Circle in a rectangle

Geometry Level 1

The large rectangle below is divided into two congruent triangles by one of its diagonals. We inscribe a circle into one of the triangles, and then drop perpendiculars from the center of the circle to two sides of the large rectangle, as shown in the diagram.

Which has a larger area, the resulting blue rectangle or the remaining yellow hexagon?

The blue rectangle The yellow hexagon They are equal It depends on the dimensions of the large rectangle

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5 solutions

Áron Bán-Szabó
Jun 27, 2017

We drop perpendiculars from O O the diagonal. Then A F E = O F G \angle AFE=\angle OFG and A E F = F G O = 90 ° \angle AEF=\angle FGO=90° . Since O G OG is a radius of the circle, and A E = O X = O G AE=OX=OG , the A E F AEF and F G O FGO triangles are coincident. Similarly the O G H OGH , I H C IHC triangles are coincident too. So [ O I D E ] = [ A C D ] = 1 2 [ A B C D ] [OIDE]=[ACD]=\dfrac{1}{2}[ABCD] .

So the two area is equal.

And what about the area of the other part of the blue region and the other part of the yellow region? Regards, David

David Fairer - 3 years, 6 months ago

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Oh, I see. You have noted that the 2 areas of the congruent triangles

David Fairer - 3 years, 6 months ago
Ahmad Saad
Jun 27, 2017

Marta Reece
Jun 27, 2017

If we set the base of the rectangle to be a a and the height as 1 1 , from Heron's formula, the radius of the circle will be R = a 1 + a + 1 + a 2 R=\dfrac a{1+a+\sqrt{1+a^2}}

The area of the rectangle will be A \color{#3D99F6} A_{\square} = ( 1 R ) ( a R ) =(1-R)(a-R)

And the yellow area will become A h e x \color{#CEBB00} A_{hex} = a R + R R 2 =aR+R-R^2

Their difference A = A A=\color{#3D99F6} A_{\square} A h e x -\color{#CEBB00} A_{hex} = a 2 a R 2 R + 2 R 2 =a-2aR-2R+2R^2

A = 1 ( 1 + a + 1 + a 2 ) 2 ( a ( 1 + a + 1 + a 2 ) 2 2 a 2 ( 1 + a + 1 + a 2 ) 2 a ( 1 + a + 1 + a 2 ) + 2 a 2 ) = 0 A=\dfrac 1{(1+a+\sqrt{1+a^2})^2}\left(a(1+a+\sqrt{1+a^2})^2-2a^2(1+a+\sqrt{1+a^2})-2a(1+a+\sqrt{1+a^2})+2a^2\right)=0

Consider a 3 × 4 3 \times 4 rectangle.

Auro Light
Sep 19, 2017

Measuring diagonal length by two methods and equating them also provides the solution.
Diagonal length = sum of lengths of two tangents = (a-r) + (b-r), where a and b are side lengths of rectangle and r is radius.
Diagonal length is also √(a^2+b^2).
Squaring and equating the two gives,.
(a-r)^2 + (b-r)^2 + 2(a-r)(b-r) = a^2 + b^2.
2(a-r)(b-r) = {a^2-(a-r)^2} + {b^2-(b-r)^2}.
= r(2a-r) + r(2b-r) = 2r(a+b-r).
Or, (a - r)(b - r) = r(a + b - r).
But LHS is equal to Blue area and RHS is equal to Yellow area.
So, Blue area = Yellow area





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