Coordinates from Triangle Constraints

Geometry Level 5

The following points are in the ( x , y , z ) (x,y,z) coordinate system:

O = ( O x , O y , O z ) = ( 0 , 0 , 0 ) A = ( A x , A y , A z ) = ( 1 , 1 , 1 ) B = ( B x , B y , B z ) = ( 1 , 2 , 1 ) C = ( C x , C y , C z ) = ( 2 , 0 , 1 ) D = ( D x , D y , D z ) = ( ? , ? , ? ) min ( D x , D y , D z ) > 0.1 \vec{O} = (O_x,O_y,O_z) = (0,0,0) \\ \vec{A} = (A_x,A_y,A_z) = (1,1,1) \\ \vec{B} = (B_x,B_y,B_z) = (-1,2,1) \\ \vec{C} = (C_x,C_y,C_z) = (2,0,1) \\ \vec{D} = (D_x,D_y,D_z) = (?,?,?) \\ \text{min}(D_x,D_y,D_z) > \, 0.1

The following triangle areas are given as contraints:

Area of D O A = 2 Area of D O B = 3 Area of D O C = 4 \text{Area of } DOA = 2 \\ \text{Area of } DOB = 3 \\ \text{Area of } DOC = 4

Determine the quantity 1000 ( D x + D y + D z ) \lfloor 1000 ( D_x + D_y + D_z) \rfloor , where \lfloor \cdot \rfloor denotes the "floor" function


The answer is 5080.

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1 solution

Mark Hennings
Mar 22, 2019

We need to solve the equations a × d = 4 b × d = 6 c × d = 8 |\mathbf{a}\times\mathbf{d}| \; = \; 4 \hspace{1cm}|\mathbf{b}\times\mathbf{d}| \; = \; 6 \hspace{1cm} |\mathbf{c}\times\mathbf{d}| \; =\; 8 where a = O A \mathbf{a} = \overrightarrow{OA} , b = O B \mathbf{b} = \overrightarrow{OB} , c = O C \mathbf{c} = \overrightarrow{OC} , d = O D \mathbf{d} = \overrightarrow{OD} . If we suppose that D D has coordinates ( x , y , z ) (x,y,z) , we are led to the equations 2 x 2 + 2 y 2 + 2 z 2 2 x y 2 x z 2 y z = 16 5 x 2 + 2 y 2 + 5 z 2 + 4 x y + 2 x z 4 y z = 36 x 2 + 5 y 2 + 4 z 2 4 x z = 64 \begin{aligned} 2x^2 + 2y^2 + 2z^2 - 2xy - 2xz - 2yz & = \; 16 \\ 5x^2 + 2y^2 + 5z^2 + 4xy + 2xz - 4yz & = \; 36 \\ x^2 + 5y^2 + 4z^2 - 4xz & = \; 64 \end{aligned} Solving these equations numerically, there are four real solutions, ( 0.876669 , 3.57361 , 0.629862 ) ( 0.876669 , 3.57361 , 0.629862 ) ( 0.0509774 , 2.077 , 3.28242 ) ( 0.0509774 , 2.077 , 3.28242 ) (-0.876669, -3.57361, -0.629862) \hspace{1cm} (0.876669, 3.57361, 0.629862) \hspace{1cm} (0.0509774, 2.077, 3.28242) \hspace{1cm} (-0.0509774, -2.077, -3.28242) and only the second of these satisfies the requirement that x , y , z > 0.1 x,y,z > 0.1 . Thus the answer is 1000 ( 0.876669 + 3.57361 + 0.629862 ) = 5080 \lfloor 1000(0.876669 + 3.57361 + 0.629862)\rfloor \; = \; \boxed{5080}

I went about this the same way, but you explained it much better than I would have.

I was really surprised that the final condition was needed - it's obvious from the algebra that there are multiple solutions with symmetry about the origin, but it definitely went against my geometric intuition!

By the way, there's a minor typo in your first set of equations - should be |c x d| = 8.

Chris Lewis - 2 years, 2 months ago

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Thanks for spotting the typo...

Mark Hennings - 2 years, 2 months ago

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