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2008 AMC 12B Problem 25

Problem 25 of 25HarderGeometry

Let ABCDABCD be a trapezoid with ABCD,AB \parallel CD, AB=11,AB = 11, BC=5,BC = 5, CD=19,CD = 19, and DA=7.DA = 7. Bisectors of A\angle A and D\angle D meet at P,P, and bisectors of B\angle B and C\angle C meet at Q.Q. What is the area of hexagon ABQCDP?ABQCDP?

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Solution

Because ABCD,AB \parallel CD, A+D=180,\angle A + \angle D = 180^\circ, so the bisectors of A\angle A and D\angle D meet at right angles, APD=90.\angle APD = 90^\circ. Then the midpoint MM of AD\overline{AD} is the circumcenter of right triangle APD,APD, giving MP=MA=MD.MP = MA = MD. Thus MPA=PAM=PAB,\angle MPA = \angle PAM = \angle PAB, where the last equality uses the angle bisector at A.A. Therefore MPAB.MP \parallel AB. The same argument gives QNABQN \parallel AB for the midpoint NN of BC.\overline{BC}. Hence M,P,Q,NM, P, Q, N are collinear on the midline. The midline has length AB+CD2=15,\tfrac{AB + CD}{2} = 15, while MP=AD2=72MP = \tfrac{AD}{2} = \tfrac72 and QN=BC2=52.QN = \tfrac{BC}{2} = \tfrac52. Hence PQ=157252=9.PQ = 15 - \tfrac72 - \tfrac52 = 9. Drawing AEBCAE \parallel BC with EE on CD\overline{CD} gives AE=5AE = 5 and DE=CDAB=8.DE = CD - AB = 8. In ADE,\triangle ADE, cos(AED)=82+5272285=12,\cos(\angle AED) = \tfrac{8^2 + 5^2 - 7^2}{2 \cdot 8 \cdot 5} = \tfrac12, so AED=60\angle AED = 60^\circ and the trapezoid’s height is AF=5sin60=532.AF = 5\sin 60^\circ = \tfrac{5\sqrt3}{2}. The segment PQPQ sits at half the height, so the hexagon splits into two trapezoids and [ABQCDP]=AF4(AB+CD+2PQ)=5324(11+19+18)=303. \begin{aligned} &[ABQCDP] \\ &= \frac{AF}{4}\bigl(AB + CD + 2\,PQ\bigr) \\ &= \frac{\frac{5\sqrt3}{2}}{4}(11 + 19 + 18) \\ &= 30\sqrt3. \end{aligned} Thus, the correct answer is B.

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Concepts: trapezoid · angle bisector · law of cosines

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