AoPSWiki
Want to learn how to tackle those tough MATHCOUNTS and AMC counting and probability problems? Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Counting & Probability by David Patrick.
Personal tools

2003 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 12

From AoPSWiki

Problem

A point is randomly picked from inside the rectangle with vertices , , , and . What is the probability that ?

\mathrm{(A) \ } \frac{1}{8}\qquad \mathrm{(B) \ } \frac{1}{4}\qquad \mathrm{(C) \ } \frac{3}{8}\qquad \mathrm{(D) \ } \frac{1}{2}\qquad \mathrm{(E) \ } \frac{3}{4}

Solution

The rectangle has a width of and a height of .

The area of this rectangle is .

The line intersects the rectangle at and .

The area which is the right isosceles triangle with side length that has vertices at , , and .

The area of this triangle is \frac{1}{2}\cdot1^{2}=\frac{1}{2}

Therefore, the probability that is \frac{\frac{1}{2}}{4}=\frac{1}{8} \Rightarrow A

See Also

2003 AMC 10A (Problems)
Preceded by
Problem 11
Followed by
Problem 13
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
Support local problem solving programs by contributing to the Art of Problem Solving Foundation.
Click here for more information about the Foundation.
© Copyright 2008 AoPS Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. • FoundationPrivacyContact Us