1992 AJHSME Problems/Problem 6
Problem
Suppose that
![[asy] unitsize(18); draw((0,0)--(2,0)--(1,sqrt(3))--cycle); label("$a$",(1,sqrt(3)-0.2),S); label("$b$",(sqrt(3)/10,0.1),ENE); label("$c$",(2-sqrt(3)/10,0.1),WNW); [/asy]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/3/6/d/36dbd276ddba01c938b762addfb0e4d14c555db2.png)
means 
.
For example,
![[asy] unitsize(18); draw((0,0)--(2,0)--(1,sqrt(3))--cycle); label("$5$",(1,sqrt(3)-0.2),S); label("$4$",(sqrt(3)/10,0.1),ENE); label("$6$",(2-sqrt(3)/10,0.1),WNW); [/asy]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/8/7/f/87fa64329d26c5fc3e7fbfb572d479dbef63ae93.png)
is 
.
Then the sum
![[asy] unitsize(18); draw((0,0)--(2,0)--(1,sqrt(3))--cycle); label("$1$",(1,sqrt(3)-0.2),S); label("$3$",(sqrt(3)/10,0.1),ENE); label("$4$",(2-sqrt(3)/10,0.1),WNW); draw((3,0)--(5,0)--(4,sqrt(3))--cycle); label("$2$",(4,sqrt(3)-0.2),S); label("$5$",(3+sqrt(3)/10,0.1),ENE); label("$6$",(5-sqrt(3)/10,0.1),WNW); label("$+$",(2.5,-0.1),N); [/asy]](http://latex.artofproblemsolving.com/6/a/c/6ace4445c995cc99d66def7ca3e0d5cefe90b775.png)
is
Solution
The first triangle represents 
The 2nd triangle represents 
Solving the first triangle, we get 
Solving the 2nd triangle, we get 
Since we have to add the 2 triangles the final answer is , which is 
.
See Also
| 1992 AJHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
| Preceded by Problem 5 |
Followed by Problem 7 | |
| 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 | ||
