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Geometry Difficulty 6.1 National Olympiad Prove it Romania

Consider a tetrahedron ABCDABCD with BAC^+CAD^+DAB^=180\widehat{BAC} + \widehat{CAD} + \widehat{DAB} = 180^\circ and ABC^DAB^\widehat{ABC} \equiv \widehat{DAB}. If the projection of the vertex DD on the plane (ABC)(ABC) is the orthocenter of the triangle ABCABC, prove that AB=ACAB = AC and DB=DCDB = DC.

Solution

Let BEBE and CFCF be the altitudes from BB and CC, respectively, of the triangle ABCABC, and denote by HH their meeting point. The three perpendiculars theorem implies that DEACDE \perp AC and DFABDF \perp AB.
Unfold the tetrahedron on the plane (ABC)(ABC) and denote by D1D_1 the image of the vertex DD of the triangle DABDAB and by D2D_2 the image of the vertex DD of the triangle DACDAC, after the unfolding.

Figure 1

The perpendicularities DEACDE \perp AC and DFABDF \perp AB are maintained on the unfolding. Therefore, we deduce that D1,FD_1, F and CC are collinear. Similarly, we find that D2,ED_2, E and BB are collinear.

As BAC^+CAD^+DAB^=180\widehat{BAC} + \widehat{CAD} + \widehat{DAB} = 180^\circ, the points D1,AD_1, A and D2D_2 are collinear; obviously, AA is the midpoint of the segment D1D2D_1D_2.

ABC^DAB^\widehat{ABC} \equiv \widehat{DAB}, hence the lines D1D2D_1D_2 are BCBC parallel, so D1D2CBD_1D_2CB is a trapezium, whose diagonals meet in HH. The midpoint of the larger base lies on the line AHAH, therefore AHAH also contains the midpoint of the smaller base BCBC. Because AHAH is simultaneously an altitude and a median of the triangle ABCABC, it follows that the triangle ABCABC is isosceles, with AB=ACAB = AC.

The line AHAH is the common perpendicular bisector of the bases of the trapezium D1D2CBD_1D_2CB, therefore D1D2CBD_1D_2CB is an isosceles trapezium, hence D1B=D2CD_1B = D_2C and thus DB=DCDB = DC.

Alternative solution:

From BAC^+CAD^+DAB^=180\widehat{BAC} + \widehat{CAD} + \widehat{DAB} = 180^\circ, ABC^DAB^\widehat{ABC} \equiv \widehat{DAB} and BAC^+ABC^+ACB^=180\widehat{BAC} + \widehat{ABC} + \widehat{ACB} = 180^\circ, we deduce that CAD^ACB^\widehat{CAD} \equiv \widehat{ACB}.

Let HH be the orthocenter of the triangle ABCABC and BE,CF,AGBE, CF, AG its altitudes. From the three perpendiculars theorem, we deduce DEAC,DFABDE \perp AC, DF \perp AB and DGBCDG \perp BC.

Triangles ABGABG and DAFDAF are similar, therefore we have AGAD=DFABAG \cdot AD = DF \cdot AB. Moreover, from the similarity of the triangles ACGACG and DAEDAE we deduce AGAD=DEACAG \cdot AD = DE \cdot AC. We obtain DFAB=DEACDF \cdot AB = DE \cdot AC, and thus AABD=AACDA_{ABD} = A_{ACD}.

From AGBCAG \perp BC and DGBCDG \perp BC we deduce BC(ADG)BC \perp (ADG), whence BCADBC \perp AD. If BIAD,IADBI \perp AD, I \in AD, then AD(BIC)AD \perp (BIC).
We obtain CIADCI \perp AD, therefore AABD=AACDA_{ABD} = A_{ACD} iff BI=CIBI = CI, thus the triangles AIBAIB and AICAIC are congruent, whence we have AB=ACAB = AC. Similarly, we deduce that the triangles DIBDIB and DICDIC are congruent, therefore DB=DCDB = DC.

Figure 2

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