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Geometry Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Saudi Arabia

Let II be the incenter of a triangle ABCABC and let AA', BB', CC' be midpoints of sides BCBC, CACA, ABAB, respectively. If IA=IB=ICIA' = IB' = IC', then prove that triangle ABCABC is equilateral.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

Let A1A_1, B1B_1, C1C_1 be the tangency points of the incircle of triangle ABCABC with the sides BCBC, CACA, ABAB, respectively.

Figure 1

Since IA=IB=ICIA' = IB' = IC' it follows that triangles IA1AIA_1A', IB1BIB_1B', and IC1CIC_1C' are congruent. We get A1A=B1B=C1CA_1A' = B_1B' = C_1C', hence
(sb)a2=(sc)b2=(sa)c2, \begin{equation*} \left|(s-b)-\frac{a}{2}\right| = \left|(s-c)-\frac{b}{2}\right| = \left|(s-a)-\frac{c}{2}\right|, \tag{1} \end{equation*}
where aa, bb, cc are the length sides of triangle ABCABC, and ss its semiperimeter. The relations (1) are equivalent to
cb=ac=ba. \begin{equation*} |c-b| = |a-c| = |b-a|. \tag{2} \end{equation*}
From (2), considering all 6 possible orders for aa, bb, cc, it follows a=b=ca = b = c.

Figure 1

Solution 2

The relations IA=IB=ICIA' = IB' = IC' imply that I=O9I = O_9, the center of the Euler nine-point circle of triangle ABCABC. Hence HI=IOHI = IO, where HH is the orthocenter and OO the circumcenter of triangle ABCABC.

Figure 2

But BAH^=OAC^=π2B^\widehat{BAH} = \widehat{OAC} = \frac{\pi}{2} - \widehat{B}, that is HAI^=OAI^\widehat{HAI} = \widehat{OAI}. That is triangle HAOHAO is isosceles, hence AH=AOAH = AO.

In similar way, we get BH=BOBH = BO and CH=COCH = CO. Since OA=OB=OCOA = OB = OC, it follows HA=HB=HCHA = HB = HC, that is H=OH = O, hence triangle ABCABC is equilateral.

Figure 2

Solution 3

We have
IA2=r2+(sa)2IA^2 = r^2 + (s-a)^2, IB2=r2+(sb)2IB^2 = r^2 + (s-b)^2, IC2=r2+(sc)2IC^2 = r^2 + (s-c)^2,
where aa, bb, cc are the length sides of triangle ABCABC, ss the semiperimeter, and rr the inradius.

Figure 3

Applying the Median Theorem in triangle BICBIC, we get
IA2=12(IB2+IC2)14BC2=r2+12[(sb)2+(sc)2]a24IA'^2 = \frac{1}{2}(IB^2 + IC^2) - \frac{1}{4}BC^2 = r^2 + \frac{1}{2}[(s-b)^2 + (s-c)^2] - \frac{a^2}{4}, and similarly
IB2=r2+12[(sa)2+(sc)2]b24IC2=r2+12[(sa)2+(sb)2]c24 \begin{aligned} & IB'^2 = r^2 + \frac{1}{2}[(s-a)^2 + (s-c)^2] - \frac{b^2}{4} \\ & IC'^2 = r^2 + \frac{1}{2}[(s-a)^2 + (s-b)^2] - \frac{c^2}{4} \end{aligned}
It follows that IA=IBIA' = IB' if and only if IA2=IB2IA'^2 = IB'^2, that is
(ab)[c12(a+b)]=0 \begin{equation*} (a-b)\left[c - \frac{1}{2}(a+b)\right] = 0 \tag{1} \end{equation*}
Also, IB=ICIB' = IC' if and only if
(bc)[a12(b+c)]=0 \begin{equation*} (b-c)\left[a - \frac{1}{2}(b+c)\right] = 0 \tag{2} \end{equation*}
Relations (1) and (2) hold if and only if a=b=ca = b = c.

Figure 3

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