Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 258 of 300 #1658 of 1964

Problem 1658

National Olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.5 Multiple choice

Consider two solid spherical balls, one centered at (0,0,212)(0, 0, \frac{21}{2} ) with radius 66, and the other centered at (0,0,1)(0, 0, 1) with radius 92\frac 92 . How many points (x,y,z)(x, y, z) with only integer coordinates (lattice points) are there in the intersection of the
balls?

Pick one

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Official solution

1. First, we need to determine the range of z z values for which the two spheres intersect. The first sphere is centered at (0,0,212) (0, 0, \frac{21}{2}) with radius 6, and the second sphere is centered at (0,0,1) (0, 0, 1) with radius 92 \frac{9}{2} .

2. The equation of the first sphere is:
x2+y2+(z−212)2≤62 x^2 + y^2 + \left(z - \frac{21}{2}\right)^2 \leq 6^2
The equation of the second sphere is:
x2+y2+(z−1)2≤(92)2 x^2 + y^2 + (z - 1)^2 \leq \left(\frac{9}{2}\right)^2

3. To find the range of z z values, we need to consider the vertical distance between the centers of the spheres. The distance between the centers is:
∣212−1∣=192 \left| \frac{21}{2} - 1 \right| = \frac{19}{2}

4. The sum of the radii of the two spheres is:
6+92=212 6 + \frac{9}{2} = \frac{21}{2}

5. Since the distance between the centers is less than the sum of the radii, the spheres intersect. The intersection occurs within the range of z z values where both spheres' equations are satisfied.

6. We need to find the range of z z values for which the intersection occurs. The intersection will be within the range:
212−6≤z≤212+6 \frac{21}{2} - 6 \leq z \leq \frac{21}{2} + 6
Simplifying, we get:
92≤z≤332 \frac{9}{2} \leq z \leq \frac{33}{2}

7. Similarly, for the second sphere:
1−92≤z≤1+92 1 - \frac{9}{2} \leq z \leq 1 + \frac{9}{2}
Simplifying, we get:
−72≤z≤112 -\frac{7}{2} \leq z \leq \frac{11}{2}

8. The intersection of these ranges is:
92≤z≤112 \frac{9}{2} \leq z \leq \frac{11}{2}
Since z z must be an integer, the only possible value is z=5 z = 5 .

9. Substituting z=5 z = 5 into the equations of the spheres, we get:
x2+y2+(5−212)2≤62 x^2 + y^2 + \left(5 - \frac{21}{2}\right)^2 \leq 6^2
Simplifying, we get:
x2+y2+(−112)2≤36 x^2 + y^2 + \left(-\frac{11}{2}\right)^2 \leq 36
x2+y2+1214≤36 x^2 + y^2 + \frac{121}{4} \leq 36
x2+y2≤36−1214 x^2 + y^2 \leq 36 - \frac{121}{4}
x2+y2≤1444−1214 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{144}{4} - \frac{121}{4}
x2+y2≤234 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{23}{4}

10. For the second sphere:
x2+y2+(5−1)2≤(92)2 x^2 + y^2 + (5 - 1)^2 \leq \left(\frac{9}{2}\right)^2
Simplifying, we get:
x2+y2+42≤814 x^2 + y^2 + 4^2 \leq \frac{81}{4}
x2+y2+16≤814 x^2 + y^2 + 16 \leq \frac{81}{4}
x2+y2≤814−16 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{81}{4} - 16
x2+y2≤814−644 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{81}{4} - \frac{64}{4}
x2+y2≤174 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{17}{4}

11. Notice that all (x,y)(x, y) satisfying the second inequality also satisfy the first one. Therefore, we need to find all the lattice points that satisfy x2+y2≤174 x^2 + y^2 \leq \frac{17}{4} .

12. The possible integer solutions for x x and y y are:
(−2,0),(2,0),(0,−2),(0,2),(−1,−1),(1,−1),(−1,1),(1,1),(−1,0),(1,0),(0,−1),(0,1),(0,0) (-2, 0), (2, 0), (0, -2), (0, 2), (-1, -1), (1, -1), (-1, 1), (1, 1), (-1, 0), (1, 0), (0, -1), (0, 1), (0, 0)

13. Each of these pairs corresponds to a point (x,y,z)(x, y, z) with z=5 z = 5 .

Conclusion:
There are 13 lattice points in the intersection of the two spheres.

The final answer is 13\boxed{13}

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.