Squares and Right Triangles.

Geometry Level 3

In the diagram above, right P Q D \triangle{PQD} with sides ( 3 , 4 , 5 ) (3,4,5) is inscribed in square A B C D ABCD . If the area A A of the red shaded regions is A = α β A = \dfrac{\alpha}{\beta} , where α \alpha and β \beta are coprime positive integers, find α + β \alpha + \beta .


The answer is 171.

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1 solution

Rocco Dalto
Jan 19, 2021

θ + λ = 9 0 A P D P B Q 4 3 = a b b = 3 a 4 \theta + \lambda = 90^{\circ} \implies \triangle{APD} \sim \triangle{PBQ} \implies \dfrac{4}{3} = \dfrac{a}{b} \implies b = \dfrac{3a}{4}

a b = a 4 \implies a - b = \dfrac{a}{4}

Using the Pythagorean theorem on A P D 17 a 2 = 256 a = 16 17 \triangle{APD} \implies 17a^2 = 256 \implies a = \dfrac{16}{\sqrt{17}} \implies

A = a 2 6 = 256 17 6 = 154 17 = α β α + β = 171 A = a^2 - 6 = \dfrac{256}{17} - 6 = \dfrac{154}{17} = \dfrac{\alpha}{\beta} \implies \alpha + \beta = \boxed{171} .

Nice! That's exactly how I did it!

Veselin Dimov - 4 months, 3 weeks ago

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