A sheep is tied in a silo of radius
r
, by a rope long enough to reach the opposite end of the silo(see figure above). The total area available for the sheep to graze can be written as,
q p π 3 r 2 ,
where p and q are co-prime positive integers. What is the value of p + q ?
Note: The
involute
(of a circle), is the locus of points traced out by a taut string.
I found this problem in a book, and i thought i would share it.
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I did exactly in the same way.
How did d x become r ( s i n θ + θ c o s θ ) d θ ?
I got d x = r θ c o s θ d θ after getting the derivative of x = r ( c o s θ + θ s i n θ ) .
I have a similar approach but computed the area under the involute from 0 to Pi in polar coordinates and subtracted half the area of the circle, multiplied by 2 and added the area of semicircle described by the rope of length Pi*r in the third and fourth quadrant. Made a stupid mistake of adding 5 and 6 to 13
Half the area of the bigger circle is obviously accessible to the sheep.
Let's calculate the silo side.
sheep
When the rope touches the Silo till the angle θ as shown, the area element swept by sheep between θ and d θ would be 2 1 ( π − θ ) 2 × r 2 d θ . Integrate this over t h e t a from 0 to π and multiply by twice to get 3 1 π 3 r 2 . Add them to get 6 5 π 3 r 2 .
Hence the answer 1 1
How did you get 2 1 ( π − θ ) 2 r 2 d θ ?
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It can be shown that the involute of a circle can be parametrized in θ as.
x = r ( cos θ + θ sin θ ) y = r ( sin θ − θ cos θ )
The equation of the circle
x c = r c o s θ y c = r s i n θ
The area from 0 to π
A 1 = ∫ π 0 ( y − y c ) d x = ∫ π 0 ( r ( sin θ − θ cos θ ) − r s i n θ ) r ( s i n θ + θ c o s θ ) d θ = r 2 ∫ 0 π θ c o s θ s i n θ d θ + r 2 ∫ 0 π θ 2 c o s 2 θ d θ = − 4 π r 2 + 4 π r 2 + 6 1 π 3 = 6 1 π 3 r 2 ,
If we continue on the blue curve(see figure), after going an angle of π , it will move around a semicircle of radius r θ . thus
A 2 = 2 π ( r π ) 2 = 2 π 3 r 2
By symmetry, Area covered from 0 to π is equal to area covered from π to 2 π . Thus A 1 = A 3 .
A t o t = 2 A 1 + A 2 = 3 π 3 r 2 + 2 π 3 r 2 = 6 5 π 3 r 2
As wanted,