Skip to main content

2014 AMC 10B Problem 5

Problem 5 of 25EasierAlgebra

Doug constructs a square window using 8 8 equal-size panes of glass, as shown. The ratio of the height to width for each pane is 5:2, 5 : 2 , and the borders around and between the panes are 2 2 inches wide. In inches, what is the side length of the square window?

Answer choices

Show solution

Solution

Let each pane have height 5x5x and width 2x2x. Vertically, the window contains two pane heights and three horizontal borders, so its height is 10x+610x+6. Horizontally, it contains four pane widths and five vertical borders, so its width is 8x+108x+10. Because the window is square, 10x+6=8x+1010x+6=8x+10, so x=2x=2. Therefore, the side length is 10(2)+6=2610(2)+6=26 inches. Thus, the correct answer is A .

More practice

Concepts: ratio and proportion · linear equation

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.