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Geometry Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Prove it Croatia

In an isosceles triangle ABCABC with AB=AC|AB| = |AC|, points MM and NN are the midpoints of the sides AB\overline{AB} and BC\overline{BC}, respectively. The circle circumscribed to the triangle AMCAMC meets the line ANAN at point PP different from AA. The line passing through PP parallel to the side BCBC meets the circle circumscribed to the triangle ABCABC at points B1B_1 and C1C_1. Prove that the triangle AB1C1AB_1C_1 is equilateral.

Solution

The points AA, MM, PP and CC lie on the same circle and MAP=PAC\angle MAP = \angle PAC. Therefore, MP=PC|MP| = |PC| because the corresponding subtended angles are equal. Since PP lies on the bisector of BC\overline{BC}, we conclude that BP=CP|BP| = |CP|. Hence MP=BP|MP| = |BP|, which means that the point PP lies on the bisector of the segment BM\overline{BM}.

Let QQ be the midpoint of the segment BM\overline{BM}, and OO be the centre of the circumcircle of the triangle ABCABC.

Notice that PQABPQ \perp AB and OMABOM \perp AB, which implies that PQOMPQ \parallel OM. Since MM is the midpoint of AB\overline{AB}, and QQ is the midpoint of MB\overline{MB}, it follows that MQ=13AQ|MQ| = \frac{1}{3}|AQ|. For the same reason we have OP=13AP|OP| = \frac{1}{3}|AP|.

Figure 1

Consider a triangle AB1C1AB_1C_1. Its circumcentre is point OO, while PP is the foot of its altitude from vertex AA. Since AA, OO and PP are collinear, the triangle is isosceles.

Therefore, the segment AP\overline{AP} is also a median of the triangle, so OP=13AP|OP| = \frac{1}{3}|AP| implies that OO is the centroid. Finally, since the centroid coincides with the circumcentre, the triangle AB1C1AB_1C_1 is isosceles.

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