Art of Problem Solving
AoPS Online
Math texts, online classes, and more
for students in grades 5-12.
Visit AoPS Online ‚
Books for Grades 5-12 Online Courses
Beast Academy
Engaging math books and online learning
for students ages 6-13.
Visit Beast Academy ‚
Books for Ages 6-13 Beast Academy Online
AoPS Academy
Small live classes for advanced math
and language arts learners in grades 2-12.
Visit AoPS Academy ‚
Find a Physical Campus Visit the Virtual Campus

2018 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 24

Revision as of 14:03, 6 November 2020 by Yelly314 (talk | contribs) (→‎Note)

Problem 24

In the cube $ABCDEFGH$ with opposite vertices $C$ and $E,$ $J$ and $I$ are the midpoints of segments $\overline{FB}$ and $\overline{HD},$ respectively. Let $R$ be the ratio of the area of the cross-section $EJCI$ to the area of one of the faces of the cube. What is $R^2?$

[asy] size(6cm); pair A,B,C,D,EE,F,G,H,I,J; C = (0,0); B = (-1,1); D = (2,0.5); A = B+D; G = (0,2); F = B+G; H = G+D; EE = G+B+D; I = (D+H)/2; J = (B+F)/2; filldraw(C--I--EE--J--cycle,lightgray,black); draw(C--D--H--EE--F--B--cycle); draw(G--F--G--C--G--H); draw(A--B,dashed); draw(A--EE,dashed); draw(A--D,dashed); dot(A); dot(B); dot(C); dot(D); dot(EE); dot(F); dot(G); dot(H); dot(I); dot(J); label("$A$",A,E); label("$B$",B,W); label("$C$",C,S); label("$D$",D,E); label("$E$",EE,N); label("$F$",F,W); label("$G$",G,N); label("$H$",H,E); label("$I$",I,E); label("$J$",J,W); [/asy]

$\textbf{(A) } \frac{5}{4} \qquad \textbf{(B) } \frac{4}{3} \qquad \textbf{(C) } \frac{3}{2} \qquad \textbf{(D) } \frac{25}{16} \qquad \textbf{(E) } \frac{9}{4}$

Solution

Note that $EJCI$ is a rhombus by symmetry. Let the side length of the cube be $s$. By the Pythagorean theorem, $EC= s\sqrt 3$ and $JI= s\sqrt 2$. Since the area of a rhombus is half the product of its diagonals, the area of the cross section is $\frac{s^2\sqrt 6}{2}$. This gives $R = \frac{\sqrt 6}2$. Thus $R^2 = \boxed{\textbf{(C) } \frac{3}{2}}$

Note

2008 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 21 Question 23 was nearly identical to this question, except that in this question you have to look for the square of the area, not the actual area.

Video Solution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04pV_rZw8bg - Happytwin

Video Solution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji9_6XNxyIc ~ MathEx

See Also

2018 AMC 8 (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 23 		Followed by
Problem 25
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 AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png

Retrieved from "https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2018_AMC_8_Problems/Problem_24&oldid=136754"