The orthocentre H of triangle ABC is reflected in each of the three sides of the triangle, giving points D, E and F. Prove that H is the incentre of triangle DEF.
Solution
Construct the circumcircle of △ABC. Let D′, E′ and F′ denote the points where the altitudes meet the circumcircle. Let K be the intersection of AD′ with BC and denote the orthocentre of △ABC by H. Then ∠BAD′=90∘−∠ABC=∠BCF and ∠BAD′=∠BCD′, hence the triangles HKC and KD′C are congruent. This shows that ∣HK∣=∣KD′∣ and D′=D is the image of H when reflected in BC. Similarly, E′=E and F′=F. Now ∠DFC=∠DAC=90∘−∠ACB and ∠CFE=∠CBE=90∘−∠ACB. Therefore, ∠DFC=∠CFE which means that CF is the bisector of ∠DFE. Similarly, BE and AD are the bisectors of ∠FED and ∠FDE, respectively. This shows that H is the incentre of △DEF.
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Source: MathNet,
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