The vertex of the triangle is allowed to vary along a line parallel to . Find the locus of the orthocenter.
Solution
Take axes so that , and . Then the orthocenter lies on the line . The line has gradient , so the perpendicular has gradient . Hence the altitude from has equation . So the intersection is . So the locus is all or part of the parabola . But we can get an orthocenter with any x-coordinate (by taking to have the same x-coordinate), so we can get all points on the parabola.
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