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2002 AIME II Problems/Problem 2

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Problem

Three vertices of a cube are $P=(7,12,10)$ , $Q=(8,8,1)$ , and $R=(11,3,9)$ . What is the surface area of the cube?

Solution

$PQ=\sqrt{(8-7)^2+(8-12)^2+(1-10)^2}=\sqrt{98}$

$PR=\sqrt{(11-7)^2+(3-12)^2+(9-10)^2}=\sqrt{98}$

$QR=\sqrt{(11-8)^2+(3-8)^2+(9-1)^2}=\sqrt{98}$

So, $PQR$ is an equilateral triangle. Let the side of the cube be $a$ .

$a\sqrt{2}=\sqrt{98}$

So, $a=7$ , and hence the surface area= $6a^2=294$ .

See also

2002 AIME II (Problems • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 1	Followed by Problem 3
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15

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