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2004 AIME I Problems/Problem 4

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Problem

A square has sides of length 2. Set S is the set of all line segments that have length 2 and whose endpoints are on adjacent sides of the square. The midpoints of the line segments in set S enclose a region whose area to the nearest hundredth is k. Find 100k.

Solution

Without loss of generality, let (0,0), (2,0), (0,2), and (2,2) be the vertices of the square. Suppose the endpoints of the segment lie on the two sides of the square determined by the vertex (0,0). Let the two endpoints of the segment have coordinates (x,0) and (0,y). Because the segment has length 2, x^2+y^2=4. Using the midpoint formula, we find that the midpoint of the segment has coordinates \left(\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}\right). Let d be the distance from (0,0) to \left(\frac{x}{2},\frac{y}{2}\right). Using the distance formula we see that d=\sqrt{\left(\frac{x}{2}\right)^2+\left(\frac{y}{2}\right)^2}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{4}\left(x^2+y^2\right)}=\sqrt{\frac{1}{4}(4)}=1. Thus the midpoints lying on the sides determined by vertex (0,0) form a quarter-circle with radius 1.

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The set of all midpoints forms a quarter circle at each corner of the square. The area enclosed by all of the midpoints is 4-4\cdot \left(\frac{\pi}{4}\right)=4-\pi \approx .86 to the nearest hundredth. Thus 100\cdot k=086

See also

2004 AIME I (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 3
Followed by
Problem 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
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.
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