Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Soviet Union

Problem:
Given an isosceles triangle, find the locus of the point PP inside the triangle such that the distance from PP to the base equals the geometric mean of the distances to the sides.

Solution

Solution:
Let the triangle be ABCABC, with AB=ACAB = AC. Take the circle through BB and CC which has ABAB and ACAC as tangents. The required locus is the arc BCBC.

Suppose PP lies on the arc. Let the perpendiculars from PP meet BCBC in LL, ABAB in NN and ACAC in MM. Join PBPB and PCPC. The triangles PNBPNB and PLCPLC are similar (PNB\angle PNB and PLC\angle PLC are both 9090^\circ, and NBP=LCP\angle NBP = \angle LCP because NBNB is tangent to the circle). Hence PN/PL=PB/PCPN / PL = PB / PC. Similarly, triangles PMCPMC and PLBPLB are similar and hence PM/PL=PC/PBPM / PL = PC / PB. Multiplying gives the required result PL2=PMPNPL^2 = PM \cdot PN.

If PP is inside the circle and not on it, take PP' as the intersection of the line APAP and the arc. We have PL<PLPL < PL', but PM>PMPM > PM' and PN>PNPN > PN', hence PL2<PMPNPL^2 < PM \cdot PN. Similarly, if PP is outside the circle and not on it, then PL2>PMPNPL^2 > PM \cdot PN.

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