Rising
sun
All
the circles and semi-circle are tangent to each other
and are inscribed in a square. The 3 small circles are
the same size, with radius r. R is
the radius of the red circle. Prove that r =
3R/8
Difficulty
level: ,
general math knowledge. Category:
Geometry. Keywords:
Square, circle, semi-circle, radius. Related
puzzles:
- Steam
locomotive,
- A
mathematic shield.
- Sol
levante I cerchi e il semicerchio sono tangenti
tra di loro e iscritti in un quadrato. I 3 cerchi
minori hanno lo stesso perimetro di raggio r. R è il
raggio del cerchio rosso. Dimostra che r =
3R/8
Parole
chiave: quadrato, cerchi, semicerchio, raggio.
- Soleil
levant Les cercles et le demi-cercle sont tangents
entre eux et inscrits dans un carré. Les trois
petits cercles ont le même périmètre
de rayon r. R est
le rayon du cercle rouge. Démontrez que r =
3R/8
Point A is
the center of the red circle, B and E are center points of small
circles, D is the center point of the semicircle, DEF is a straight line, EC is perpendicular to AD.
Define s =
|DF|, i.e. 1/2 length of the square,
then: |DG|
= s – 2r = 2s - 2R
so: s = 2(R - r)
Define x =
|CE|
Applying
Pythagoras theorem to the triangle CDE:
(1) x2 + r2 =
(s - r)2 x2 + r2 =
(2R - 3r)2
Applying Pythagoras theorem to the triangle ACE:
(2) x2 + (R + s -
3r)2 = (R + r)2 x2 +
(3R - 5r)2 = (R + r)2
Subtracting (1) from (2):
(3) x2 + (3R -
5r)2 - r2 =
(R + r)2 - (2R -
3r)2
Rearranging (3): 12R2 -
44Rr + 32r2 = 0
or 4(3R -
8r)(R - r) = 0
Taking
the solution where R > r: 3R =
8r or 3R/8 = r Q.E.D.
The
5 Winners of the Puzzle of the Month are: Arthur Vause, U.K. - Marc
Hallemans,
Belgium - Tony
Garcia,
Dominican Republic - David
Almeida,
Portugal - Yongting
Chen,
Canada
Congratulations!
Beyond
the challenge
How
to Mathematically Square the Circle
There isn't any method to "geometrically" square
a circle WITH compasses and triangle set squares (tough
several approximation methods exist).
In the picture,
the area A of
the green circle equals the area A of
the yellow square. The distance πR represents
obviously one 1/2 circle rotation. The diameter of
the semi-circle is then:
πR + R or R(π +
1)