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India — Team Selection Test, 2009

Geometry Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it India

Let ABCABC be a triangle in which ∠A=60∘\angle A = 60^\circ. Let TT be the point where the in-circle and the nine-point circle of ABCABC touch each other. If rr is the in-radius of ABCABC, prove that AT=rAT = r.

Solution

Figure 1
We first observe that AI=rcos⁡A2=2rAI = r \cos\frac{A}{2} = 2r. Let T′T' be point on AIAI such that AT′=T′I=rAT' = T'I = r. Obviously T′T' lies on the in-circle of ABCABC. We show that T′T' also lies on the nine-point circle of ABCABC.
Let D,E,FD, E, F be the midpoints of BC,CA,ABBC, CA, AB respectively. Note that T′FT'F is parallel to IBIB. Hence ∠AFT′=∠ABI=B2\angle AFT' = \angle ABI = \frac{B}{2}. We also observe that DFDF is parallel to ACAC, so that ∠BFD=∠BAC=A\angle BFD = \angle BAC = A. It follows that
∠T′FD=180∘−(A+B2). \angle T'FD = 180^\circ - (A + \frac{B}{2}).
Similarly, we obtain
∠T′ED=180∘−(A+C2). \angle T'ED = 180^\circ - (A + \frac{C}{2}).
It is easy to check that
∠T′FD+∠T′ED=180∘. \angle T'FD + \angle T'ED = 180^\circ.
Hence T′,F,D,ET', F, D, E are concyclic. Since F,D,EF, D, E are on the nine-point circle, it follows that T′T' is also on the same circle.
However, there is only one point at which the in-circle and the nine-point circle touch each other (Feuerbach's theorem). It follows that T=T′T = T'. Hence: AT=rAT = r.

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