 .
9. In tetrahedron ABCD, AB = 4, CD = 7, and AC = AD = BC = BD = 5. Let IA , IB , IC ,
and ID denote the incenters of the faces opposite vertices A, B, C, and D, respecitvely. It is
provable that AIA intersects BIB at a point X, and CIC intersects DID at a point Y . Compute
XY .

Answer:

35
72

Solution 1: First, we make some preliminary observations. Let M be the midpoint of AB and
N be the midpoint of CD. We see that IA and IB lie on isosceles triangle ABN , since AN and
BN are angle bisectors of CAD and CBD, respectively. This shows that AIA and BIB are
coplanar, so they intersect. Moreover, by symmetry, X must lie on M N . Analogous facts hold
for triangle CDM and its associated points: in particular, Y also lies on M N .
Now, we use mass points to determine the location of X on M N 1 . Let an ordered pair (m, P )
denote that point P has mass m. Assume that masses a, b, c, and d at points A, B, C, and D,
respectively, are placed such that their sum lies at X (that is, let X be our fulcrum).
Since
(a + b + c + d, X) = (a, A) + ((b, B) + (c, C) + (d, D)),
it must be that
(b, B) + (c, C) + (d, D) = (b + c + d, IA ),
since IA is the unique point in the plane of BCD and collinear with X and A. This implies that
c = d, since now (c, C) + (d, D) must lie at the midpoint of CD, i.e. N . Now, since X lies on
M N , we know (a, A) + (b, B) must lie at M , so a = b as well. Finally, since IA lies on the angle
bisector of BCD, we know that if CIA is extended to intersect BD at a point Z, then
BZ
BC
5
b
7
=
=
=
= .
ZD
CD
7
d
5
Hence, a suitable mass assignment is a = b = 7, c = d = 5. Now, we have that
((7, A) + (7, B)) + ((5, C) + (5, D)) = (14, M ) + (10, N )
is at X, and so M X =

5
12 M N .

By similar logic, when we pick Y to be the fulcrum, we get masses a = b = 5, c = d = 4, and so

M Y = 94 M N . Hence,
XY
4
5
1
=
= .
MN
9 12
36
1

For a rigorous introduction to mass points, we direct the interested reader to http://www.computing-wisdom.
com/jstor/center_of_mass.pdf

SMT 2013

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

Finally, to compute M N , we start by noting that

p

CM = 52 22 = 21
by the Pythagorean Theorem in right triangle AM C. Now, looking at right triangle M N C, we
get
s

 2
7
35
35
M N = 21
=
= XY =
.
2
2
72
Solution 2: We present a variant of the first solution that does not require using mass points in
three dimensions. Instead, we will use mass points on the triangle ABN . Let X be our fulcrum.
A
Recall that AXIA are colinear. We need to compute IBI
, which we can do by the Angle
AN
CB
A
Bisector Theorem in triangle BCD. Since CXA bisects angle BCD, we have IBI
= CN
= 10
7 .
AN
Therefore, we can assign a mass of 10 to N and 7 to A. By symmetry, B also gets a mass of 7,
10
5
MY
4
X
so M
M N = 7+7+10 = 12 , as before. This computation extends to get M N = 9 .
Using these ratios, the final answer can be computed as in Solution 1.
10. Let triangle ABC have side lengths AB = 16, BC = 20, AC = 26. Let ACDE, ABF G, and
BCHI be squares that are entirely outside of triangle ABC. Let J be the midpoint of EH, K
be the midpoint of DG, and L the midpoint of AC. Find the area of triangle JKL.
Answer:

1023
4

Solution: We first prove a lemma. Let M be the midpoint of AB and N be the midpoint of

EF . Then KLM N is a square. We do this using vectors. Let v1 = CA, v2 = BA, u1 = CD,

and u2 = BF . We first calculate w = EF . Then w = (v1 v2 + u2 ) (u1 + v1 ) = u2 v2 u1 .

Now, we calculate CN in two different ways. First, CN = u1 +v1 + w2 = v1 + u22 + u21 v22 . Second,

1
CN = v1 v22 + M N . Equating these two gives us M N = u2 +u
2 . Taking the dot product of M N

2 u1
with CB = v1 v2 gives v1 u2 v
, which is zero. In addition, note that u1 , u2 are rotations of
2
v1 , v2 such that the angle between v1 and v2 is supplementary to the angle between u1 and u2 .

2
Hence, the length of M N is the same as the length of LM = v1 v
2 . A similar argument on LK
gives the same result, and hence KLM N is a square.
Now, we see that LK = 21 BC. Symmetrically, LJ = 21 AB. Furthermore, angle KLJ is supplementary to angle ABC. Hence, the area of triangle JKL is a quarter of the area of triangle
ABC, and so is the area of a triangle with side lengths half those of ABCs. The area of JKL
may thus be calculated with Herons formula:
r

31 15 11 5
5 1023

=
.
2 2 2 2
4

SMT 2013

Geometry Test Solutions

February 2, 2013

I
F

u2

w
H
B
G
M

v2
v1
N

C
J
K

u1
E