Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it JBMO

Problem:

On a billiards table in the shape of a rectangle ABCDABCD with AB=2013AB = 2013 and AD=1000AD = 1000, a billiard ball is shot along the bisector of the angle BAD\angle BAD. Assuming that the ball is reflected from the sides at the same angle it comes in, determine whether it will ever go to the corner BB.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

Solution:

The ball travels a horizontal distance of 10001000 units between two bounces from the sides ABAB and CDCD as it always moves on a line making a 4545^{\circ} angle with the sides. Hence it is always at a distance of even number of units to the line ADAD when it hits ABAB or CDCD. Hence it can never hit ABAB at BB.

Solution 2

Solution:

Consider a rectangle ABCDA'B'C'D' which is wider 1/21/2 units on all sides, divide it into unit squares, and color them black and white alternatingly with the vertex AA being the center of a black unit square. Then the ball always moves along the diagonals of the black unit squares. As BB lies at the center of a white unit square, the ball never reaches BB.

Solution 3

Solution:

The vertical lines x=2013mx = 2013m and the horizontal lines y=1000ny = 1000n, where mm and nn are integers, divide the xyxy-plane into rectangles congruent to the rectangle ABCDABCD. Let A(0,0)A(0,0), B(2013,0)B(2013,0), C(2013,1000)C(2013,1000), D(0,1000)D(0,1000), and identify the other rectangles with ABCDABCD via reflections across these lines. Under this identification, the ball moves along the line y=xy = x and the coordinates of the points identified with BB have the form (2013k,1000l)(2013k, 1000l) where kk is an odd integer and ll is an even one. Hence the ball never goes to BB.

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