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USAMO, 2010

Geometry Difficulty 7.4 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it United States

Let ABCABC be a triangle with ∠A=90∘\angle A = 90^\circ. Points DD and EE lie on sides ACAC and ABAB, respectively, such that ∠ABD=∠DBC\angle ABD = \angle DBC and ∠ACE=∠ECB\angle ACE = \angle ECB. Segments BDBD and CECE meet at II. Determine whether or not it is possible for segments AB,AC,BI,ID,CI,IEAB, AC, BI, ID, CI, IE to all have integer lengths.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

The answer is no, it is not possible for segments ABAB, BCBC, BIBI, IDID, CICI, IEIE to all have integer lengths.

Suppose on the contrary that these segments do have integer side lengths. Set α=∠ABD=∠DBC\alpha = \angle ABD = \angle DBC and β=∠ACE=∠ECB\beta = \angle ACE = \angle ECB. Note that II is the incenter of triangle ABCABC, and so ∠BAI=∠CAI=45∘\angle BAI = \angle CAI = 45^\circ. Applying the Law of Sines to triangle ABIABI yields
ABBI=sin⁡(45∘+α)sin⁡45∘=sin⁡α+cos⁡α, \frac{AB}{BI} = \frac{\sin(45^\circ + \alpha)}{\sin 45^\circ} = \sin \alpha + \cos \alpha,
by the sine addition formula. In particular, we conclude that s=sin⁡α+cos⁡αs = \sin \alpha + \cos \alpha is rational. It is clear that α+β=45∘\alpha + \beta = 45^\circ. By the sine and cosine subtraction formulas, we have
s=sin⁡(45∘−β)+cos⁡(45∘−β)=2cos⁡β, s = \sin(45^\circ - \beta) + \cos(45^\circ - \beta) = \sqrt{2} \cos \beta,
from which it follows that cos⁡β\cos \beta is not rational. On the other hand, from right triangle ACEACE, we have cos⁡β=AC/EC\cos \beta = AC/EC, which is rational by assumption. Therefore, cos⁡β\cos \beta is both rational and irrational, a contradiction. Hence, our assumption was wrong, and not all the segments ABAB, BCBC, BIBI, IDID, CICI, IEIE can have integer lengths.

Solution 2

We proceed again by contradiction; suppose it were possible for ABAB, BCBC, BIBI, IDID, CICI, IEIE to all have integer lengths. Write BD=mBD = m, AD=xAD = x, DC=yDC = y, AB=cAB = c, BC=aBC = a and AC=bAC = b. The angle bisector theorem implies
xb−x=ca \frac{x}{b-x} = \frac{c}{a}
and the Pythagorean Theorem yields m2=x2+c2m^2 = x^2 + c^2. Both equations imply that
2ac=(bc)2m2−c2−a2−c2, 2ac = \frac{(bc)^2}{m^2 - c^2} - a^2 - c^2,
and since a2=b2+c2a^2 = b^2 + c^2 is rational, aa is rational too (observe that to reach this conclusion, we only need to assume that b,cb, c, and mm are integers). Therefore, x=bca+cx = \frac{bc}{a+c} is also rational, and so is yy. As in the previous solution, now define ∠ABD=α\angle ABD = \alpha and ∠ACE=β\angle ACE = \beta where α+β=π/4\alpha + \beta = \pi/4. It is obvious that cos⁡α\cos \alpha and cos⁡β\cos \beta are both rational, and the above shows also that sin⁡α=x/m\sin \alpha = x/m is rational. On the other hand, cos⁡β=cos⁡(π/4−α)=(2/2)(sin⁡α+cos⁡β)\cos \beta = \cos(\pi/4 - \alpha) = (\sqrt{2}/2)(\sin \alpha + \cos \beta), which is a contradiction.

Solution 3

We prove an even stronger result: There is no such right triangle with ABAB, ACAC, IBIB, and ICIC having rational lengths. Suppose the contrary, that ABAB, ACAC, IBIB, and ICIC have rational lengths. Then BC2=AB2+AC2BC^2 = AB^2 + AC^2 is rational. On the other hand, in triangle BICBIC, ∠BIC=135∘\angle BIC = 135^\circ. Applying the law of cosines to triangle BICBIC yields
BC2=BI2+CI2−2⋅BI⋅CI, BC^2 = BI^2 + CI^2 - \sqrt{2} \cdot BI \cdot CI,
which is irrational. Because BC2BC^2 cannot be both rational and irrational, we conclude that our assumption was wrong and that not all of the segments ABAB, ACAC, IBIB, and ICIC can have rational lengths.

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