Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 8.3 Shortlist Prove it Germany

Problem:

Let ABCDEABCDE be a convex pentagon with the properties
AB=BC=CD,BAE=DCB and EDC=CBA. \overline{AB}=\overline{BC}=\overline{CD}, \angle BAE=\angle DCB \text{ and } \angle EDC=\angle CBA .

Prove that the perpendicular line from EE to BCBC passes through the intersection point of ACAC and BDBD.

Solution

Solution:

Because of the given assumptions, ABC\triangle ABC and BCD\triangle BCD are isosceles. Hence the perpendicular bisector of ACAC passes through BB and the perpendicular bisector of BDBD passes through CC. Both intersect at the point II (see figure).

Since BDCIBD \perp CI and ACBIAC \perp BI, ACAC and BDBD intersect at the orthocenter of the triangle BCIBCI, and it follows that IHBCIH \perp BC. If we can now show that EIBCEI \perp BC, the claim follows, because through II there can be only one line orthogonal to BCBC. Since BIBI and CICI are also the angle bisectors of CBA\angle CBA and DCB\angle DCB respectively, it follows that IA=IC\overline{IA}=\overline{IC} as well as IB=ID\overline{IB}=\overline{ID}. Because of AB=BC=CD\overline{AB}=\overline{BC}=\overline{CD}, the triangles ABIABI, BCIBCI and CDICDI are congruent. Therefore BAI=ICB=12DCB=12BAE\angle BAI=\angle ICB=\frac{1}{2} \angle DCB=\frac{1}{2} \angle BAE, so that IAIA is the angle bisector of BAE\angle BAE. Analogously it holds that IDID is the angle bisector of EDC\angle EDC.

The composition of the reflections in the axes AI,BI,CI,DIAI, BI, CI, DI and EIEI is a reflection in an axis with the fixed points EE and II. Hence II also lies on the angle bisector of AED\angle AED.

Now AED=5402CBA2BAE\angle AED=540^\circ-2 \angle CBA-2 \angle BAE holds, and thus in the quadrilateral ABIEABIE it follows that:
BIE=360BAEIBAAEI=360BAE12CBA(270CBABAE) \angle BIE=360^\circ-\angle BAE-\angle IBA-\angle AEI=360^\circ-\angle BAE-\frac{1}{2} \angle CBA-\left(270^\circ-\angle CBA-\angle BAE\right)
=90+12CBA=90+CBI. =90^\circ+\frac{1}{2} \angle CBA=90^\circ+\angle CBI.
By the exterior angle theorem it follows that EIBCEI \perp BC. ㅁ.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from de; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.