Circumscribed Circle

Geometry Level 3

Three circles of radius 5 5 are drawn so that each touches the other two. Find the radius R R of the outer circle that touches all of the three circles, as shown in the figure below. The radius R R can be expressed as a b + c \dfrac{a}{\sqrt{b}} + c for positive integers a , b a, b and c c , where b b is square-free. Enter a + b + c a + b + c


The answer is 18.

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2 solutions

Sathvik Acharya
Jan 4, 2021

As shown above, in O A F \triangle OAF , cos O A F = A F O A \cos \angle OAF=\frac{AF}{OA} cos 3 0 = 5 O A \implies \cos 30^{\circ}=\frac{5}{OA} \;\;\; O A = 5 cos 3 0 = 10 3 \;\;\;\;\;\;\;\implies OA=\frac{5}{\cos 30^{\circ}}=\frac{10}{\sqrt{3}} The radius of the larger circle is, R = O G = O A + A G = 10 3 + 5 \begin{aligned} R &=OG \\ &=OA+AG \\ &=\frac{10}{\sqrt{3}}+5 \end{aligned} Therefore, R = 10 3 + 5 a + b + c = 18 R=\dfrac{10}{\sqrt{3}}+5\implies a+b+c=\boxed{18}


Alternative: Applying the Kissing Circle Theorem , k 1 = k 2 = k 3 = 1 5 k_1=k_2=k_3=-\frac{1}{5} k 4 = k 1 + k 2 + k 3 + 2 k 1 k 2 + k 2 k 3 + k 3 k 1 = 3 5 + 2 3 5 \begin{aligned} \implies k_4 &=k_1+k_2+k_3+2\sqrt{k_1k_2+k_2k_3+k_3k_1} \\ &=-\frac{3}{5}+\frac{2\sqrt{3}}{5} \end{aligned} R = 1 k 4 = 5 2 3 3 = 10 3 + 15 3 = 10 3 3 + 5 \;\;\;\;\;\implies R=\frac{1}{k_4}=\frac{5}{2\sqrt{3}-3}=\frac{10\sqrt{3}+15}{3}=\frac{10\sqrt{3}}{3}+5

This was the exact question I got for state maths olympiad many years ago. I got it wrong because it used an indirect noun. Not calling the largest circle as circle, but a thing that's wearable on a wrist (this a challenge only because no picture was provided). Yeah, like bracelets vs bangles. We use the same word for that. I've only ever wear rubber bands around mine, so of course I took it as a malleable shape in answering the problem. I was disappointed, especially when a bangle problem is way easier than a bracelet one.

Saya Suka - 5 months, 1 week ago

Joint the centers of the three congruent circles with line segments and we get an equilateral A B C \triangle ABC with side length 10 10 . Let the center of the large circle be O O . We note that O O is also the centroid of A B C \triangle ABC . Let O N ON be a median of A B C \triangle ABC . Then O N = 3 2 × 10 = 5 3 ON = \dfrac {\sqrt 3}2 \times 10 = 5\sqrt 3 . For a triangle the distance between centroid and vertex is twice the distance between the centroid to the base. Then O C = 2 3 O N = 2 3 × 5 3 = 10 3 OC = \dfrac 23 ON = \dfrac 23 \times 5 \sqrt 3 = \dfrac {10}{\sqrt 3} . Since the radius of the big circle R = O P = O C + C P = 10 3 + 5 R = OP = OC+CP = \dfrac {10}{\sqrt 3} + 5 . Therefore a + b + c = 10 + 3 + 5 = 18 a+b+c = 10+3+5 = \boxed{18} .

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