AMC8 2008 8, Problem 23

In square $ABCE$, $AF=2FE$ and $CD=2DE$. What is the ratio of the area of $\triangle BFD$ to the area of square $ABCE$? [asy] size((100)); draw((0,0)--(9,0)--(9,9)--(0,9)--cycle); draw((3,0)--(9,9)--(0,3)--cycle); dot((3,0)); dot((0,3)); dot((9,9)); dot((0,0)); dot((9,0)); dot((0,9)); label("$A$", (0,9), NW); label("$B$", (9,9), NE); label("$C$", (9,0), SE); label("$D$", (3,0), S); label("$E$", (0,0), SW); label("$F$", (0,3), W); [/asy]

Solution: The area of $\triangle BFD$ is the area of square $ABCE$ subtracted by the the area of the three triangles around it. Arbitrarily assign the side length of the square to be $6$. [asy] size((100)); pair A=(0,9), B=(9,9), C=(9,0), D=(3,0), E=(0,0), F=(0,3); pair[] ps={A,B,C,D,E,F}; dot(ps); draw(A--B--C--E--cycle); draw(B--F--D--cycle); label("$A$",A, NW); label("$B$",B, NE); label("$C$",C, SE); label("$D$",D, S); label("$E$",E, SW); label("$F$",F, W); label("$6$",A--B,N); label("$6$",(10,4.5),E); label("$4$",D--C,S); label("$2$",E--D,S); label("$2$",E--F,W); label("$4$",F--A,W); [/asy] The ratio of the area of $\triangle BFD$ to the area of $ABCE$ is \[\frac{36-12-12-2}{36} = \frac{10}{36} = \fbox{\frac{5}{18}}\]

Answer: \frac{5}{18}