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Geometry Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Let ABCDABCD be a rectangle. The bisector of the angle CADCAD meets the side CDCD at point LL. Let MM be the midpoint of the line segment ALAL. The line DMDM meets lines ACAC and ABAB at points EE and FF, respectively. Given that line segments AEAE and AFAF are equal, prove that ABCDABCD is a square.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Let DAL=LAC=α\angle DAL = \angle LAC = \alpha. Then FAE=902α\angle FAE = 90^\circ - 2\alpha (Fig. 1).

As AE=AFAE = AF, we obtain AFE=180(902α)2=45+α\angle AFE = \frac{180^\circ - (90^\circ - 2\alpha)}{2} = 45^\circ + \alpha.

But as MM bisects the hypotenuse ALAL of the right triangle ALDALD, it follows that MM is the circumcentre of ALDALD, implying MA=MDMA = MD. Hence MDA=MAD=α\angle MDA = \angle MAD = \alpha, implying AFE=AFD=90α\angle AFE = \angle AFD = 90^\circ - \alpha.

We obtain 45+α=90α45^\circ + \alpha = 90^\circ - \alpha which implies CAD=2α=45\angle CAD = 2\alpha = 45^\circ. Hence also ACD=45\angle ACD = 45^\circ, implying AD=CDAD = CD. Consequently, ABCDABCD is a square.

Figure 1
Fig. 1

Solution 2

As AE=AFAE = AF, the triangle AEFAEF is isosceles with vertex angle at AA (Fig. 1). Denote AEF=AFE=β\angle AEF = \angle AFE = \beta.

Note that triangles MAFMAF and MLDMLD are equal because FMA=DML\angle FMA = \angle DML, MAF=MLD\angle MAF = \angle MLD and MA=MLMA = ML. Thus AF=DLAF = DL which shows that ADLFADLF is a rectangle. As the diagonals of a rectangle are equal and bisect each other, we have MA=MFMA = MF, implying that the triangle MAFMAF is isosceles with vertex angle at MM. Hence MAF=MFA=β\angle MAF = \angle MFA = \beta.

As EAF=1802β\angle EAF = 180^\circ - 2\beta, we have MAE=β(1802β)=3β180\angle MAE = \beta - (180^\circ - 2\beta) = 3\beta - 180^\circ. Hence also MAD=3β180\angle MAD = 3\beta - 180^\circ, because AMAM bisects the angle DAEDAE. We obtain the equation β+(3β180)=90\beta + (3\beta - 180^\circ) = 90^\circ which gives β=67.5\beta = 67.5^\circ. Thus BAC=180267.5=45\angle BAC = 180^\circ - 2 \cdot 67.5^\circ = 45^\circ, implying that the diagonal of the rectangle ABCDABCD bisects its angle. Consequently, ABCDABCD is a square.

Figure 1
Fig. 1

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