Simple fractal area

Geometry Level 3

The figure shows an infinite sequence of inscribed circles and squares where the largest square has a side of 2 units.

If the area shaded in blue can be expressed as A B π A-B\pi , find A + B A+B .


The answer is 10.

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2 solutions

Gabriel Chacón
Dec 23, 2018

The four largest blue corners have an area which is the result of subtracting the areas of the largest square and the largest circle: 2 2 π 1 2 = 4 π 2^2-\pi \cdot1^2=4-\pi . The next square in the sequence has an area which is one-half of the largest square since its side is diminished by a factor of 2 2 \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2} . The area of its four blue corners is then ( 2 2 ) 2 = 1 2 \left(\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}\right)^2=\frac{1}{2} the area of the four largest, and this ratio is the same for every step in the sequence.

The total area is the sum of the infinite terms of a geometric progression of ratio r = 1 2 r=\frac{1}{2} and a 1 = 4 π a_1=4-\pi :

S = a 1 1 r = 4 π 1 1 2 = 8 2 π S_{\infty}=\dfrac{a_1}{1-r}=\dfrac{4-\pi}{1-\frac{1}{2}}=8-2\pi

So the answer is A = 8 , B = 2 A=8,B=2 and A + B = 10 A+B=\boxed{10}

Hassan Abdulla
Dec 31, 2018

A 1 = the blue shaded area under the biggest square A 2 = the blue shaded area under the second square L 1 = the side length of the biggest square = 2 L 2 = the side length of the second square = 2 A 2 = A 1 the area of the largest four blue corners A 2 = A 1 ( 4 π ) A 1 A 2 = ( L 1 L 2 ) 2 A 1 A 1 ( 4 π ) = ( 2 2 ) 2 A 1 A 1 ( 4 π ) = 2 A 1 = 8 2 π \begin{aligned} A_1 &= \text{the blue shaded area under the biggest square} \\ A_2 &= \text{the blue shaded area under the second square} \\ L_1 &=\text{the side length of the biggest square}=2\\ L_2 &=\text{the side length of the second square}=\sqrt{2}\\ A_2 &= A_1 - \text{the area of the largest four blue corners} \\ A_2 &= A_1 - (4 - \pi) \\ \frac{A_1}{A_2} &=\left ( \frac{L_1}{L_2} \right )^2 \\ \frac{A_1}{A_1 - (4 - \pi)} &=\left ( \frac{2}{\sqrt{2}} \right )^2\\ \frac{A_1}{A_1 - (4 - \pi)} &=2\Rightarrow A_1=8-2\pi \end{aligned}

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