Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:

Five consecutive vertices of a regular 2013-gon are given. Prove that one can reconstruct the entire 2013-gon using straightedge alone.

Solution

Solution:

Let A,B,C,D,EA, B, C, D, E, and FF be six consecutive vertices of the polygon. We prove that, given A,B,C,DA, B, C, D, and EE, it is possible to construct FF with straightedge alone. Then, continuing around the polygon, we can construct all the vertices and then fill in the sides.

Our proof is based on the observation that the polygon has a line \ell of symmetry such that the pairs AA and FF, BB and EE, CC and DD are reflections with respect to that line.

The construction proceeds as follows:
- Let BCBC and DEDE meet at XX; let BDBD and CECE meet at YY; join XYXY. This is the line \ell of symmetry.
- Let ABAB meet XYXY at UU; join UEUE (this will pass through FF, as ABAB and EFEF are symmetric about \ell).
- Let ACAC meet XYXY at VV; join VDVD (this likewise passes through FF).
- The lines UEUE and VDVD meet at the point FF we seek. (They do not coincide since D,E,FD, E, F are noncollinear.)

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.