2008 AMC 10A Problem 19
Rectangle lies in a plane with and . The rectangle is rotated clockwise about , then rotated clockwise about the point moved to after the first rotation. What is the length of the path traveled by point ?
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Key insight
Each turn moves P along a quarter circle. Its radius is the diagonal PR, root 40, for the first turn and the side PS = 6 for the second.
Solution
1. When a shape turns around a point, every other point of the shape moves along a quarter of a circle centered at that point. The radius is the point's distance from the pivot. A quarter circle of radius has length
2. First turn, around . In rectangle , and are opposite corners, so is the diagonal. By the Pythagorean theorem,
So travels .
3. Second turn, around the new position of . Turning does not stretch the rectangle, so is still away from . So travels .
4. Add the two arcs:
The answer is .
Why this works
Turning a shape moves each point along a circle around the pivot, and the radius is simply that point's distance from the pivot. Distances inside the rectangle never change, so you only need two lengths: to for the first turn and to for the second. No coordinates or drawings of the new positions are needed.
Concise solution
A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.
Under a rotation of about a point , any point travels a quarter of a circle of radius , an arc of length .
First rotation, about . In rectangle the vertices and are opposite, so is the diagonal:
travels .
Second rotation, about the new position of . Rotations preserve distances within the rectangle, so is still from . travels .
Total path length: .
The answer is .
Review in the AoPS books
- Introduction to Geometry, Chapter 16: The More Things Change. . . (§16.1, §16.2, §16.3, §16.4)
- Introduction to Geometry, Chapter 11: Circles
- Introduction to Geometry, Chapter 4: Perimeter and Area (§4.2)
- Introduction to Geometry, Chapter 12: Circles and Angles
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Problem © Mathematical Association of America (MAA), American Mathematics Competitions. Reproduced for non-commercial educational use. Solution and commentary are original to this site.