Solution to Problem 208


Correct solutions were submitted by Bradley University community members Limin Liang, Aleksandar Nedyalkov, and one anonymous solver.  Other correct solutions were submitted by Francisco del León-Sotelo y Esteban, Iñigo Picaza, Bill Webb, Juan Carlos Marivela, Ahmed AboAdham, Paul Botham, Lou Cairoli, Francesc Suñol i Esquirol, Thiry Yves, Paul Lee.


As many of you pointed out, the sketch I gave was woefully deficient.  The sketch on the left is, I hope, more accurate. 

 From triangle ABE we have AB2 + AE2 = BE2 and s2 + AE2 = (t - AE)2 , so (1) AE = (t2 - s2)/2t.  Note that it makes no difference whether we fold the corner C down to B or the corner B up to C; by symmetry we conclude that AE = DF.  Draw a line from E perpendicular to AC intersecting BD at G, we have FG = t - 2AE which, after substituting from (1) and simplifying, gives (2) FG = s2/t.  In the triangle EFG we have EG2 + FG2 = EF2 and using (2) we can conclude that

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©2005 Alberto L. Delgado