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Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Six congruent copies of the parabola are arranged in the plane so that each vertex is tangent to a circle, and each parabola is tangent to its two neighbors. Find the radius of the circle.

Solution
Let be the radius of the circle. Then we can assume that the graph of one of the parabolas is
Since the parabola will be tangent to the line
This means the equation or will have exactly one solution. Hence, the discriminant will be 0, so or
Since the parabola will be tangent to the line
This means the equation or will have exactly one solution. Hence, the discriminant will be 0, so or
Final answer
\frac{3}{4}