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Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 5.1 AIME, harder Prove it Brazil

Let P1P2...PnP_1P_2...P_n be a polygon inscribed in a circle and QQ a point outside the plane of the circle. Let βi\beta_i be the plane perpendicular to QPiQP_i and passing through PiP_i, i=1,2,...,ni = 1, 2, ..., n. Prove that the intersection of all planes βi\beta_i is a point.

Solution

Let SS be the sphere that contains the circumcircle of the polygon and QQ and let Q′Q' be the point diametrically opposite to QQ in SS. Then ∠Q′PiQ=90∘\angle Q'P_iQ = 90^\circ, that is, Q′PiQ'P_i is perpendicular to QPiQP_i and since βi\beta_i contains all lines perpendicular to QPiQP_i passing through PiP_i, Q′Q' belongs to βi\beta_i.

It remains to prove that the intersection of the planes is not a line. Let tt be the intersection of β1\beta_1 and β2\beta_2. It is a line, since the intersection is non-empty. This line is perpendicular to both QP1QP_1 and QP2QP_2, so it is perpendicular to plane QP1P2QP_1P_2. Analogously, the intersection uu of β2\beta_2 and β3\beta_3 is perpendicular to the plane QP2P3QP_2P_3. Since the planes QP1P2QP_1P_2 and QP2P3QP_2P_3 are secant in QP2QP_2, t≠ut \neq u and the intersection of all planes is the intersection of tt and uu, which is a single point.

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