A Simpler Way to Find the Shaded Area?

In summary, the question asks for the fastest way to determine the percentage of the total area of the shaded purple region, given that points M and N are midpoints of their respective line segments. After some analysis, the purple shaded area is determined to be 5%, but it took a long time to prove mathematically. The question asks for a simpler way to solve using just geometry/trigonometry. The solution involves breaking down the area into smaller triangles and quadrilaterals, and using their respective areas to calculate the percentage.
  • #1
Saracen Rue
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TL;DR Summary
Is there an easier way to determine what percentage of this square is bound by the shaded area of 4 line segments
Consider the following scenario:
20230127_222828.png


Given that points ##M## and ##N## are the midpoints of their respective line segments, what would be the fastest way to determine what percentage of the squares total area is shaded purple?

I managed to determine that the purple shaded area is ##5\text{%}## as per my working below:
20230127_222843.png


The only real problem I had with this is that it took me a genuinely long time to figure out. After I drew it up by hand, I suspected that line segment ##EG## was roughly equal to ##\frac{a}{3}## from visual inspection alone, and I did use a ruler to confirm this. However, it took me quite a while to prove it was mathematically.

I feel as though there must be a simpler way to go about solving the question using just geometry/trigonometry (I do realise that it'd probably be easy enough to solve if you put this on a Cartesian Plane with ##A## at the origin, but I wanted to try avoiding that method if possible), and if so, can anyone point me in the right direction?
 
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  • #2
Say square ABCD=1
quadrilateral EFGH = ##\triangle## ACM - ##\triangle## AEF - quadrilateral HCMG
where
##\triangle##ACM=1/4,
##\triangle## AEF = ##\triangle## AEN - ##\triangle## AFN = 1/12 - 1/20,
quadrilateral HCMG = ##\triangle##CHD-##\triangle## GDM = 1/4 - 1/12.
 
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