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2000 AMC 10 Problems/Problem 5

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Problem

Points M and N are the midpoints of sides PA and PB of \triangle PAB. As P moves along a line that is parallel to side AB, how many of the four quantities listed below change?

(a) the length of the segment MN

(b) the perimeter of \triangle PAB

(c) the area of \triangle PAB

(d) the area of trapezoid ABNM

draw((2,0)--(8,0)--(6,4)--cycle);draw((4,2)--(7,2));draw((1,4)--(9,4),Arrows);label("$A$",(2,0),SW);label("$B$...

\mathrm{(A)}\ 0 \qquad\mathrm{(B)}\ 1 \qquad\mathrm{(C)}\ 2 \qquad\mathrm{(D)}\ 3 \qquad\mathrm{(E)}\ 4

Solution

(a) Clearly AB does not change, and MN=\frac{1}{2}AB, so MN doesn't change either.

(b) Obviously, the perimeter changes.

(c) The area clearly doesn't change, as both the base AB and its corresponding height remain the same.

(d) The bases AB and MN do not change, and neither does the height, so the trapezoid remains the same.

Only 1 quantity changes, so the correct answer is \boxed{\text{B}}.

See Also

2000 AMC 10 (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 4
Followed by
Problem 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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