2022 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 1

Problem

The Math Team designed a logo shaped like a multiplication symbol, shown below on a grid of 1-inch squares. What is the area of the logo in square inches?

usepackage("mathptmx");
defaultpen(linewidth(0.5));
size(5cm);
defaultpen(fontsize(14pt));
label("$\textbf{Math}$", (2.1,3.7)--(3.9,3.7));
label("$\textbf{Team}$", (2.1,3)--(3.9,3));
filldraw((1,2)--(2,1)--(3,2)--(4,1)--(5,2)--(4,3)--(5,4)--(4,5)--(3,4)--(2,5)--(1,4)--(2,3)--(1,2)--cycle, mediumgray*0.5 + lightgray*0.5);

draw((0,0)--(6,0), gray);
draw((0,1)--(6,1), gray);
draw((0,2)--(6,2), gray);
draw((0,3)--(6,3), gray);
draw((0,4)--(6,4), gray);
draw((0,5)--(6,5), gray);
draw((0,6)--(6,6), gray);

draw((0,0)--(0,6), gray);
draw((1,0)--(1,6), gray);
draw((2,0)--(2,6), gray);
draw((3,0)--(3,6), gray);
draw((4,0)--(4,6), gray);
draw((5,0)--(5,6), gray);
draw((6,0)--(6,6), gray);
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Solution 1

Draw the following four lines as shown:

We see these lines split the figure into five squares with side length . Thus, the area is .

~pog ~wamofan

Solution 2

We can apply Pick's Theorem: There are lattice points in the interior and lattice points on the boundary of the figure. As a result, the area is .

~MathFun1000

Solution 3

Notice that the area of the figure is equal to the area of the square subtracted by the triangles that are half the area of each square, which is . The total area of the triangles not in the figure is , so the answer is .

~hh99754539

See Also

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