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Silk Road Mathematics Competition competition problems

Geometry Difficulty 4.5 AIME Prove it Silk Road Mathematics Competition

In triangle ABCABC let A0,B0,C0A_0, B_0, C_0 are the midpoints of the sides BC,CA,ABBC, CA, AB, respectively, and A1,B1,C1A_1, B_1, C_1 are the midpoints (by length) of the broken lines BAC,CBA,BCABAC, CBA, BCA, respectively. Prove that the lines A0A1,B0B1,C0C1A_0A_1, B_0B_1, C_0C_1 are concurrent.

Solution

Figure 1

W.l.o.g. assume that AC≤ABAC \le AB. Then A1A_1 belongs to the segment ABAB, moreover, it lies between AA and C0C_0. Then notice that AC+AA1=BA1  ⟺  AC+AC0−A1C0=C0B+A1C0  ⟺  A1C0=12AC⇒A1C0=A0C0AC + AA_1 = BA_1 \iff AC + AC_0 - A_1C_0 = C_0B + A_1C_0 \iff A_1C_0 = \frac{1}{2}AC \Rightarrow A_1C_0 = A_0C_0 i.e. ∠C0A1A0=∠A1A0C0⇒∠A1A0C0=∠A1A0B0\angle C_0A_1A_0 = \angle A_1A_0C_0 \Rightarrow \angle A_1A_0C_0 = \angle A_1A_0B_0 since AB∥A0B0AB \parallel A_0B_0. So, A0A1A_0A_1 is bisector of the angle ∠C0A0B0\angle C_0A_0B_0.

Similarly, B0B1B_0B_1 is bisector of ∠C0B0A0\angle C_0B_0A_0 and C0C1C_0C_1 is bisector of ∠A0C0B0\angle A_0C_0B_0. So the lines A0A1,B0B1A_0A_1, B_0B_1 and C0C1C_0C_1 intersect in the incenter of the triangle A0B0C0A_0B_0C_0.

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