Problem Solving

aalradadi wrote:"145. The figure shown above consists of three identical circles that are tangent to each other. If the area of the shaded region is , what is the radius of each circle?

(A) 4
(B) 8
(C) 16
(D) 24
(E) 32

We can let each radius = r, and so the side of each triangle = 2r.

Notice that the area of the equilateral triangle consists of the central shaded region and three identical circular sectors, each of which is a 60-degree sector from its circle. Using this information, we can create the following equation:

(Area of equilateral triangle) - (3 x area of 1/6 of each circle) = area of shaded region

(2r)^2√3/4 - 3(1/6 x π r^2) = 64√3 − 32π

[(4r^2)√3]/4 - (πr^2)/2 = 64√3 − 32π

(r^2)√3 - (πr^2)/2 = 64√3 − 32π

Multiplying both sides by 2, we have:

2(r^2)√3 - πr^2 = 128√3 − 64π

r^2(2√3 - π) = 128√3 − 64π

Dividing both sides by (2√3 - π), we have:

r^2 = 64

r = 8

Answer: B