All about flooble | fun stuff | Get a free chatterbox | Free JavaScript | Avatars    
perplexus dot info

Home > Shapes > Geometry
Strike a Chord (..Any Chord) (Posted on 2003-10-09) Difficulty: 4 of 5
What is the probability that a randomly drawn chord will be longer than the radius of the circle?

Prove it.

No Solution Yet Submitted by DJ    
Rating: 4.5263 (19 votes)

Comments: ( Back to comment list | You must be logged in to post comments.)
Solution I'm no mathemetician: | Comment 34 of 51 |
I don't know if this is the solution, but I did arrive at a different answer than everyone else. My approach was to take the chord of radius r, draw the two radii to the center of the circle, and then calculate the distance of the line segment bisecting the chord (found here using the same method as (1/2r)*√3 that a few people used. I then used that point of bisection and drew a circle of radius (1/2r)*√3 and calculated the probability of the arc falling in the central circle (where the chord taken at random would have to be greater than the radius) compared to the area of the whole circle. The pi*r²'s cancel and you are finally left with 3/4 or 75%.
  Posted by Benjamin J. Ladd on 2003-11-16 12:04:21
Please log in:
Login:
Password:
Remember me:
Sign up! | Forgot password


Search:
Search body:
Forums (0)
Newest Problems
Random Problem
FAQ | About This Site
Site Statistics
New Comments (0)
Unsolved Problems
Top Rated Problems
This month's top
Most Commented On

Chatterbox:
Copyright © 2002 - 2024 by Animus Pactum Consulting. All rights reserved. Privacy Information