2014 AMC 10B Problem 19
Problem 19 of 25HarderGeometryCounting & Probability
Two concentric circles have radii and Two points on the outer circle are chosen independently and uniformly at random. What is the probability that the chord joining the two points intersects the inner circle?
Answer choices
Show solution
Solution
Fix the first endpoint on the outer circle. Draw the two chords from that are tangent to the inner circle, and call their other endpoints and . A chord from meets the inner circle exactly when its second endpoint lies on the minor arc .
If is the common center and is a tangency point, then is right, with and . Hence . The two tangent chords therefore make a angle at , so the intercepted minor arc measures .
Therefore, the probability is
Thus, the correct answer is D .