Maximise perimeter of triangle in a circle

Click For Summary
For a triangle inscribed in a circle, an equilateral triangle maximizes the perimeter. The discussion suggests using geometric methods rather than complex algebra to prove this. One approach is to connect the triangle's vertices to the circle's center and express the perimeter in terms of the central angles. Alternatively, applying the sine rule can simplify the calculations, as it relates the sides of the triangle to the radius of the circle. A clean geometric proof is encouraged for clarity and simplicity.
twinkle21
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hey guys, I hope someone can give me some pointers with this because it should be really easy but I am just not getting it!

I want to show that for a triangle inscribedin a circle an equilateral traingle gives the maximal perimeter. I've tried a few things and just get bogged down in algebra and I am sure there should be a clean geometric proof!

For example if you take a unit circle on the origin then I can set one of my points at the north pole (0,1), then in polars assign the other 2 points at B and C. But this gives me the problem of maximising 2sin(C/2) + 2sin(B/2) + sqrt(2-2cos(C-B)) which is very messy... can anyone give me some pointers?

Thank you!
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Try joining the vertices to the center of the circle, and find the perimeter in terms of the angles at the center. That won't involve any square roots.

Or start from the sine rule: ##a / \sin A = b / \sin B = c / \sin C = 2R## where ##R## is the radius of the circle.
 
Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

Similar threads

  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
5K
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 13 ·
Replies
13
Views
4K
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
3K
  • · Replies 11 ·
Replies
11
Views
2K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
7K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K