Points and are considered on the () side of triangle , with between and .
About a point of the segment () we will say that it is remarkable if the lines and are parallel, where and .
About a point of the segment () we will say that it is remarkable if the lines and are parallel, where and .
a) If there is a remarkable point on the segment (), show that any point of the segment () is remarkable.
b) If each of the segments () and () contains a remarkable point, prove that , where is the golden number.
Solution
a) Applying Menelaus' theorem in the triangle with transversal , we get that , therefore . Similarly, applying Menelaus' theorem in the triangle with transversal , we get that . We have:
This relation does not depend on the position of point on segment (), but only on the positions of points and on segment (). It follows that, if there is a remarkable point on the segment (), then any point of the segment () is remarkable.
b) Let's denote by and the lengths of the segments and , respectively. According to the above, there is a remarkable point on the segment () if and only if
In the same way, there is a remarkable point on the segment () if and only if .
Subtracting these equalities, it turns out that . In order not to have contrary signs in the two members, the condition yields . We deduce that , or , where .
The only positive solution of this equation is , hence the requirement of the problem.