2024 AMC 8

Complete problem set with solutions and individual problem pages

Problem 24 Hard

Jean has made a piece of stained glass art in the shape of two mountains, as shown in the figure below. One mountain peak is 8 feet high while the other peak is 12 feet high. Each peak forms a 90^\circ angle, and the straight sides form a 45^\circ angle with the ground. The artwork has an area of 183 square feet. The sides of the mountain meet at an intersection point near the center of the artwork, h feet above the ground. What is the value of h?

  • A.

    4

  • B.

    5

  • C.

    4 \sqrt2

  • D.

    6

  • E.

    5 \sqrt2

Answer:B

Extend the "inner part" of the mountain so that the image is two right triangles that overlap in a third right triangle as shown.

The side length of the largest right triangle is 12\sqrt{2}, which means its area is 144. Similarly, the area of the second largest right triangle is 64 (the side length is 8\sqrt{2}), and the area of the overlap is h^2 (the side length is h\sqrt{2}). Because the right triangles have a side ratio of 1:1:\sqrt{2}.Thus,

144+64-h^2=183,

which means that the answer is \boxed{\mathbf{(B)} 5}.