AMC8 2008 8, Problem 4

In the figure, the outer equilateral triangle has area $16$, the inner equilateral triangle has area $1$, and the three trapezoids are congruent. What is the area of one of the trapezoids? [asy] size((70)); draw((0,0)--(7.5,13)--(15,0)--(0,0)); draw((1.88,3.25)--(9.45,3.25)); draw((11.2,0)--(7.5,6.5)); draw((9.4,9.7)--(5.6,3.25)); [/asy]

Solution: The area outside the small triangle but inside the large triangle is $16-1=15$. This is equally distributed between the three trapezoids. Each trapezoid has an area of $15/3 = \fbox{5}$.

Answer: 5