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jmc

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.

problem
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
Final answer
\frac{3}{4}