Mystery of the Perfectly-Circular Pizza: What's the Diameter?

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The discussion revolves around determining the diameter of a perfectly-circular pizza that fits in a square box alongside a card measuring 140mm by 70mm. Participants explore equations related to the area and perimeter of the box but realize that these are not necessary for solving the problem. The key insight is that the card's placement affects the dimensions of the pizza, leading to the conclusion that the radius can be expressed in terms of the card's dimensions. Ultimately, the correct diameter of the pizza is determined to be 700mm. This conclusion is reached through a series of equations that relate the dimensions of the card and the pizza.
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a perfectly-circular pizza comes in a square box with a card in the box. the card measures 140mm by 70 mm. what is the diameter of the pizza?

i tried similar squares but this did not work? any help anyone
 
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i set it up trying to solve for 2 equation but that didn't work either. i got

A=39200+140y+280x+xy
P=156800+560y+1120x+4xy

i do not know how to attempt to solve these
 
Is that the full question? I don't understand how the card is oriented... I assume it's next to the pizza, but are the sides parallel to the box's, or is it angled to fit best?
 
the card is at the corner of the pizza box barely touching the pizza.

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that is where the card is. (sorry for the pic) the longer side is out. imagine the pizza being in that square.
 
kappcity06 said:
i set it up trying to solve for 2 equation but that didn't work either. i got

A=39200+140y+280x+xy
P=156800+560y+1120x+4xy

i do not know how to attempt to solve these
Where did you get 39200, and 156800? I cannot see that information anywhere from the problem you posted... :cry:
 
for A=39200+140y+280x+xy i did Area=(140+x)(280+y). and for P=156800+560y+1120x+4xy i did perimiter=(280+2x)(560+2y). so is wrong though. it should be perimiter=(280+2x)+(560+2y). see the attached picture. the x is on the right and left and the y is top and bottom.
 

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No, you don't need to use area in this problem. Here's how I'd approach the problem:
untitled.jpg

In the picture, the card is green, the pizza is red, the light green line segment has the length of a, the purple line segment has the length of b. The two light blue line segments have the same length, sice they are the diagonals of a rectangle.
So we have:
a + 140 = b + 70 = R (where R is the radius of the pizza)
<=> a = b - 70. Right?
We also have:
a2 + b2 = R2 = (a + 140)2.
Do you know why?
So we need to solve for a, and b (i.e 2 unknowns), and we have 2 equations:
\left\{ \begin{array}{clc} a &amp; = &amp; b - 70 \\ a ^ 2 + b ^ 2 &amp; = &amp; (a + 140) ^ 2 \end{array} \right.
Is there anything unclear from my post that you don't understand? :)
Can you go from here? :)
 
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is the answer 700
 
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You are not there yet. What is the quantity you solved for? Where is it on the drawing? How does it relate to the radius of the pizza?
 
  • #10
no that is the answer
 
  • #11
kappcity06 said:
is the answer 700
Yes :smile:, but to be more exact, it is 700 mm.
 
  • #12
I think I posted that while the op was editing. I responed to a post that gave the vaule of b as the answer. 700mm is correct
 
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