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2025 AMC 12B Problem 22

Problem 22 of 25HarderAlgebraGeometry

What is the greatest possible area of the triangle in the complex plane with vertices 2z,2z, (1+i)z,(1+i)z, and (1i)z,(1-i)z, where zz is a complex number satisfying 4z2=1?|4z - 2| = 1?

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Solution

The vertices are z2,z \cdot 2, z(1+i),z(1+i), and z(1i),z(1-i), so the triangle is the fixed triangle with vertices 2,1+i,1i2, 1+i, 1-i — which has area 11 — scaled by z,|z|, giving area z2.|z|^2. The condition 4z2=1|4z - 2| = 1 is the circle z12=14,\left|z - \tfrac{1}{2}\right| = \tfrac{1}{4}, on which z|z| is at most 12+14=34.\tfrac{1}{2} + \tfrac{1}{4} = \tfrac{3}{4}. So the greatest area is (34)2=916.\left(\tfrac{3}{4}\right)^2 = \tfrac{9}{16}. Thus, the correct answer is C.

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Concepts: complex number · triangle area · optimization

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