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Berkeley Math Circle: Monthly Contest 7

Geometry Difficulty 5.0 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:

Let ABCABC be an acute triangle with circumcenter OO, incenter II, orthocenter HH. If OI=HIOI = HI, what are the possible values of the angles of triangle ABCABC?

Solution

Solution:

Answer: this occurs if and only if some angle is 6060 degrees.

One direction is immediate; if ∠A=60∘\angle A = 60^{\circ} then BHOICBHOIC are cyclic since ∠BHC=∠BIC=∠BOC=120∘\angle BHC = \angle BIC = \angle BOC = 120^{\circ}.

For the other direction, note that we have an "SSA congruence" of triangles AIHAIH and AIOAIO. Consequently, either AA lies on the circle (OIH)(OIH) or △AIH≅△AIO\triangle AIH \cong \triangle AIO. In the latter case, AH=AOAH = AO, but since it's known that AH=2AOcos⁡AAH = 2AO \cos A, it follows that cos⁡A=12⟹∠A=60∘\cos A = \frac{1}{2} \Longrightarrow \angle A = 60^{\circ}.

Now it's impossible for A,B,C∈(OIH)A, B, C \in (OIH) since the points A,B,C,OA, B, C, O are not concyclic. Thus some angle must be 60∘60^{\circ}.

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