Art of Problem Solving
Art of Problem Solving
AoPS Online
Math texts, online classes, and more
for students in grades 5-12.
Visit AoPS Online ‚
Books for Grades 5-12 Online Courses
Beast Academy
Engaging math books and online learning
for students ages 6-13.
Visit Beast Academy ‚
Books for Ages 6-13 Beast Academy Online
AoPS Academy
Small live classes for advanced math
and language arts learners in grades 2-12.
Visit AoPS Academy ‚
Find a Physical Campus Visit the Virtual Campus

2019 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 14: Difference between revisions

← Older editNewer edit →
Putu2003 (talk | contribs)
160 edits
Putu2003 (talk | contribs)
160 edits
Line 69: Line 69:
'''Case 1''':  No line passes through both <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>
'''Case 1''':  No line passes through both <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>


Then, since an intersection point is obtained by an intersection between at least two lines, two lines pass through each of <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>.  Then, since there can be no additional intersections, no line that passes through <math>A</math> can intersect a line that passes through <math>B</math>, and so each line that passes through <math>A</math> must be parallel to every line that passes through <math>B</math>. Then the two lines passing through <math>B</math> are parallel to each other by transitivity of parallelism, so they coincide, contradiction.
Then, since an intersection point is obtained by an intersection between at least two lines, two lines pass through each of <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>.  Then, since there can be no additional intersections, the 2 lines that pass through <math>A</math> cant intersect the 2 lines that pass through <math>B</math>, and so 2 lines passing through <math>A</math> must be parallel to 2 lines passing through <math>B</math>. Then the two lines passing through <math>B</math> are parallel to each other by transitivity of parallelism, so they coincide, contradiction.


'''Case 2''':  There is a line passing through <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>
'''Case 2''':  There is a line passing through <math>A</math> and <math>B</math>

Revision as of 14:35, 5 August 2021

The following problem is from both the 2019 AMC 10A #14 and 2019 AMC 12A #8, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

For a set of four distinct lines in a plane, there are exactly $N$ distinct points that lie on two or more of the lines. What is the sum of all possible values of $N$?

$\textbf{(A) } 14 \qquad \textbf{(B) } 16 \qquad \textbf{(C) } 18 \qquad \textbf{(D) } 19 \qquad \textbf{(E) } 21$

Solution

It is possible to obtain $0$, $1$, $3$, $4$, $5$, and $6$ points of intersection, as demonstrated in the following figures: [asy] unitsize(2cm); real d = 2.5; draw((-1,.6)--(1,.6),Arrows); draw((-1,.2)--(1,.2),Arrows); draw((-1,-.2)--(1,-.2),Arrows); draw((-1,-.6)--(1,-.6),Arrows); draw((-1+d,0)--(1+d,0),Arrows); draw((0+d,1)--(0+d,-1),Arrows); draw(dir(45)+(d,0)--dir(45+180)+(d,0),Arrows); draw(dir(135)+(d,0)--dir(135+180)+(d,0),Arrows); dot((0+d,0)); draw((-1+2*d,sqrt(3)/3)--(1+2*d,sqrt(3)/3),Arrows); draw((-1/4-1/2+2*d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2)--(-1/4+1/2+2*d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2),Arrows); draw((1/4+1/2+2*d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2)--(1/4-1/2+2*d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2),Arrows); draw((-1+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6)--(1+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6),Arrows); dot((0+2*d,sqrt(3)/3)); dot((-1/2+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6)); dot((1/2+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6)); draw((-1/3,1-d)--(-1/3,-1-d),Arrows); draw((1/3,1-d)--(1/3,-1-d),Arrows); draw((-1,-1/3-d)--(1,-1/3-d),Arrows); draw((-1,1/3-d)--(1,1/3-d),Arrows); dot((1/3,1/3-d)); dot((-1/3,1/3-d)); dot((1/3,-1/3-d)); dot((-1/3,-1/3-d)); draw((-1+d,sqrt(3)/12-d)--(1+d,sqrt(3)/12-d),Arrows); draw((-1/4-1/2+d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2-d)--(-1/4+1/2+d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2-d),Arrows); draw((1/4+1/2+d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2-d)--(1/4-1/2+d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2-d),Arrows); draw((-1+d,-sqrt(3)/6-d)--(1+d,-sqrt(3)/6-d),Arrows); dot((0+d,sqrt(3)/3-d)); dot((-1/2+d,-sqrt(3)/6-d)); dot((1/2+d,-sqrt(3)/6-d)); dot((-1/4+d,sqrt(3)/12-d)); dot((1/4+d,sqrt(3)/12-d)); draw((-1/4-1/2+2*d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2-d)--(-1/4+1/2+2*d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2-d),Arrows); draw((1/4+1/2+2*d, sqrt(3)/12-sqrt(3)/2-d)--(1/4-1/2+2*d,sqrt(3)/12+sqrt(3)/2-d),Arrows); draw(dir(30)+(2*d,-d)--dir(30+180)+(2*d,-d),Arrows); draw(dir(150)+(2*d,-d)--dir(-30)+(2*d,-d),Arrows); dot((0+2*d,0-d)); dot((0+2*d,sqrt(3)/3-d)); dot((-1/2+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6-d)); dot((1/2+2*d,-sqrt(3)/6-d)); dot((-1/4+2*d,sqrt(3)/12-d)); dot((1/4+2*d,sqrt(3)/12-d)); [/asy]

It is clear that the maximum number of possible intersections is ${4 \choose 2} = 6$, since each pair of lines can intersect at most once. We now prove that it is impossible to obtain two intersections.

We proceed by contradiction. Assume a configuration of four lines exists such that there exist only two intersection points. Let these intersection points be $A$ and $B$. Consider two cases:

Case 1: No line passes through both $A$ and $B$

Then, since an intersection point is obtained by an intersection between at least two lines, two lines pass through each of $A$ and $B$. Then, since there can be no additional intersections, the 2 lines that pass through $A$ cant intersect the 2 lines that pass through $B$, and so 2 lines passing through $A$ must be parallel to 2 lines passing through $B$. Then the two lines passing through $B$ are parallel to each other by transitivity of parallelism, so they coincide, contradiction.

Case 2: There is a line passing through $A$ and $B$

Then there must be a line $l_a$ passing through $A$, and a line $l_b$ passing through $B$. These lines must be parallel. The fourth line $l$ must pass through either $A$ or $B$. Without loss of generality, suppose $l$ passes through $A$. Then since $l$ and $l_a$ cannot coincide, they cannot be parallel. Then $l$ and $l_b$ cannot be parallel either, so they intersect, contradiction.

All possibilities have been exhausted, and thus we can conclude that two intersections is impossible. Our answer is given by the sum $0+1+3+4+5+6=\boxed{\textbf{(D) } 19}$.

See Also

2019 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 13 		Followed by
Problem 15
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions
2019 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 7 		Followed by
Problem 9
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

These problems are copyrighted © by the Mathematical Association of America, as part of the American Mathematics Competitions. Error creating thumbnail: File missing

Retrieved from "https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2019_AMC_10A_Problems/Problem_14&oldid=159637"