Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2006

Geometry Difficulty 5.2 AIME, harder Prove it Vietnam

Let be given a convex quadrilateral ABCD. A point M moves on the line AB but does not coincide with A and B. Let N be the second point of meeting (distinct from M) of the circles (MAC) and (MBD). Prove that

i) NN moves on a fixed circle,

ii) The line MNMN passes through a fixed point.

(The symbol (XYZ)(XYZ) denotes the circle passing through the points XX, YY, ZZ.)

Solution

Let II be the point of intersection of the two diagonals of the quadrilateral ABCDABCD (figure 1).

i) The quadrilateral DCINDCIN is cyclic because ICN^=IDN^\widehat{ICN} = \widehat{IDN} (as both angles are equal to AMN^\widehat{AMN}). Consequently, NN moves on the fixed circle.

ii) Draw the line ll passing through II parallel to ABAB. It cuts MNMN at KK. The quadrilateral IKCNIKCN is cyclic because ICN^=IKN^\widehat{ICN} = \widehat{IKN} (as both angles are equal to AMN^\widehat{AMN}). Therefore, the second meeting point of ll with the circle (IDC)(IDC) passes through a fixed point.

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