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Problem 129: (2016 AMC 12 a, 9)
The five small shaded squares inside this unit square are congruent and have disjoint interiors. The midpoint of each side of the middle square coincides with one of the vertices of the other four small squares as shown. The common side length is $\tfrac{a-\sqrt{2}}{b}$, where $a$ and $b$ are positive integers. What is $a+b$ ? $\textbf{(A)}\ 7\qquad$ $\textbf{(B)}\ 8\qquad$ $\textbf{(C)}\ 9\qquad$ $\textbf{(D)}\ 10\qquad$ $\textbf{(E)}\ 11$
Solution
Exercise 129: Solution
A square with side length $7$ contains four congruent squares with disjoint interiors, each sharing a corner with the big square, together with a circle centered at the middle of the big square. The circle's diameter equals the common side length of the four squares, and the circle passes through the vertex of each square nearest the center, as shown. What is the common side length?
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