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Geometry Difficulty 8.6 Shortlist Prove it United States

In acute triangle ABCABC, segments ADAD, BEBE, and CFCF are its altitudes, and HH is its orthocenter. Circle ω\omega, centered at OO, passes through AA and HH and intersects sides ABAB and ACAC again at QQ and PP (other than AA), respectively. The circumcircle of triangle OPQOPQ is tangent to segment BCBC at RR. Prove that CR/BR=ED/FDCR/BR = ED/FD.

Solution

First Solution: (Based on work by Ryan Ko) Let MM be the midpoint of segment AHAH. Since AEH=AFH=90\angle AEH = \angle AFH = 90^\circ, quadrilateral AEHFAEHF is cyclic with MM as its circumcenter. Hence triangle EFMEFM is isosceles with vertex angle EMF=2CAB=2x\angle EMF = 2\angle CAB = 2x. Likewise, triangle PQOPQO is also an isosceles angle with vertex angle POQ=2x\angle POQ = 2x. Therefore, triangles EFMEFM and PQOPQO are similar.

Figure 1

Since AEHFAEHF and APHQAPHQ are cyclic, we have EFH=EAH=PQH\angle EFH = \angle EAH = \angle PQH and FEH=FAH=QPH\angle FEH = \angle FAH = \angle QPH. Consequently, triangles HEFHEF and HPQHPQ are similar. It is not difficult to see that quadrilaterals EHFMEHFM and PHQOPHQO are similar. More precisely, if QHF=θ\angle QHF = \theta, there is a spiral similarity SS, centered at HH with clockwise rotation angle θ\theta and ratio QH/FHQH/FH, that sends FMEHFMEH to QOPHQOPH. Let R1R_1 be the point in between BB and DD such that R1HD=θ\angle R_1HD = \theta. Then triangles QHFQHF and R1HDR_1HD are similar. Hence S(D)=R1S(D) = R_1. It follows that
S(DFME)=R1QOP. S(DFME) = R_1QOP.
It is well known that points DD, EE, FF, and MM lie on a circle (the nine-point circle of triangle ABCABC). (This fact can be established easily by noting that ABDEABDE and ACDFACDF are cyclic, implying that
FDB=CAF=x\angle FDB = \angle CAF = x, EDC=BAE=x\angle EDC = \angle BAE = x, and EDF=1802x=180EMF\angle EDF = 180^\circ - 2x = 180^\circ - \angle EMF.) Since DFMEDFME is cyclic, R1QOPR_1QOP must also be cyclic. By the given conditions of the problem, we conclude that R1=RR_1 = R, implying that
S(DEF)=RPQ, S(DEF) = RPQ,
or triangles DEFDEF and RPQRPQ are similar. It follows that
EDFD=PRQR. \frac{ED}{FD} = \frac{PR}{QR}.
Figure 2

Now we are ready to finish our proof. Since ACDFACDF and ABDEABDE are cyclic, BFD=AFE=ACB=z\angle BFD = \angle AFE = \angle ACB = z. Thus DFE=1802z\angle DFE = 180^\circ - 2z. Since triangles DEFDEF and RPQRPQ are similar, RQP=1802z\angle RQP = 180^\circ - 2z. Because CRCR is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle PQRPQR, CRP=RQP=1802z\angle CRP = \angle RQP = 180^\circ - 2z. Thus, in triangle CPRCPR, CPR=z\angle CPR = z, and so it is isosceles with CR=PRCR = PR. Likewise, we have BR=QRBR = QR. Therefore, we have
EDFD=PRQR=CRBR. \frac{ED}{FD} = \frac{PR}{QR} = \frac{CR}{BR}.

Second Solution: (Based on work by Zarathustra Brady) Let the circumcircle of triangle BQHBQH meet line BCBC at R3R_3 (other than BB).
Figure 3

Since APHQAPHQ and BQHR3BQHR_3 are cyclic, PHQ=180PAQ\angle PHQ = 180^\circ - \angle PAQ and QHR3=180QBR3\angle QHR_3 = 180^\circ - \angle QBR_3, implying that PHR3=360PHQQHR3=180ACB\angle PHR_3 = 360^\circ - \angle PHQ - \angle QHR_3 = 180^\circ - \angle ACB. Hence CPHR3CPHR_3 is also cyclic.

(We just established a special case of Miquel's Theorem.) Because BQHR3BQHR_3 and CR3HPCR_3HP are cyclic, we have QR3H=QBH=90BAC\angle QR_3H = \angle QBH = 90^\circ - \angle BAC and HR3P=HCP=90BAC\angle HR_3P = \angle HCP = 90^\circ - \angle BAC. Hence QR3P=1802BAC=1802x\angle QR_3P = 180^\circ - 2\angle BAC = 180^\circ - 2x. Likewise, we have PQR=1802z\angle PQR = 180^\circ - 2z and R3PQ=1802y\angle R_3PQ = 180^\circ - 2y. As we have shown in the first solution, triangle DEFDEF have the same angles. Hence triangle R3PQR_3PQ is similar to triangle DEFDEF. Also note that POQ+PR3Q=2x+1802x=180\angle POQ + \angle PR_3Q = 2x + 180^\circ - 2x = 180^\circ, implying that R3R_3 lies on the circumcircle of triangle OPQOPQ. By the given condition, have R3=RR_3 = R. We can then finish our proof as we did in the first solution.

EDFD=PRQR=CRBR. \frac{ED}{FD} = \frac{PR}{QR} = \frac{CR}{BR}.

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