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Geometry Difficulty 8.6 Shortlist Prove it IMO

Let ABCDABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral. Assume that the points QQ, AA, BB, PP are collinear in this order, in such a way that the line ACAC is tangent to the circle ADQADQ, and the line BDBD is tangent to the circle BCPBCP. Let MM and NN be the midpoints of BCBC and ADAD, respectively. Prove that the following three lines are concurrent: line CDCD, the tangent of circle ANQANQ at point AA, and the tangent to circle BMPBMP at point BB.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

We first prove that triangles ADQADQ and CDBCDB are similar. Since ABCDABCD is cyclic, we have DAQ=DCB\angle DAQ = \angle DCB. By the tangency of ACAC to the circle AQDAQD we also have CBD=CAD=AQD\angle CBD = \angle CAD = \angle AQD. The claimed similarity is proven.

Let RR be the midpoint of CDCD. Points NN and RR correspond in the proven similarity, and so QNA=BRC\angle QNA = \angle BRC.

Figure 1

Let KK be the second common point of line CDCD with circle ABRABR (i.e., if CDCD intersects circle ABRABR, then KRK \neq R is the other intersection; otherwise, if CDCD is tangent to CDCD, then K=RK = R). In both cases, we have BAK=BRC=QNA\angle BAK = \angle BRC = \angle QNA; that indicates that AKAK is tangent to circle ANQANQ. It can be showed analogously that BKBK is tangent to circle BMPBMP.

Solution 2

We present a second solution, without using the condition that ABCDABCD is cyclic. Again, MM and NN can be any points on lines BCBC and ADAD such that BM:MC=DN:NABM : MC = DN : NA.

Let ABAB and CDCD meet at TT (if ABCDAB \parallel CD then TT is their common ideal point). Let CDCD meet the tangent to the circle ANQANQ at AA, and the tangent to the circle BMPBMP at BB at points K1K_1 and K2K_2, respectively.

Figure 2

Let II and JJ be the ideal points of ADAD and BCBC, respectively. Notice that the pencils (ADAD, ACAC, ATAT, AK1AK_1) and (QAQA, QDQD, QIQI, QNQN) of lines are congruent, because K1AD=AQN\angle K_1AD = \angle AQ N, CAD=AQD\angle CAD = \angle AQD and IAT=IQT\angle IAT = \angle IQT. Hence,

(D,C;T,K1)=(AD,AC;AT,AK1)=(QA,QD;QI,QN)=(A,D;I,N)=DNNA. (D, C ; T, K_1) = (AD, AC ; AT, AK_1) = (QA, QD ; QI, QN) = (A, D ; I, N) = \frac{DN}{NA}.

It can be obtained analogously that

(D,C;T,K2)=(BD,BC;BT,BK2)=(PC,PB;PJ,PM)=(C,B;I,N)=BMMC. (D, C ; T, K_2) = (BD, BC ; BT, BK_2) = (PC, PB ; PJ, PM) = (C, B ; I, N) = \frac{BM}{MC}.

From BM:MC=DN:DABM : MC = DN : DA we get (D,C;T,K1)=(D,C;T,K2)(D, C ; T, K_1) = (D, C ; T, K_2) and hence K1=K2K_1 = K_2.

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