AMC8 2013 8, Problem 25

A ball with diameter 4 inches starts at point A to roll along the track shown. The track is comprised of 3 semicircular arcs whose radii are $R_1 = 100$ inches, $R_2 = 60$ inches, and $R_3 = 80$ inches, respectively. The ball always remains in contact with the track and does not slip. What is the distance the center of the ball travels over the course from A to B? [asy] pair A,B; size(8cm); A=(0,0); B=(480,0); draw((0,0)--(480,0),linetype("3 4")); filldraw(circle((8,0),8),black); draw((0,0)..(100,-100)..(200,0)); draw((200,0)..(260,60)..(320,0)); draw((320,0)..(400,-80)..(480,0)); draw((100,0)--(150,-50sqrt(3)),Arrow(size=4)); draw((260,0)--(290,30sqrt(3)),Arrow(size=4)); draw((400,0)--(440,-40sqrt(3)),Arrow(size=4)); label("$A$", A, SW); label("$B$", B, SE); label("$R_1$", (100,-40), W); label("$R_2$", (260,40), SW); label("$R_3$", (400,-40), W);[/asy]

Solution: Since the diameter of the ball is 4 inches, $\text{radius}=2$. If we think about the ball rolling or draw a path for the ball (see figure below), we see that in semicircle A and semicircle C it loses $2\pi$ inches each, because $\dfrac{1}{2} 2\pi (x-2) - \dfrac{1}{2} 2\pi (x)= -2 \pi$ By similar reasoning, it gains $2\pi$ inches on semicircle B. [asy] unitsize(0.04cm); import graph; draw(circle(96*dir(0),4),linewidth(1.3)); draw(circle(96*dir(-45),4),linetype("4 4")); draw(circle(96*dir(-90),4),linetype("4 4")); draw(circle(96*dir(-135),4),linetype("4 4")); draw(circle(96*dir(180),4),linetype("4 4")); draw((-100,0)..(0,-100)..(100,0)); draw((-96,0)..(0,-96)..(96,0),dotted); label("1",(-87,0)); label("2",(-60,-60)); label("3",(0,-87)); label("4",(60,-60)); label("5",(87,0)); [/asy] So, the departure from the length of the track means that the answer is $\dfrac{1}{2}2\pi (100+60+80) +(-2+2-2)\cdot\pi=240\pi-2\pi=\fbox{238\pi}$.

Answer: 238\pi