In the diagram, regular hexagon
has sides of length
. Using
,
and
as
centers, portions of circles with radius
are
drawn outside the hexagon. Using
,
and
as centers, portions of circles with radius
are drawn inside the hexagon. These six
circular arcs join together to form a curve.
Determine the area of the shaded region, both red and green, enclosed by this curve.
Problem and Image: courtesy waterloo university
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A H = area of the hexagon
A R = area of the red region
A W = area of the white region inside the hexagon
From the figure, we can see that A = A H − A W + A R .
Solving for the area of the hexagon
A H = 6 ( a r e a o f o n e e q u i l a t e r a l t r i a n g l e )
A H = 6 ( 0 . 5 ) ( 2 2 ) ( 2 3 ) = 6 3
Solving for the area of the white region inside the hexagon
A W = 3 ( 3 6 0 1 2 0 ) ( π ) ( 1 2 ) = π
Solving for the area of the red region
A R = 3 ( 3 6 0 2 4 0 ) ( π ) ( 1 2 ) = 2 π
Solving for the area of the shaded region enclosed by the curve
A = A H − A W + A R
A = 6 3 − π + 2 π = 6 3 + π