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Putnam
1950 Putnam
B2
Putnam 1950 B2
Putnam 1950 B2
Source:
May 25, 2022
Putnam
Problem Statement
Two obvious approximations to the length of the perimeter of the ellipse with semi-axes
a
a
a
and
b
b
b
are
π
(
a
+
b
)
\pi (a + b)
π
(
a
+
b
)
and
2
π
(
a
b
)
1
/
2
.
2 \pi (ab)^{1/2}.
2
π
(
ab
)
1/2
.
Which one comes nearer the truth when the ratio
b
/
a
b/a
b
/
a
is very close to
1
?
1?
1
?
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