Aha, my mistake. The diagram I drew was rather misleading.namburger said:Sorry but your assuming that angle MPN is a rightangle.
Perhaps this is the more general result -- put forward with due tentativeness after the last mistake (i'd scan it up if i could).
angle MPN = 360 - (90 + 90 +2tan-1(b/a)) let tan-1(b/a) = @
= 180 - 2@
Area = 1/2absin(c) = 1/2*MP*NP*sin(180 - 2@)
=1/2*MP*NP*sin(2@)
tan@ = b/a (draw a triangle here, whatever helps)
so sin@ = b/sqr(a^2 + b^2)
cos@ = a/sqr(a^2 + b^2)
Area = 1/2*MP*NP*2sin@cos@
=(a^2 * b^2 / a^2 + b^2)*(ab/a^2 + b^2) [I'm assuming the result in part ii]
=a^3*b^3/(a^2 + b^2)^2
Please check this, otherwise i'd be glad to move on from a page 1 question, heh.