Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /65 of 156

Geometry Difficulty 4.7 AIME Prove it China

Let zz be a complex number. If z2zi\frac{z-2}{z-i} is a real number (ii is the imaginary unit), then the minimum of z+3|z+3| is ______.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Suppose z=a+biz = a + bi (a,bRa, b \in \mathbb{R}). By the given condition we can find
Im(z2zi)=Im((a2)+bia+(b1)i)=(a2)(b1)+aba2+(b1)2=a+2b2a2+(b1)2=0, \begin{aligned} \operatorname{Im} \left( \frac{z-2}{z-i} \right) &= \operatorname{Im} \left( \frac{(a-2)+bi}{a+(b-1)i} \right) \\ &= \frac{-(a-2)(b-1)+ab}{a^2+(b-1)^2} \\ &= \frac{a+2b-2}{a^2+(b-1)^2} = 0, \end{aligned}
and thus a+2b=2a+2b=2. Therefore,
5z+3=(12+22)((a+3)2+b2)(a+3)+2b=5, \sqrt{5}|z+3| = \sqrt{(1^2+2^2)((a+3)^2+b^2)} \geq |(a+3)+2b| = 5,
namely, z+35|z+3| \geq \sqrt{5}. When a=2,b=2a = -2, b = 2, z+3|z+3| takes the minimum 5\sqrt{5}.

Solution 2

From z2ziR\frac{z-2}{z-i} \in \mathbb{R} and the geometric meaning of complex division, it is known that the point corresponding to zz on the complex plane lies on the line connecting the points corresponding to 22 and ii (excluding the point corresponding to ii), so the minimum of z+3|z+3| is the distance from point (3,0)(-3, 0) to line x+2y2=0x + 2y - 2 = 0 in plane rectangular coordinate system xOyxOy, i.e., 3212+22=5\frac{|-3-2|}{\sqrt{1^2+2^2}} = \sqrt{5}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.