Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Bulgarian Mathematical Olympiad /52 of 58

Bulgarian Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 6.5 National Olympiad Prove it Bulgaria

Problem:
Let kk be a circle with diameter ABAB and let C∈kC \in k be an arbitrary point. The excircles of △ABC\triangle ABC tangent to the sides ACAC and BCBC are tangent to the line ABAB at points MM and NN, respectively. Denote by O1O_{1} and O2O_{2} the circumcenters of △AMC\triangle AMC and △BNC\triangle BNC. Prove that the area of △O1CO2\triangle O_{1}CO_{2} does not depend on CC.

Solution

Solution:
Set AB=cAB = c, BC=aBC = a, AC=bAC = b, p=a+b+c2p = \frac{a + b + c}{2} and let OO, PP and QQ be the midpoints of ABAB, AMAM and BNBN, respectively.
Since OO1⊥ACOO_{1} \perp AC and O1P⊥AMO_{1}P \perp AM, we have △O1OP∼△ABC\triangle O_{1}OP \sim \triangle ABC, implying that OO1c=OPa\frac{OO_{1}}{c} = \frac{OP}{a}. Further, it follows from AM=p−cAM = p - c that
OP=OA+12AM=12c+12(p−c)=a+b+c4 OP = OA + \frac{1}{2} AM = \frac{1}{2}c + \frac{1}{2}(p - c) = \frac{a + b + c}{4}
and therefore OO1=c(a+b+c)4aOO_{1} = \frac{c(a + b + c)}{4a}. Analogously OO2=c(a+b+c)4bOO_{2} = \frac{c(a + b + c)}{4b}.
Since ∠ACB=90∘\angle ACB = 90^{\circ} we have that ∠O1OO2=90∘\angle O_{1}OO_{2} = 90^{\circ}.
Finally, using that SO1O2C=∣SOO1O2−SOO1C−SOO2C∣S_{O_{1}O_{2}C} = \left| S_{OO_{1}O_{2}} - S_{OO_{1}C} - S_{OO_{2}C} \right| we compute
SOO1O2−SOO1C−SOO2C=OO1⋅OO22−OO1⋅b4−OO2⋅a4=c2(a+b+c)232ab−c(a+b+c)16(ba+ab)=c2(a+b+c)232ab−c3(a+b+c)16ab=c216, \begin{aligned} S_{OO_{1}O_{2}} - S_{OO_{1}C} - S_{OO_{2}C} & = \frac{OO_{1} \cdot OO_{2}}{2} - \frac{OO_{1} \cdot b}{4} - \frac{OO_{2} \cdot a}{4} \\ & = \frac{c^{2}(a + b + c)^{2}}{32ab} - \frac{c(a + b + c)}{16} \left( \frac{b}{a} + \frac{a}{b} \right) \\ & = \frac{c^{2}(a + b + c)^{2}}{32ab} - \frac{c^{3}(a + b + c)}{16ab} = \frac{c^{2}}{16}, \end{aligned}
since c2=a2+b2c^{2} = a^{2} + b^{2}. This implies that SO1CO2S_{O_{1}CO_{2}} does not depend on the choice of the point CC.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

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