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imc

geometry intermediate

Problem

Two circles of radius are externally tangent to each other and are internally tangent to a circle of radius at points and , as shown in the diagram. The distance can be written in the form , where and are relatively prime positive integers. What is ?
problem
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Let the center of the surrounding circle be . The circle that is tangent at point will have point as the center. Similarly, the circle that is tangent at point will have point as the center. Connect , , , and . Now observe that is similar to by SAS. Writing out the ratios, we get Therefore, our answer is .
Final answer
D