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2003 AMC 12B Problem 25

Problem 25 of 25HarderGeometryCounting & Probability

Three points are chosen randomly and independently on a circle. What is the probability that all three pairwise distances between the points are less than the radius of the circle?

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Solution

A chord has length less than the radius exactly when the arc it subtends is less than 60,60^\circ, since a chord of a 6060^\circ arc equals the radius. All three pairwise chords are shorter than the radius precisely when the three points all lie within some arc of 60.60^\circ. For any successful configuration, exactly one of the three points is the counterclockwise endpoint of such a containing arc (apart from probability-zero boundary cases). Choose that endpoint in 33 ways; each of the other two points independently has probability 16\dfrac{1}{6} of lying in the next 60.60^\circ. Hence the probability is 3(16)2=112. 3\left(\frac{1}{6}\right)^2 = \frac{1}{12}. Thus, the correct answer is D.

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Concepts: geometric probability · arc · chord

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