In a 8½x11 sheet of paper I drew two equal non-overlapping circles -- both completely inside the paper, of course.

What's the largest portion of the paper I could cover with the circles?

What would be the answer if I drew THREE equal circles?

(In reply to re(2): Two circles case--further explanation by bob909)

Hey bob,

It was simply an error in expansion.

Instead of
4r^2 = (8.5)^2 - 17r + 4r^2 + (11)^2 - 22r + 4r^2
You should have gotten
4r^2 = (8.5)^2 - 17r - 17r + 4r^2 + (11)^2 - 22r - 22r + 4r^2

I hope that makes sense and clears things up for you.

Nikki

Posted by nikki on 2004-10-22 11:43:11