tricky geometry question

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by Anurag@Gurome » Tue Jun 14, 2011 8:35 pm
EddieU wrote:can anyone help me with the question below?

the answer is 12
Question: In the figure shown, two identical squares are inscribed in the rectangle. If the perimeter of the rectangle is 18*√2, then what is the perimeter of each square?

Perimeter of rectangle = 2 * (length + width) = 18*√2 implies length + width = 9√2
Let each side of square = s
Now length of rectangle = 2 * diagonal of the square and width of rectangle = diagonal of the square
Now diagonal of square = s√2
So, length of rectangle = 2s√2, and width of rectangle = s√2
So, length + width = 9√2 implies 2s√2 + s√2 = 9√2
3s√2 = 9√2
s = 3 implies Perimeter of square = 4s = 12

The correct answer is B.
Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
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