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2019 AMC 10A Problem 6

Problem 6 of 25EasierGeometry

For how many of the following types of quadrilaterals does there exist a point in the plane of the quadrilateral that is equidistant from all four vertices of the quadrilateral? • a square • a rectangle that is not a square • a rhombus that is not a square • a parallelogram that is not a rectangle or a rhombus • an isosceles trapezoid that is not a parallelogram

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Solution

Note that if a point is equidistant from all the vertices, then that point is the center of the shape’s circumcircle. The question then becomes which of these shapes is cyclic (has a circumcircle). One condition that we can use is that opposite angles are supplementary. Clearly, a square and rectangle that is not a square work (opposite angles are right, adding up to 180180^{\circ}). A rhombus that is not a square does not work, since opposite angles are equal, but they are not 90.90^{\circ}. A parallelogram that is not a rectangle or a rhombus faces the same problem as above, making it not cyclic as well. An isosceles trapezoid that is not a parallelogram by definition has supplementary opposite angles, making it cyclic. Thus, C is the correct answer.

More practice

Concepts: cyclic quadrilateral · circumcircle, circumcenter, and circumradius

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