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Geometry Difficulty 7.3 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Asia Pacific Mathematics Olympiad (APMO)

Let ABCABC be an equilateral triangle. Let PP be a point on the side ACAC and QQ be a point on the side ABAB so that both triangles ABPABP and ACQACQ are acute. Let RR be the orthocentre of triangle ABPABP and SS be the orthocentre of triangle ACQACQ. Let TT be the point common to the segments BPBP and CQCQ. Find all possible values of CBP\angle CBP and BCQ\angle BCQ such that triangle TRSTRS is equilateral.

Solution

We are going to show that this can only happen when
CBP=BCQ=15. \angle CBP = \angle BCQ = 15^{\circ}.

Lemma. If CBP>BCQ\angle CBP > \angle BCQ, then RT>STRT > ST.

Proof. Let ADAD, BEBE and CFCF be the altitudes of triangle ABCABC concurrent at its centre GG. Then PP lies on CECE, QQ lies on BFBF, and thus TT lies in triangle BDGBDG.

Figure 1

Note that -
FAS=FCQ=30BCQ>30CBP=EBP=EAR. \angle FAS = \angle FCQ = 30^{\circ} - \angle BCQ > 30^{\circ} - \angle CBP = \angle EBP = \angle EAR.
Since AF=AEAF = AE, we have FS>ERFS > ER so that
GS=GFFS<GEER=GR. GS = GF - FS < GE - ER = GR.
Let TxT_x be the projection of TT onto BCBC and TyT_y be the projection of TT onto ADAD, and similarly for RR and SS. We have
RxTx=DRx+DTx>DSxDTx=SxTx R_x T_x = DR_x + DT_x > |DS_x - DT_x| = S_x T_x
and
RyTy=GRy+GTy>GSy+GTy=SyTy. R_y T_y = GR_y + GT_y > GS_y + GT_y = S_y T_y.
It follows that RT>STRT > ST.

[1 mark for stating the Lemma, 3 marks for proving it.]

Thus, if TRS\triangle TRS is equilateral, we must have CBP=BCQ\angle CBP = \angle BCQ.

Figure 2

It is clear from the symmetry of the figure that TR=TSTR = TS, so TRS\triangle TRS is equilateral if and only if RTA=30\angle RTA = 30^{\circ}. Now, as BRBR is an altitude of the triangle ABCABC, RBA=30\angle RBA = 30^{\circ}. So TRS\triangle TRS is equilateral if and only if RTBARTBA is a cyclic quadrilateral. Therefore, TRS\triangle TRS is equilateral if and only if TBR=TAR\angle TBR = \angle TAR. But
90=TBA+BAR=(TBR+RBA)+(BAT+TAR)=(TBR+30)+(30+TAR) \begin{aligned} 90^{\circ} &= \angle TBA + \angle BAR \\ &= (\angle TBR + \angle RBA) + (\angle BAT + \angle TAR) \\ &= (\angle TBR + 30^{\circ}) + (30^{\circ} + \angle TAR) \end{aligned}
and so
30=TAR+TBR. 30^{\circ} = \angle TAR + \angle TBR.
But these angles must be equal, so TAR=TBR=15\angle TAR = \angle TBR = 15^{\circ}. Therefore CBP=BCQ=15\angle CBP = \angle BCQ = 15^{\circ}.

[3 marks for finishing the proof with the assumption that CBP=BCQ\angle CBP = \angle BCQ.]

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