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Geometry Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Prove it Ukraine

Consider a triangle ABC and a line that does not coincide with the triangle sides and passes through the point A. This line meets altitudes BH2BH_2 and CH3CH_3 at the points D1D_1 and E1E_1, respectively. By D2D_2 and E2E_2 we denote points that are symmetrical to D1D_1 and E1E_1 with respect to the sides AB and AC, respectively. Prove that the circumcircle of the triangle D2ABD_2AB is tangent to the circumcircle of the triangle E2ACE_2AC.

(Myhailo Plotnikov)

Solution

By E3,D3E_3, D_3 we denote points that are symmetrical to E1,D1E_1, D_1 with respect to AB and AC, respectively (Fig. 45). It follows from symmetry that AE1=AE2=AE3AE_1 = AE_2 = AE_3, and CA is a bisector of an angle that is created by the lines CE3CE_3 and CE2CE_2. Then we have
(CE3,E3A)=(E1E3,E3A)=(AE1,E1E3)=(AE1,E1C)=(CE2,E2A). \angle(CE_3, E_3A) = \angle(E_1E_3, E_3A) = \angle(AE_1, E_1E_3) = \angle(AE_1, E_1C) = \angle(CE_2, E_2A).

Thus points A, E2E_2, E3E_3 and C are cyclic.
In the same way points A, D2D_2, D3D_3 and B are cyclic. Then the circumcircle of the triangle ABD2\triangle ABD_2 coincides with the circumcircle of AD3D2\triangle AD_3D_2. In the same way, the circumcircle of ACE2\triangle ACE_2 coincides with the circumcircle of AE3E2\triangle AE_3E_2. Since AE3AE_3 and AD2AD_2 are symmetrical to the same line with respect to AB, then points A, E3E_3, D2D_2 are collinear. In the same way, A, E2E_2, D3D_3 are collinear. Moreover,
k=AD2AE3=AD1AE1=AD3AE2. k = \frac{AD_2}{AE_3} = \frac{AD_1}{AE_1} = \frac{AD_3}{AE_2}.
Thus AE2E3AD3D2\triangle AE_2E_3 \sim \triangle AD_3D_2, and their circumcircles are tangent to each other, because under homothety HAkH_A^k one of the circles maps to the other circle and they have a common point A.

Figure 1
Pic. 45

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