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Geometry Difficulty 8.7 Shortlist Prove it United States

In an acute scalene triangle ABCABC, points DD, EE, FF lie on sides BCBC, CACA, ABAB, respectively, such that ADBCAD \perp BC, BECABE \perp CA, CFABCF \perp AB. Altitudes ADAD, BEBE, CFCF meet at orthocenter HH. Points PP and QQ lie on segment EFEF such that APEFAP \perp EF and HQEFHQ \perp EF. Lines DPDP and QHQH intersect at point RR. Compute HQ/HRHQ/HR.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

HQPA=HSASandRHPA=HDAD. \frac{HQ}{PA} = \frac{HS}{AS} \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{RH}{PA} = \frac{HD}{AD}.
It suffices to show that
HSAS=HDAD,(29) \frac{HS}{AS} = \frac{HD}{AD}, \qquad (29)
which we remark is equivalent to showing that (A,H)(A, H) and (S,D)(S, D) are harmonic conjugates. Applying Ceva's theorem to triangle AHCAHC and cevians ADAD, BEBE, and CFCF gives
AEECCFFHHDDA=1. \frac{AE}{EC} \cdot \frac{CF}{FH} \cdot \frac{HD}{DA} = 1.
Applying Menelaus's theorem to triangle ACHACH and line ESFESF yields
AEECCFFHHSSA=1. \frac{AE}{EC} \cdot \frac{CF}{FH} \cdot \frac{HS}{SA} = 1.
Equating the left-hand sides of the last two equations gives (29), completing the proof.

Solution 2

Consider the diagram shown above. We present another proof of (29). Let ABC=B\angle ABC = B and ACB=C\angle ACB = C. In right triangles BHDBHD and ABDABD, we have HD/BD=tanHBD=cotCHD/BD = \tan \angle HBD = \cot C and AD/BD=tanBAD/BD = \tan B. Dividing the last two equations gives
HDAD=cotCtanB=cotBcotC.(30) \frac{HD}{AD} = \frac{\cot C}{\tan B} = \cot B \cot C. \qquad (30)
Applying the Law of Sines in triangles EHS and AFS gives
HSHE=sinSEHsinHSEandASAF=sinAFEsinASF. \frac{HS}{HE} = \frac{\sin \angle SEH}{\sin \angle HSE} \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{AS}{AF} = \frac{\sin \angle AFE}{\sin \angle ASF}.
Dividing the last two equations yields
HSAS=HEAFsinSEHsinAFE.(31) \frac{HS}{AS} = \frac{HE}{AF} \cdot \frac{\sin \angle SEH}{\sin \angle AFE}. \qquad (31)
Because BEC=CFB=90\angle BEC = \angle CFB = 90^\circ, BCEFBCEF is cyclic, from which it follows that SEH=FEB=FCB=90B\angle SEH = \angle FEB = \angle FCB = 90^\circ - B and AFE=ECB=C\angle AFE = \angle ECB = C. Substituting the last two equations into (31) yields
HSAS=HEAFcosBsinC.(32) \frac{HS}{AS} = \frac{HE}{AF} \cdot \frac{\cos B}{\sin C}. \qquad (32)
It is clear that right triangles CHE and CAF are similar to each other. Hence
HEAF=CECF=BCcosCBCsinB=cosCsinB. \frac{HE}{AF} = \frac{CE}{CF} = \frac{BC \cos C}{BC} \sin B = \frac{\cos C}{\sin B}.
Substituting the last equation into (32) gives
HSAS=HEAFcosBsinC=cosCsinBcosBsinC=cotBcotC. \frac{HS}{AS} = \frac{HE}{AF} \cdot \frac{\cos B}{\sin C} = \frac{\cos C}{\sin B} \cdot \frac{\cos B}{\sin C} = \cot B \cot C.
Combining the last equation with (30) gives (29), and we are done.

Solution 3

Consider the diagram shown above. Because HFB+HDB=180\angle HFB + \angle HDB = 180^\circ, BDHFBDHF is cyclic, from which it follows that HDF=HBF\angle HDF = \angle HBF. Likewise, EDH=ECH\angle EDH = \angle ECH. Because BFC=BEC=90\angle BFC = \angle BEC = 90^\circ, BCEFBCEF is cyclic, from which it follows that EBF=ECF\angle EBF = \angle ECF. Therefore, we have HDF=HBF=EBF=ECF=ECH=EDH\angle HDF = \angle HBF = \angle EBF = \angle ECF = \angle ECH = \angle EDH; that is, DHDH bisects FDE\angle FDE. Likewise, FHFH bisects EFD\angle EFD and EHEH bisects DEF\angle DEF. Hence HH is the incenter of triangle DEFDEF. Let ω\omega denote the incircle of triangle DEFDEF.
Because AEEH\angle AE \perp EH and EHEH is the interior bisector of DEF\angle DEF, AEAE is the exterior bisector of DEF\angle DEF. Likewise, AFAF is the exterior bisector of EFD\angle EFD. Consequently, AA is the excenter (opposite DD) of triangle DEFDEF. Let Ω\Omega denote the excircle of triangle DEFDEF centered at AA.
Consider the dilation centered at DD sending ω\omega to Ω\Omega. Because HQAPHQ \parallel AP, line QHQH is sent to line APAP. Let R1R_1 be the point on ω\omega diametrically opposite QQ (so QH=HRQH = HR and Q,H,R1Q, H, R_1 are collinear). Then, we see that R1R_1 is sent to PP by this dilation. In particular, D,R1,PD, R_1, P are collinear. Hence, R1R_1 is the intersection of lines DPDP and QHQH, so R=R1R = R_1. We therefore have that RH=R1H=QHRH = R_1H = QH.

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