Is this a Maze?

Geometry Level 3

Starting at point E E , Sam constructs a straight sided spiral so that:

  1. All angles are 9 0 90^\circ .
  2. After starting with a line segment of length 1, each side is 1 unit longer than the previous side.

After completing the side with length 21. Sam's distance from his original point E E will be between which two numbers?

between 10 and 11 between 12 and 13 between 11 and 12 between 13 and 14 between 14 and 15

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3 solutions

Hana Wehbi
Jun 27, 2017

If we place the spiral on an xy-plane with point E at the origin, the coordinates of the key points reveal a pattern.

From the table we can see that after finishing a side having length that is a multiple of 4 4 , say 4 k 4k , we are at the point ( 2 k ; 2 k ) (-2k;-2k)

Therefore, after completing the side of length 20 20 , we are at the point ( 10 ; 10 ) (-10;-10) . All sides of length 4k travel toward the left.

We must now move vertically upward 21 21 units from this point ( 10 ; 10 ) . (-10;-10). Moving upward, this last side of length 21 21 will end at the point say X X with coordinates ( 10 ; 11 ) (-10; 11) .

This point is left 10 10 units and up 11 11 units from E ( 0 ; 0 ) E (0; 0) . Using the Pythagorean Theorem, ( E X ) 2 = 1 0 2 + 1 1 2 = 100 + 121 = 221 or E X = 221 = 14.866 ( EX)^2 = 10^2+11^2 = 100+121 = 221\ \text{or} \ EX =\sqrt{221} = 14.866

Shourya Pandey
Jun 30, 2017

In the y y direction, we have moved a total of 1 3 + 5 7 + 9 11 + 13 15 + 17 19 + 21 = 11 1 - 3 + 5 - 7 + 9 - 11 + 13 - 15 + 17 - 19 + 21 = 11 units. In the x x direction we have moved a total of 2 4 + 6 8 + 10 12 + 14 16 + 18 20 = 10 2-4+6-8+10-12+14-16+18-20 = -10 units. Thus the distance between the initial and final points is 1 0 2 + 1 1 2 = 221 \sqrt{10^2 + 11^2} = \sqrt{221} which lies between 14 = 196 14 = \sqrt{196} and 15 = 225 15 = \sqrt{225} .

Thank you for sharing your solution, got my vote too.

Hana Wehbi - 3 years, 11 months ago

In the complex plane, when we multiply a complex number (represented by a line vector) by the imaginary unit i = 1 i = \sqrt{-1} , it is equivalent to turning the line vector 9 0 90^\circ anticlockwise. For ease of calculation, let us consider the spiral to turn anticlockwise instead of clockwise. Then the first line vector is i i , the second 2 i 2 2i^2 , the third 3 i 3 3i^3 , ... the n n th line is n i n ni^n . Notice that the vector from the origin E E and the end-point of n n th line is a complex number z ( n ) z(n) . And z ( n ) z(n) is given by the sum of all the lines from the first to n n th as follows:

z ( n ) = k = 1 n k i k = i k = 1 n k i k 1 Replace i with x . = i k = 1 n k x k 1 = i x k = 1 n x k = i x ( x ( x n 1 ) x 1 ) = i ( n x n + 1 ( n + 1 ) x n + 1 ( x 1 ) 2 ) Put back x as i . = n i n + 1 + ( n + 1 ) i n 1 2 z ( 21 ) = 21 i 22 + 22 i 21 1 2 = 10 + 11 i 14.866 e 0.833 i \begin{aligned} z(n) & = \sum_{k=1}^n ki^k = i \sum_{k=1}^n k{\color{#3D99F6}i}^{k-1} & \small \color{#3D99F6} \text{Replace }i \text{ with }x. \\ & = i \sum_{k=1}^n k{\color{#3D99F6}x}^{k-1} = i \frac {\partial}{\partial x} \sum_{k=1}^n x^k \\ & = i \frac {\partial}{\partial x} \left(\frac{ x(x^n-1)}{x-1} \right) \\ & = i\left(\frac {nx^{n+1}-(n+1)x^n+1}{(x-1)^2}\right) & \small \color{#3D99F6} \text{Put back }x \text{ as }i.\\ & = \frac {-ni^{n+1}+(n+1) i^n -1}2 \\ \implies z(21) & = \frac {-21i^{22}+22 i^{21} -1}2 \\ & = 10+11i \approx 14.866 e^{0.833i} \end{aligned}

The final Sam's distance from E E is about 14.866, which is between 14 and 15 .


Inspiration: @Hana Nakkache 's solution to this problem.

Nice solution Sir. Thank you for sharing it.

Hana Wehbi - 3 years, 11 months ago

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