Problem:
Five unit squares are arranged in the coordinate plane as shown, with the lower left corner at the origin. The slanted line, extending from to , divides the entire region into two regions of equal area. What is ?
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Answer Choices:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Solution:
The area of the entire region is . The shaded region consists of a triangle with base and altitude , with one unit square removed. Therefore
Solving this equation yields .
The problems on this page are the property of the MAA's American Mathematics Competitions