Difference between revisions of "2012 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 14"

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== Problem ==
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Two equilateral triangles are contained in square whose side length is <math>2\sqrt 3</math>. The bases of these triangles are the opposite side of the square, and their intersection is a rhombus. What is the area of the rhombus?
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<math>
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\text{(A) } \frac{3}{2}
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\qquad
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\text{(B) } \sqrt 3
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\qquad
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\text{(C) } 2\sqrt 2 -  1
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\qquad
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\text{(D) } 8\sqrt 3 - 12
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\qquad
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\text{(E)}  \frac{4\sqrt 3}{3}
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</math>
 
==Solution==
 
==Solution==
 
[[File:2012_AMC-10B-14.jpg‎]]
 
[[File:2012_AMC-10B-14.jpg‎]]

Revision as of 20:20, 8 February 2014

Problem

Two equilateral triangles are contained in square whose side length is $2\sqrt 3$. The bases of these triangles are the opposite side of the square, and their intersection is a rhombus. What is the area of the rhombus?

$\text{(A) } \frac{3}{2} \qquad \text{(B) } \sqrt 3 \qquad \text{(C) } 2\sqrt 2 -   1  \qquad \text{(D) } 8\sqrt 3 - 12 \qquad \text{(E)}  \frac{4\sqrt 3}{3}$

Solution

2012 AMC-10B-14.jpg

Observe that the rhombus is made up of two congruent equilateral triangles with side length equal to GF. Since AE has length $\sqrt{3}$ and triangle AEF is a 30-60-90 triangle, it follows that EF has length 1. By symmetry, HG also has length 1. Thus GF has length $2\sqrt{3} - 2$. The formula for the area of an equilateral triangle of length s is $\frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}s^2$. It follows that the area of the rhombus is:

$2\times\frac{\sqrt{3}}{4}(2\sqrt{3}-2)^2 = 8\sqrt{3} - 12$

Thus, answer choice D is correct.

See Also

2012 AMC 10B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 13
Followed by
Problem 15
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

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