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

1988 AIME Problems/Problem 12

Revision as of 13:41, 30 December 2018 by Dchenmathcounts (talk | contribs)

Problem

Let $P$ be an interior point of triangle $ABC$ and extend lines from the vertices through $P$ to the opposite sides. Let $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ denote the lengths of the segments indicated in the figure. Find the product $abc$ if $a + b + c = 43$ and $d = 3$.

1988 AIME-12.png

Solution 1

Call the cevians AD, BE, and CF. Using area ratios ($\triangle PBC$ and $\triangle ABC$ have the same base), we have:

$\frac {d}{a + d} = \frac {[PBC]}{[ABC]}$

Similarily, $\frac {d}{b + d} = \frac {[PCA]}{[ABC]}$ and $\frac {d}{c + d} = \frac {[PAB]}{[ABC]}$.

Then, $\frac {d}{a + d} + \frac {d}{b + d} + \frac {d}{c + d} = \frac {[PBC]}{[ABC]} + \frac {[PCA]}{[ABC]} + \frac {[PAB]}{[ABC]} = \frac {[ABC]}{[ABC]} = 1$

The identity $\frac {d}{a + d} + \frac {d}{b + d} + \frac {d}{c + d} = 1$ is a form of Ceva's Theorem.

Plugging in $d = 3$, we get

\[\frac{3}{a + 3} + \frac{3}{b + 3} + \frac{3}{c+3} = 1\] \[3[(a + 3)(b + 3) + (b + 3)(c + 3) + (c + 3)(a + 3)] = (a+3)(b+3)(c+3)\] \[3(ab + bc + ca) + 18(a + b + c) + 81 = abc + 3(ab + bc + ca) + 9(a + b + c) + 27\] \[9(a + b + c) + 54 = abc=\boxed{441}\]

Solution 2

Let $A,B,C$ be the weights of the respective vertices. We see that the weights of the feet of the cevians are $A+B,B+C,C+A$. By mass points, we have that: \[\dfrac{a}{3}=\dfrac{B+C}{A}\] \[\dfrac{b}{3}=\dfrac{C+A}{B}\] \[\dfrac{c}{3}=\dfrac{A+B}{C}\]

If we add the equations together, we get $\frac{a+b+c}{3}=\frac{A^2B+A^2C+B^2A+B^2C+C^2A+C^2B}{ABC}=\frac{43}{3}$

If we multiply them together, we get $\frac{abc}{27}=\frac{A^2B+A^2C+B^2A+B^2C+C^2A+C^2B+2ABC}{ABC}=\frac{49}{3} \implies abc=\boxed{441}$

Solution 3

You can use mass points to derive $\frac {d}{a + d} + \frac {d}{b + d} + \frac {d}{c + d}=1.$ Plugging it in yields $\frac{3}{a + 3} + \frac{3}{b + 3} + \frac{3}{c+3} = 1.$ We proceed as we did in Solution 1 - however, to make the equation look less messy, we do the substitution $a'=a+3,b'=b+3,c'=c+3.$

Then we have $\frac{3}{a'}+\frac{3}{b'}+\frac{3}{c'}=1.$ Clearing fractions gives us $a'b'c'=3a'b'+3b'c'+3c'a'\to a'b'c'-3a'b'-3b'c'-3c'a'=0.$ Factoring yields $(a'-3)(b'-3)(c'-3)=9(a'+b'+c')-27,$ and the left hand side looks suspiciously like what we want to find. (It is.)

Substituting yields our answer as $9\cdot 52-27=\boxed{441}.$

See also

1988 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 11 		Followed by
Problem 13
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15
All AIME 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=1988_AIME_Problems/Problem_12&oldid=99844"