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1986 AJHSME Problems/Problem 23

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Problem

The large circle has diameter \text{AC}. The two small circles have their centers on \text{AC} and just touch at \text{O}, the center of the large circle. If each small circle has radius 1, what is the value of the ratio of the area of the shaded region to the area of one of the small circles?

pair A=(-2,0), O=origin, C=(2,0);path X=Arc(O,2,0,180), Y=Arc((-1,0),1,180,0), Z=Arc((1,0),1,180,0), M=X..Y..Z..cycle;filldra...

\text{(A)}\ \text{between }\frac{1}{2}\text{ and 1} \qquad \text{(B)}\ 1 \qquad \text{(C)}\ \text{between 1 and }\frac{3}{2}

\text{(D)}\ \text{between }\frac{3}{2}\text{ and 2} \qquad \text{(E)}\ \text{cannot be determined from the information given}

Solution

The small circle has radius 1, thus its area is \pi.

The large circle has radius 2, thus its area is 4\pi.

The area of the semicircle above AC is then 2\pi.

The part that is not shaded are two small semicircles. Together, these form one small circle, hence their total area is \pi. This means that the area of the shaded part is 2\pi-\pi=\pi. This is equal to the area of a small circle, hence the correct answer is \boxed{\text{(B)}\ 1}.

See Also

1986 AJHSME (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 22
Followed by
Problem 24
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