Problem:
Angle  of  is a right angle. The sides of  are the diameters of semicircles as shown. The area of the semicircle on  equals , and the arc of the semicircle on  has length . What is the radius of the semicircle on 
.jpg)
Answer Choices:
A.  
B.  
C.  
D.  
E.  
Solution:
The circle with diameter has twice the area of the corresponding semicircle; thus the area of the circle is and its radius is . Consequently . The circle with diameter has circumference , so . is the hypotenuse of the right triangle. By the Pythagorean Theorem, . Therefore , and the radius is .
Answer: .
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions