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2023 AMC 10B Problem 20

Problem 20 of 25HarderGeometry

Four congruent semicircles are drawn on the surface of a sphere with radius 2,2, as shown, creating a closed curve that divides the surface into two congruent regions. The length of the curve is πn.\pi\sqrt{n}. What is n?n?

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Solution

The curve is four congruent semicircular arcs, so its length is 44 times one semicircle, πr,\pi r, where rr is the arc radius. The arcs meet at four points that form a square inscribed in a great circle of the radius-22 sphere, and each arc’s diameter is a side of that square, a chord of length 22.2\sqrt2. So r=2.r = \sqrt2. (Check it another way: the small circle sits in a plane at distance 22=2\frac{2}{\sqrt2} = \sqrt2 from the center, giving radius 22(2)2=2.\sqrt{2^2 - (\sqrt2)^2} = \sqrt2.) The total length is 4π2=π32,4 \cdot \pi\sqrt2 = \pi\sqrt{32}, so n=32.n = 32. Therefore, the answer is A.

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Concepts: sphere · arc · 3D geometry

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