AMC 10 Step by Step

2022 AMC 10B Problem 16

P16-20~5 minPrint

The diagram below shows a rectangle with side lengths 44 and 88 and a square with side length 55 . Three vertices of the square lie on three different sides of the rectangle, as shown. What is the area of the region inside both the square and the rectangle?

figure

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Key insight

The square's side from the bottom edge to the top edge is 5 long and rises 4, so it is tilted like a 3-4-5 triangle. Subtract the corner sticking out.

Solution

The overlap is the whole square minus the small triangle that sticks out of the top of the rectangle. So first pin down exactly where the square sits.

1. Set up coordinates. Put the rectangle's bottom-left corner at (0,0)(0, 0) and its top-right corner at (8,4)(8, 4). Call the square's corners PP (on the bottom side), QQ (on the right side), RR (on the top side) and TT (the corner outside, above the rectangle).
2. The side PRPR. It is 55 long and goes from the bottom side up to the top side, so it rises 44. By the Pythagorean theorem it moves 52−42=3\sqrt{5^2 - 4^2} = 3 sideways. From the figure it goes left, so RR is 33 left and 44 up from PP. (The figure draws this right triangle, with a vertical line from RR down to the bottom side.)
3. The side PQPQ. It is the side PRPR turned a quarter turn, so the 33 and the 44 swap: QQ is 44 right and 33 up from PP.
4. Find the points. QQ is on the right side, where x=8x = 8, so PP is at x=8−4=4x = 8 - 4 = 4. That gives
P=(4,0),Q=(8,3),R=(1,4).P = (4, 0),\quad Q = (8, 3),\quad R = (1, 4).
TT is 33 left and 44 up from QQ, so T=(5,7)T = (5, 7).
5. The piece sticking out. Only the part above the line y=4y = 4 is outside the rectangle. It is a triangle with corners RR, TT, and the point UU where side QTQT crosses the top of the rectangle. It has a right angle at TT, because TT is a corner of the square, and the side RTRT is 55.
6. Its other leg, TUTU. The side RTRT goes from (1,4)(1, 4) to (5,7)(5, 7): 44 across and 33 up. So triangle RTURTU has the same shape as a 33-44-55 triangle lying on its long side: its right angle is at TT, and the leg TUTU is to the leg RTRT as 33 is to 44. So TU=34×RT=34×5=154TU = \frac34 \times RT = \frac34 \times 5 = \frac{15}{4}.
7. Area of the piece. 12×5×154=758\frac12 \times 5 \times \frac{15}{4} = \frac{75}{8}.
8. Overlap. 25−758=2008−758=1258=155825 - \frac{75}{8} = \frac{200}{8} - \frac{75}{8} = \frac{125}{8} = 15\frac58.

The answer is (D) 1558\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ 15\dfrac{5}{8}}.

Why this works

A square of side 55 that stretches across a rectangle of height 44 has to be tilted like a 33-44-55 triangle. Because neighbouring sides of a square are the same length and at right angles, knowing one side's "across and up" tells you the next side's too (the numbers swap). Once the square is placed, the overlap is simply the square minus the triangle poking out, and that triangle has the same 3:43 : 4 shape.

Alternative approach

Check step 6 with coordinates. Side QTQT goes from (8,3)(8, 3) to (5,7)(5, 7): 33 left for every 44 up. To rise from y=3y = 3 to y=4y = 4 it goes 34\frac34 left, so U=(294,4)U = \left(\frac{29}{4}, 4\right). Then the triangle RTURTU has a base RU=294−1=254RU = \frac{29}{4} - 1 = \frac{25}{4} along the top edge and a height of 7−4=37 - 4 = 3 above it, so its area is 12×254×3=758\frac12 \times \frac{25}{4} \times 3 = \frac{75}{8}, the same as before.

Concise solution

A shorter write-up, the way contest solutions are usually written. It may take a different route from the solution above.

Place the rectangle with corners (0,0)(0,0) and (8,4)(8,4). Call the square's vertices PP (on the bottom side), QQ (on the right side), RR (on the top side) and TT (outside), with PQPQ and PRPR the two sides meeting at PP.

Going from PP to QQ moves (u,v)(u, v) with u2+v2=25u^2 + v^2 = 25; since PRPR is PQPQ rotated 90∘90^\circ, going from PP to RR moves (−v,u)(-v, u). RR is on the top side, 44 units above PP, so u=4u = 4 and then v=3v = 3. Thus QQ is 44 right and 33 up from PP; since QQ is on the right side, P=(4,0)P = (4, 0), Q=(8,3)Q = (8, 3), R=(1,4)R = (1, 4) and T=Q+(R−P)=(5,7)T = Q + (R - P) = (5, 7).

The only part of the square outside the rectangle is the piece above the top side y=4y = 4: triangle RTURTU, where UU is where side QTQT crosses y=4y = 4. This triangle has a right angle at TT (a corner of the square) and RT=5RT = 5. Side RTRT has slope 34\frac34, so ∠TRU\angle TRU has tangent 34\frac34 and
TU=RT⋅tan⁡∠TRU=5⋅34=154.TU = RT \cdot \tan\angle TRU = 5 \cdot \tfrac34 = \tfrac{15}{4}.
Its area is 12⋅5⋅154=758\frac12 \cdot 5 \cdot \frac{15}{4} = \frac{75}{8}.

The overlap is therefore 25−758=1258=155825 - \frac{75}{8} = \frac{125}{8} = 15\frac58.

The answer is (D) 1558\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ 15\dfrac{5}{8}}.

Review in the AoPS books

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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.