IB Mathema cs Analysis and Approaches HL

FIFI AND CHRISTIAN BUY SOME LAND

Student name: Jiayi Xu
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 1. Introduc on

In this inves ga on of Fi and Chris an wan ng to buy some land, the aim is to rst look or search

for the accurate scale drawing of the diagram given and then, divide the land of 780 m2 into two

from a point of AD to a point of CD, while maintaining the access road to both plots. As the amount

of land is too large for their budget so they only need 350 m2. We are given a plan of the plot that

shows the access road, the lengths of each sides and the area of the land.

AB = 27.8

AC = 29.1

BD = 27.4

CD = 27.75

Area = 780 m2

2. Calcula ng the angles

In order to nd the accurate diagram, I decided to calculate the angles of each side: A, B, C and D.

For this, I have separated the land into two parts, split from B to C, having both a triangle form.

• First triangle = ABC

• Second triangle = BDC

First of all, I have used the cosine rule to nd the the missing side of both triangles referring to the

diagonal BC of the gure.

Let a be the missing side of the rst triangle ABC.

Let d be the missing side of the second triangle BDC.

Cosine rule: c2 = a2 + b2 - 2abcosC

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 a2 = b2 + c2 - 2bccosA -> a2 = 29.12 + 27.82 - 2 · (29.1) · (27.8) · cos A

d2 = b2 + c2 - 2bccosD -> d2 = 27.752 + 27.42 - 2 · (27.75) · (27.4) · cos D

Equa ng the two equa ons:

29.12 + 27.82 - 2 · (29.1) · (27.8) · (cos A) = 27.752 + 27.42 - 2 · (27.75) · (27.4) · (cos D)

1619.65 - 1617.96 cos A = 1520.8225 - 1520.7 cos D

1619.65 - 1520.8225 = 1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos D

98.8275 = 1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos,D

1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos D - 98.8275 = 0 -> Let this equa on be 1

Secondly, I have used the equa on of the area.

A = 1/2 absinC

Let Area 1 be the rst triangle.

Let Area 2 be the second triangle.

1 1
A1 = b csi n A = (27.8)(29.1)(si n A)
2 2

1 1
A2 = b csi n D = (27.75)(27.4)(si n D)
2 2

1 1
Atotal = A1 + A2 = ( (27.8)(29.1)si n A) + ( (27.75)(27.4)si n D)
2 2

Atotal = 404.49 sin A + 380.175 sin D

Subs tu ng 780 (total surface area) into the equa on:

780 = 404.49 sin A + 380.175 sin D

Isola ng D:

380.175 sin D = 780 - 404.49 sin A

780 − 404.49si n A
sin D =
380.175

780 − 404.49si n A
D = sin-1 -> Let this equa on be 2
380.175
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 Isola ng A:

404.49 sin A = 780 - 380.175 sin D

780 − 380.175si n D
sin A =
404.49

780 − 380.175si n D
A = sin-1 -> Let this equa on be 3
404.49

Subs tu ng 2 into 1:

1 1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos D - 98.8275 = 0

780 − 404.49si n A
2 D = sin-1
380.175

780 − 404.49si n A
1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos (sin-1 -) - 98.8275 = 0
380.175

By graphing this:

The result is in radians and converted into degrees is:

A = 82.3862734°

Subs tu ng 3 into 1:

1 1617.96 cos A - 1520.7 cos D - 98.8275 = 0

780 − 380.175si n D
3 A = sin-1
404.49
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 780 − 380.175si n D
1617.96 cos (sin-1 ) - 1520.7 cos D - 98.8275 = 0
404.49

By graphing this:

Converted into degrees:

D = 85.64248696

Therefore, for determining the missing angles B and C, I have rst calculated the diagonal BC of the

total land using the cosine rule in order to obtain the data for the applica on of cosine rule for the

angles of the two triangles.

The diagonal BC can be calculated using the rst and the second triangles. In this case I have used

the second one.

d2 = b2 + c2 - 2bccosD

d2 = 27.752 + 27.42 - 2 · (27.75) · (27.4) · cos 85.64248696°

d= 27.752 + 27.42 − 2(27.75)(27.4)cos85.64248696 °

BC = 37.48706761

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Now, we can determine the missing angles B and C of both triangles.

Cosine rule 1st triangle:

a2 + b2 − c2
cos C =
2a b

37.487067612 + 29.12 − 27.82

C = cos-1
2(37.48706761)(29.1)

C = 47.31153437°

B = 180° - (C + A)° = 180° - (47.31153437 + 82.3862734)°

B = 50.30219223°

Cosine rule 2nd triangle:

b2 + d 2 − c2
Cos C’ =
2b d

27.752 + 37.487067612 − 27.42

C’ = cos-1
2(27.75)(37.48706761)

C’ = 46.78638306°

B’ = 180° - (C’ + D) = 180° - (46.78638306 + 85.64248696)°

B’ = 47.57112998°

By the end, I have summed up the resul ng angles of the triangles to get the total angle.

Btotal = B + B’ = 50.30219223° + 47.57112998°

Btotal = 97.87332221°

Ctotal = C + C’ = 47.31153437° + 46.78638306°

Ctotal = 94.09791743°

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 3. Diagram to scale

A = 82.3862734° AB = 27.8

B = 97.87332221° AC = 29.1

C = 94.09791743° BD = 27.4

D = 85.64248696° CD = 27.75

A + B + C + D = 82.3862734° + 97.87332221° + 94.09791743° + 85.64248696° = 360°

4. Proving the angles with the area formula

1 1
A1 = bcsin A = (27.8)(29.1)sin82.3862734 = 400.923946 ≈ 400.9 m2
2 2

1
A2 = (27.75)(27.4)sin85.64248696 = 379.076054 ≈ 379.1 m2
2

A1 + A2 = 400.9 + 379.1 = 780 m2

5. Spli ng the land into two

There are many possible solu ons for this problem.

If you split from the diagonal of the gure it exceeds the amount of land (> 350 m2) that they want

to buy. The rst idea that came into me was to divide the line AB into two unequal segments.

Let name the point E, which separates AB. Then, we will form a new triangle AEC.

To calculate the length from A to E (let be x), I applied the area formula.

1
A= (AC )(x)(sin A)
2

1
350 = 29.1x sin82.38627334
2

x = 24.26894202 ≈ 24.27

AE = 24.27

(The length from E to B would be -> 27.8 - 24.27 = 3.53)

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 Prove:

1 1
A= (AC )(A E )(sin A) = (29.1)(24.27)sin82.38627334 ≈ 350.015 m2
2 2

Hence, to nd the accurate diagram of the new plot AEC, I needed to solve the length CE and the

angle E.

Using the cosine rule to nd CE:

CE2 = AE2 + AC2 - 2 (AE) (AC) cos A = 24.272 + 29.12 − 2(24.27)(29.1)cos82.38627334

CE = 35.33685713

Using the cosine rule to nd angle E:

CE 2 + A E 2 − AC 2
cos E =
2(CE )(A E )

35.336857132 + 24.272 − 29.12

E= cos-1
2(35.33685713)(24.27)

E = 54.71041668°

To nd angle C:

C = 180° - (A + E)° = 180° - (82.38627334 + 54.71041668)°

C = 42.90330998°

First possible split

Therefore, a possible solu on to buy their plot it could be the triangle ACE.

AE = 24.27 A = 82.38627334°

AC = 29.1 C = 42.90330998°

CE = 35.33685713 ≈ 35.34 E = 54.71041668°

Another solu on to this could be adding a di erent point to the line AB, which forms a diagonal

with point D. Let this point to be point F. So, I will work on the triangle FBD.

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 Applying the area formula to nd the length FB, in order to give us as a total area of 350 m2:

1
A= (BD)(FB)sin B
2

1
350 = (27.4)(x)sin97.87332221
2

x ≈ 25.7905638

FB ≈ 25.79

(The length of AF = 27.8 - 25.79 = 2.01)

Prove:

1 1
A= (BD)(FB)sin B = (27.4)(25.79)sin97.87332221 = 349.99 ≈ 350 m2
2 2

In order to nd the accurate size of the triangled plot, it is necessary to determine the line FD and

the angles F and B.

Using cosine rule to nd FD:

FD2 = BD2 + FB2 - 2 (BD) (FB) cos B = 27.42 + 25.792 − 2(27.4)(25.79)cos 97.87332221

FD = 40.11834432

Using cosine rule to nd angle F:

FD 2 + FB 2 − BD 2
cos F =
2(FD)(FB)

40.118344322 + 25.792 − 27.42

F = cos-1
2(40.11834432)(25.79)

F = 42.57394215°

To nd angle D:

D = 180° - (F + B)° = 180° - (42.57394215 + 97.87332221)°

D = 39.55273564°

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 Second possible division

The second solu on to an accurate scale would be:

FB = 25.79 F = 42.57394215°

FD = 40.11834432 B = 97.87332221°

BD = 27.4 D = 39.55273564°

Other possible scenarios could be inves gated, such as not using diagonals to form triangles to

work with.

6. Conclusion

The diagram given in this inves ga on, it consists of a quadrilateral as the sum of its angles sum up

to 360°. In order to nd the accurate scale of the drawing, using the cosine rule it was a viable

form. When two angles were solved, sine rule could be applied to determine the missing angles,

but I used the cosine rule in the whole inves ga on to not get confused. By using this process, I

was able to nd the correct solu on for the angles, as it is proved with the formula of the area. The

second part of the study, was to split the land into two. In my ndings, I observed the one that it

should be bought would be easier to have a triangle shape, as the angles were solved and the

length of the sides were given. So the main point was to divide the line AB into two di erent

segments, so both plots could have road access. The length of the two segments were determined

with the area formula of the triangle since the area of the land they want to buy has a triangle

form. When the triangle shaped area was solved, the rest of the area of the quadrilateral could be

determined by subtrac ng the area of the triangle. Therefore, to nd the sides and angles of the

triangle I applied the cosine rule. And nally, the second scenario was solves with the same

process.

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