Let AA be the point of intersection of the lines L1:  x−71=y−50=z−3−1,L_1:\;\frac{x-7}{1}=\frac{y-5}{0}=\frac{z-3}{-1}, and L2:  x−13=y+34=z+75.L_2:\;\frac{x-1}{3}=\frac{y+3}{4}=\frac{z+7}{5}. Let BB and CC be points on L1L_1 and L2L_2 respectively such that AB=AC=15AB=AC=\sqrt{15}. Then the square of the area of triangle ABCABC is:

Answer: 54

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Find the intersection point A

First, we express the parametric equations for both lines L1L_1 and L2L_2. For L1L_1, we set x−71=y−50=z−3−1=t\frac{x-7}{1}=\frac{y-5}{0}=\frac{z-3}{-1}=t, which gives x=7+tx=7+t, y=5y=5, and z=3−tz=3-t. For L2L_2, we set x−13=y+34=z+75=s\frac{x-1}{3}=\frac{y+3}{4}=\frac{z+7}{5}=s, which gives x=1+3sx=1+3s, y=−3+4sy=-3+4s, and z=−7+5sz=-7+5s. To find the intersection point AA, we equate the corresponding coordinates.

Step 2: Solve for parameters and point A

Equating the yy -coordinates, we get 5=−3+4s5 = -3+4s, which simplifies to 4s=84s=8, so s=2s=2. Substitute s=2s=2 into the equations for xx and zz. From 7+t=1+3s7+t = 1+3s, we get 7+t=1+3(2)=77+t = 1+3(2) = 7, so t=0t=0. From 3−t=−7+5s3-t = -7+5s, we get 3−t=−7+5(2)=33-t = -7+5(2) = 3, so t=0t=0. Both equations yield t=0t=0. Thus, the intersection point AA is found by substituting t=0t=0 into L1L_1 's equations or s=2s=2 into L2L_2 's equations.

Step 3: Calculate coordinates of A

Using t=0t=0 in the parametric equations for L1L_1, we find the coordinates of point AA: x=7+0=7x = 7+0=7, y=5y=5, z=3−0=3z=3-0=3. So, A=(7,5,3)A=(7{,}5{,}3).

Step 4: Find direction vectors of L1 and L2

The direction vector for L1L_1 is d⃗1=⟨1,0,−1⟩\vec{d}_{1} = \langle 1, 0, -1 \rangle and for L2L_2 is d⃗2=⟨3,4,5⟩\vec{d}_{2} = \langle 3, 4, 5 \rangle. These vectors represent the directions along which points BB and CC lie from AA respectively.

Step 5: Calculate vectors AB and AC

Points BB and CC are on L1L_1 and L2L_2 respectively, such that AB=AC=15AB=AC=\sqrt{15}. We can find the vectors AB⃗\vec{AB} and AC⃗\vec{AC} by scaling the direction vectors d⃗1\vec{d}_{1} and d⃗2\vec{d}_{2} by the given length. The magnitude of d⃗1\vec{d}_{1} is 12+02+(−1)2=2\sqrt{1^2+0^2+(-1)^2} = \sqrt{2}. The magnitude of d⃗2\vec{d}_{2} is 32+42+52=9+16+25=50\sqrt{3^2+4^2+5^2} = \sqrt{9+16+25} = \sqrt{50}.

Step 6: Calculate the square of the area of triangle ABC

The square of the area of triangle ABCABC can be calculated using the formula Area2=14∣AB⃗×AC⃗∣2\text{Area}^2 = \frac{1}{4} |\vec{AB} \times \vec{AC}|^2. First, we compute the cross product of AB⃗\vec{AB} and AC⃗\vec{AC}. We can choose the positive signs for the scaled vectors. The cross product ⟨1,0,−1⟩×⟨3,4,5⟩=⟨(0)(5)−(−1)(4),(−1)(3)−(1)(5),(1)(4)−(0)(3)⟩=⟨4,−8,4⟩\langle 1, 0, -1 \rangle \times \langle 3, 4, 5 \rangle = \langle (0)(5)-(-1)(4), (-1)(3)-(1)(5), (1)(4)-(0)(3) \rangle = \langle 4, -8, 4 \rangle. Then, we multiply by the scalar factor 15250=15100=1510=32\frac{15}{\sqrt{2}\sqrt{50}} = \frac{15}{\sqrt{100}} = \frac{15}{10} = \frac{3}{2}. So, AB⃗×AC⃗=32⟨4,−8,4⟩=⟨6,−12,6⟩\vec{AB} \times \vec{AC} = \frac{3}{2} \langle 4, -8, 4 \rangle = \langle 6, -12, 6 \rangle. Finally, we calculate the magnitude squared of this vector and divide by 4.

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