1981 AMC 12 Problem 20

Question

A ray of light originates from point

A

and travels in a plane, being reflected

n

times between lines

AD

and

CD,

before striking a point

B

(which may be on

AD

or

CD

) perpendicularly and retracing its path to

A.

(At each point of reflection the light makes two equal angles as indicated in the adjoining figure. The figure shows the light path for

n=3.

) If

\angle CDA=8^\circ,

what is the largest value

n

can have?

6

10

38

98

There is no largest value.

Track the acute angle between the ray and each successive reflecting line

Each reflection advances that angle by the wedge angle

8^\circ

Let

\theta\gt0

be the initial acute angle between the ray and

AD.

Successive exterior-angle relations increase the corresponding acute angle by

8^\circ

at each reflection. At the final perpendicular strike,

90^\circ=\theta+(8n+8)^\circ.

Thus

\theta=82^\circ-8n^\circ\gt0,

so

n\lt\frac{82}{8}=10.25.

The greatest integer possible is

10,

attained when

\theta=2^\circ.

Therefore, the correct answer is B.

Problem 20 in other years