Solution to Problem 251


Correct solutions came from Philippe Fondanaiche, France; Farid Lian, Colombia; Jerome Cherry, USA; Ron Welch, USA; Juan Carlos Marivela, Spain; Jerome Cherry, USA; John Snyder, USA.


Let x denote the point of tangency of circles T and L.  Triangle abt is a right triangle, so (ax + xt)2 = bt2 + ab2 and  (1/4 + xt)2 = bt2 + (1/4)2 .  Use bt + xt = 1/2 so solve for xt = 1/6.  Let a = angle abs and r be the radius of S.  The Law of Cosines gives 

(r + 1/4)2 = (1/2 - r)2 + (1/4)2 - 2(1/4)(1/2 - r) cos a
(r + 1/6)2 = (1/2 - r)2 + (1/3)2 - 2(1/3)(1/2 - r) cos(p/2 - a)

so cos a = (6r - 1)/(2r - 1), cos(p/2 - a) = sin(a) = (6r - 1)/(2r - 1).  Now use cos2(a) + sin2(a) = 1 to solve for r = 1/12.  The result now follows easily. 


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