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Romanian Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it Romania

The points M∈(AB)M \in (AB), N∈(BC)N \in (BC) and P∈(CD)P \in (CD) are chosen on three sides of the rhombus ABCDABCD. Prove that the centroid of the triangle MNPMNP belongs to the line ACAC if and only if AM+DP=BNAM + DP = BN.

Solution

Let aa be the rhombus' side length. Then one can find u,v,t∈(0,1)u, v, t \in (0, 1) such that AM=auAM = au, BN=avBN = av, and DP=atDP = at.

Denote by GG the centroid of MNPMNP and suppose that the diagonals of the rhombus intersect at OO. Then G∈ACG \in AC if and only if there exists some k∈Rk \in \mathbb{R} such that OG‾=kOA‾\overline{OG} = k\overline{OA}.

On the other hand,
3OG‾=OM‾+ON‾+OP‾=uOB‾+(1−u)OA‾+vOC‾+(1−v)OB‾+tOC‾+(1−t)OD‾=(1−u−v−t)OA‾+(u+1−v−1+t)OB‾=(1−u−v−t)OA‾+(u−v+t)OB‾. \begin{align*} 3\overline{OG} &= \overline{OM} + \overline{ON} + \overline{OP} \\ &= u\overline{OB} + (1-u)\overline{OA} + v\overline{OC} + (1-v)\overline{OB} + t\overline{OC} + (1-t)\overline{OD} \\ &= (1-u-v-t)\overline{OA} + (u+1-v-1+t)\overline{OB} \\ &= (1-u-v-t)\overline{OA} + (u-v+t)\overline{OB}. \end{align*}
We conclude that G∈ACG \in AC if and only if u−v+t=0u - v + t = 0, which is equivalent to AM+DP=BNAM + DP = BN.

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