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Geometry Difficulty 6.0 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Does there exist an integer n3n \ge 3 such that some 3 diagonals of a regular nn-gon meet in one point that is neither a vertex nor the center of the nn-gon? If yes then find the least such nn.

Solution

If 3 diagonals of an nn-gon meet in one point that is not a vertex of the nn-gon then these diagonals have 6 endpoints in total, implying n6n \ge 6. If n=6n = 6 then the only way to leave the endpoints of every two diagonals to different sides of the third diagonal is connecting each vertex to the opposite one (Fig. 17), but the obtained diagonals meet in the center of the nn-gon. Suppose that there exist 3 diagonals satisfying the conditions for n=7n = 7. Let AA be the vertex that is not an endpoint of any of the diagonals. Let BB be a vertex next to AA and let CC be the other endpoint of the diagonal whose one endpoint is BB. Two endpoints of diagonals must lie on the same side of BCBC as AA and two endpoints must lie on the other side. There is only one possibility to connect these points with two intersecting diagonals (Fig. 18). As these diagonals are symmetric w.r.t. the perpendicular bisector of ABAB, their common point PP lies on the perpendicular bisector of ABAB. As CC also lies on the perpendicular bisector and CPC \neq P, diagonal BCBC could pass through PP only if BB were also located on the perpendicular bisector of BCBC, which is not the case. Hence finding the required 3 diagonals is impossible for n=7n = 7.

For n=8n = 8, draw one diagonal from some vertex to the opposite vertex. Adding two shorter diagonals symmetrically w.r.t. the first diagonal, all three intersect in one point inside the polygon that is not its center. (Fig. 19).

Figure 1
Fig. 17

Figure 2
Fig. 18

Figure 3
Fig. 19

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