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Winter Mathematical Competition

Geometry Difficulty 6.1 National Olympiad Prove it Bulgaria

Let MM be the midpoint of the segment ABAB and CC be an interior point of the segment ABAB, C≠MC \neq M. The isosceles triangles ACKACK (AK=CKAK = CK) and BCLBCL (BL=CLBL = CL) lie in the same halfplane with respect to ABAB and are such that the points K,C,LK, C, L and MM are concyclic. Prove that either KL∥ABKL \parallel AB or KA⊥LBKA \perp LB.

Solution

We may assume that AC<BCAC < BC. Denote by kk the circumcircle of △KCL\triangle KCL and by K1K_1 and L1L_1 the midpoints of ACAC and BCBC, respectively. Then KK1∥LL1KK_1 \parallel LL_1, i.e. KK1L1LKK_1L_1L is a trapezoid. If TT is the midpoint of CMCM then
CM=BC−AC2,CT=BC−AC4, CM = \frac{BC - AC}{2}, \quad CT = \frac{BC - AC}{4},
K1T=AC2+BC−AC4=BC+AC4, K_1T = \frac{AC}{2} + \frac{BC - AC}{4} = \frac{BC + AC}{4},
L1T=BC2−BC−AC4=BC+AC4. L_1T = \frac{BC}{2} - \frac{BC - AC}{4} = \frac{BC + AC}{4}.
Therefore TT is the midpoint of K1L1K_1L_1.

Let tt be the segment whose ends are the midpoints of KLKL and K1L1K_1L_1. Then T∈tT \in t, t⊥K1L1t \perp K_1L_1 and tt is a diameter of kk, since TT is the midpoint of the chord CMCM and t⊥CMt \perp CM.
If t∩KL=Ot \cap KL = O, then OO is the midpoint of the chord KLKL. Hence we have two possibilities:
1) t⊥KLt \perp KL – then KL∥ABKL \parallel AB;
2) KLKL is a diameter of kk. Then ∠KCL=90∘\angle KCL = 90^\circ and ∠KCA+∠LCB=90∘\angle KCA + \angle LCB = 90^\circ. But ∠KAC=∠KCA\angle KAC = \angle KCA and ∠LBC=∠LCB\angle LBC = \angle LCB, which implies that ∠KAC+∠LBC=90∘\angle KAC + \angle LBC = 90^\circ, i.e. KA⊥LBKA \perp LB.

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