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2005 AMC 12A Problem 25

Problem 25 of 25HarderGeometry

Let SS be the set of all points with coordinates (x,y,z),(x, y, z), where x,x, y,y, and zz are each chosen from the set {0,1,2}.\{0, 1, 2\}. How many equilateral triangles have all their vertices in S?S?

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Solution

The three equal sides of such a triangle must all have the same length. Checking the possible squared lengths in the 3×3×33 \times 3 \times 3 grid, only three families of side occur. Face diagonals of a unit cube (length 2\sqrt2): each of the 88 unit cubes contributes 88 triangles, one at each corner, for 88=64.8 \cdot 8 = 64. Face diagonals of the 2×2×22 \times 2 \times 2 cube (length 222\sqrt2): the three faces meeting at a vertex form one triangle, giving 88 triangles. Edge-midpoint segments (length 6,\sqrt6, joining midpoints of two edges): each of the 1212 edge midpoints is a vertex of two such triangles, for 1223=8.\dfrac{12 \cdot 2}{3} = 8. The total is 64+8+8=80.64 + 8 + 8 = 80. Thus, the correct answer is C.

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Concepts: equilateral triangle · 3D geometry · casework

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