Problem Detail

Arbelos radii

Topics

analytic geometry, see heath's "archimedes" for synthetic geometry solution.

Prerequisites

algebra, geometry

Problem Text

In an arbelos the two circles inscribed in regions $ ACD $ and $ BCD $ have equal radii. See Figure 3. Prove this. Find this radius in terms of the radii of the three semicircles that form the arbelos. (This is Proposition 5 in Archimedes' The Book of Lemmas).