BmMT 2021 Individual Tiebreaker Solutions February 27-28, 2021
√
1. Isosceles trapezoid ABCD has AB = 2, BC = DA = 17, and CD = 4. Point E lies on CD
such that AE splits ABCD into two polygons of equal area. What is DE?
Answer: 3
Solution: Since ABCD is isosceles, dropping altitudes from A and B leaves a side length of 1
on either√side of the feet
√ of the altitudes. By the Pythagorean theorem, the trapezoid’s height
must be 17 − 12 = 16 = 4. Then the area of the trapezoid is h · AB+CD
2 = 4 · 4+2
2 = 12, so
12 6
we need 4ADE to have area 2 = 6, which means that DE = 2 · 4 = 3 .
2. At the Berkeley Sandwich Parlor, the famous BMT sandwich consists of up to five ingredients
between the bread slices. These ingredients can be either bacon, mayo, or tomato, and ingre-
dients of the same type are indistiguishable. If there must be at least one of each ingredient in
the sandwich, and the order in which the ingredients are placed in the sandwich matters, how
many possible ways are there to prepare a BMT sandwich?
Answer: 192
Solution: Suppose we have exactly 5 ingredients. If there are 3 of one ingredient and 1 each of
the other two, we have 5! 3! = 20 ways to order them inside the sandwich, and 3 choices for the
tripled ingredient, giving 60 possible sandwiches. If there are 2 each of two ingredients and only
5!
1 of the other, then we similarly have 2!2!1! · 3 = 90 possible sandwiches.
For 4 ingredients, we have 4!
2! = 12 orderings times 3 choices of duplicated ingredient, or 36
sandwiches (since there must always be 2 of one ingredient and 1 of the others). Finally, for
3 ingredients, we have 3! = 6 possible orderings of 1 each of bacon, mayo, and tomato, giving
60 + 90 + 36 + 6 = 192 possible BMT sandwiches in total.
3. Three mutually externally tangent circles have radii 2, 3, and 3. A fourth circle, distinct from
the other three circles, is tangent to all three other circles. The sum of all possible radii of
the fourth circle can be expressed as mn , where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Compute m + n.
Answer: 37
Solution: There are two possibilities for the fourth circle. It can either be a small circle
externally tangent to the three circles, or a large circle internally tangent to the three circles, as
shown in the diagram.
E
C
D F
A
BmMT 2021 Individual Tiebreaker Solutions February 27-28, 2021
Let r1 be the radius of the circle such that all three circles lie outside and let r2 be the radius of
the circle such that all three circles lie inside the new circle. Let A and B be the centers of the
circles with radius 3, and let C be the center of the circle with radius 2. Let D be the center of
the circle with radius r1 , and let E be the center of the circle with radius r2 . Let F be the foot
of the altitude of triangle 4ABC from C.
Since CF is an altitude, by Pythagorean Theorem,
s 2
p
2 2 2
6
CF = CB − BE = (2 + 3) − =4
2
√
Note that CF = CD + DF , and DF = BD2 − BF 2 , so we have:
p
2 + r1 + (r1 + 3)2 − 32 = 4
√
Similarly, CF = CE + EF , and EF = BE 2 − BF 2 , so we have:
p
r2 − 2 + (r2 − 3)2 − 32 = 4.
2 32
Solving the two equations above gives r1 = and r2 = 6, so the sum of the two solutions is .
5 5
Therefore, m + n = 37 .
