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Printsmc
geometry senior
Problem
Let be a rectangle and let be a segment perpendicular to the plane of . Suppose that has integer length, and the lengths of and are consecutive odd positive integers (in this order). What is the volume of pyramid
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Let and It follows that and As shown below, note that and are both right triangles. By the Pythagorean Theorem, we have \begin{alignat}{6} AD^2 &= MA^2 - MD^2 &&= a^2 - d^2, \\ BC^2 &= MB^2 - MC^2 &&= (a+4)^2 - (a+2)^2. \end{alignat} Since in rectangle we equate the expressions for and then rearrange and factor: As and have the same parity, we get and from which Applying the Pythagorean Theorem to right and right we obtain and respectively. Let the brackets denote areas. Together, the volume of pyramid is
Final answer
A