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Geometry Difficulty 6.9 National olympiad Prove it China

In a plane rectangular coordinate system xOyxOy there are three points A(0,43)A(0, \frac{4}{3}), B(1,0)B(-1, 0) and C(1,0)C(1, 0). The distance from point PP to line BCBC is the geometric mean of the distances from this point to lines ABAB and ACAC.

(1) Find the locus equation of point PP.

(2) If line LL passes through the incenter (say, DD) of ABC\triangle ABC, and has exactly 3 common points with the locus of point PP. Determine all values of the slope kk of line LL.

Solution

(1) The equations of lines ABAB, ACAC and BCBC are y=43(x+1)y = \frac{4}{3}(x+1), y=43(x1)y = -\frac{4}{3}(x-1) and y=0y = 0 respectively. The distances from point PP to ABAB, ACAC and BCBC are respectively
d1=154x3y+4, d_1 = \frac{1}{5} | 4x - 3y + 4 |,
d2=154x+3y4,d3=y. d_2 = \frac{1}{5} | 4x + 3y - 4 |, \quad d_3 = | y |.
According to the assumption, d1d2=d32d_1 d_2 = d_3^2, we have 16x2(3y4)2=25y2|16x^2 - (3y-4)^2| = 25y^2. That is
16x2(3y4)2+25y2=0, or 16x2(3y4)225y2=0. 16x^2 - (3y-4)^2 + 25y^2 = 0, \text{ or } 16x^2 - (3y-4)^2 - 25y^2 = 0.
By simplifying the above equations, we obtain that the locus equations of point PP consist of
circle S: 2x2+2y2+3y2=0 \text{circle S: } 2x^2 + 2y^2 + 3y - 2 = 0
and
hyperbola T: 8x217y2+12y8=0. \text{hyperbola T: } 8x^2 - 17y^2 + 12y - 8 = 0.

(2) The incenter of ABC\triangle ABC is also a point satisfying the assumption.
In view of d1=d2=d3d_1 = d_2 = d_3, solving the equations we have D(0,12)D(0, \frac{1}{2}).
Line LL passes through DD, and has three common points with the locus of point PP. So the slope of LL is defined. Suppose that the equation of LL is
y=kx+12. y = kx + \frac{1}{2}.
(i) If k=0k=0, then LL is tangent to the circle SS, which means there is a unique common point DD. In this case line LL is parallel to the xx-axis, which implies that LL and hyperbola TT have two other common points different from point DD. Hence, there are just three common points for LL and the locus of point PP.

Case 1: Line LL passes through point BB or point CC, which means that the slope of LL is k=±12k = \pm \frac{1}{2}, and the equation of LL is x=±(2y1)x = \pm (2y-1). Substitute it into equation 2\textcircled{2} we get
y(3y4)=0. y(3y-4) = 0.
Solving it we have E(53,43)E(\frac{5}{3}, \frac{4}{3}) or F(53,43)F(-\frac{5}{3}, \frac{4}{3}), which means that line BDBD and curve TT have 2 intersection points BB and EE, and line CDCD and curve TT have 2 intersection points CC and FF.

Case 2: Line LL does not pass through point BB and point CC (i.e. k±12k \neq \pm \frac{1}{2}). Since for LL and SS there are two different intersection points, there exists a unique common point for LL and hyperbola TT. Thus for the following system of equations
{8x217y2+12y8=0,y=kx+12, \begin{cases} 8x^2 - 17y^2 + 12y - 8 = 0, \\ y = kx + \frac{1}{2}, \end{cases}
there is one and only one real solution. After eliminating yy and simplifying we have
(817k2)x25kx254=0. (8 - 17k^2)x^2 - 5kx - \frac{25}{4} = 0.
The above equation has a unique real solution if and only if
817k2=0 8 - 17k^2 = 0
or
(5k)2+4(817k2)254=0. (-5k)^2 + 4(8 - 17k^2) \frac{25}{4} = 0.
Solving 817k2=08 - 17k^2 = 0 we get k=±23417k = \pm \frac{2\sqrt{34}}{17}. And solving (5k)2+4(817k2)254=0(-5k)^2 + 4(8 - 17k^2) \frac{25}{4} = 0 we obtain k=±22k = \pm \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}.
Consequently, the set of all possible values of the slope kk of line LL is the following finite set:
{0,±12,±23417,±22} \{0, \pm\frac{1}{2}, \pm\frac{2\sqrt{34}}{17}, \pm\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}\}

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