Triangle A B C has sides A B = 9 , B C = 5 3 and A C = 1 2 . Points A = P 0 , P 1 , P 2 , … , P 2 4 5 0 = B are on the segment A B with P k between P k − 1 and P k + 1 for k = 1 , 2 , … , 2 4 4 9 , and points A = Q 0 , Q 1 , Q 2 , … , Q 2 4 5 0 = C for k = 1 , 2 , … , 2 4 4 9 . Furthermore, each segment P k Q k , k = 1 , 2 , … , 2 4 4 9 , is parallel to B C . The segments cut the triangle into 2 4 5 0 regions, consisting of 2 4 4 9 trapezoids and 1 triangle. Each of the 2 4 5 0 regions have the same area. Find the number of segments P k Q k , k = 1 , 2 , … , 2 4 5 0 , that have rational length.
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Each segment is the base of a triangle T k = A P k Q k that is similar to A B C . The area of T k equals 2 4 5 0 k times the area of A B C , so the length P k Q k equals 2 4 5 0 k times B C . This is 2 4 5 0 k ⋅ 5 3 = 7 1 2 3 k . This is rational if and only if 3 k / 2 is a square, which happens if and only if k = 6 n 2 for some n , where 1 ≤ k ≤ 2 4 5 0 . This inequality is satisfied for n = 1 , 2 , … , 2 0 , so the answer is 2 0 .