1988 AMC 12 Problem 23

Attempt Problem 23 of the 1988 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1988 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

23.

The six edges of tetrahedron ABCDABCD measure 7,7, 13,13, 18,18, 27,27, 36,36, and 4141 units. If the length of edge ABAB is 41,41, then the length of edge CDCD is
77
1313
1818
2727
3636
Answer: B
Concepts:tetrahedron edgestriangle inequalitycase analysis
Small hint:
The edge of length 77 belongs to two triangular faces
Big hint:
In either face containing that edge, the other two edge lengths must differ by less than 77
Solution:
For a face containing the edge 7,7, its other two sides must differ by less than 7.7. Among the remaining lengths, the only disjoint pairs with this property are (13,18)(13,18) and (36,41),(36,41), so edge 2727 is opposite edge 7.7. With AB=41,AB=41, the two possible placements of these pairs can be checked by the triangle inequalities; the placement making the edge opposite ABAB equal to 1818 fails, while the valid placement has CD=13.CD=13.
Thus the correct answer is B.
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