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Geometry Difficulty 6.7 National Olympiad Prove it Ireland

A circle is drawn through points AA and BB of a triangle ABCABC such that the angle in the segment external to the triangle is the complement of ACB\angle ACB. Similarly a second circle is drawn through AA and CC with the angle in the segment external to the triangle equal to the complement of ABC\angle ABC.
Prove that the circles touch each other. Prove also that BCBC is tangent to both circles when BAC=90\angle BAC = 90^\circ.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Let β=ABC\beta = \angle ABC, γ=BCA\gamma = \angle BCA and let ΩB\Omega_B denote the circle through AA and BB and ΩC\Omega_C the circle through AA and CC. The assumptions about the two circles mean that for any point DD on ΩB\Omega_B which is on the arc ABAB that is outside ABC\triangle ABC we have BDA=90γ\angle BDA = 90^\circ - \gamma. Similarly, for EE on ΩC\Omega_C on the correct arc ACAC we have AEC=90β\angle AEC = 90^\circ - \beta.

Figure 1

Let TT be a point inside triangle ABCABC on the tangent to ΩB\Omega_B at AA. By the Alternate Segment Theorem, we have BAT=BDA=90γ\angle BAT = \angle BDA = 90^\circ - \gamma. Hence,
TAC=BACBAT=(180βγ)(90γ)=90β=AEC. \angle TAC = \angle BAC - \angle BAT = (180^\circ - \beta - \gamma) - (90^\circ - \gamma) = 90^\circ - \beta = \angle AEC.
The converse of the Alternate Segment Theorem implies now that TATA is tangent to ΩC\Omega_C at AA, i.e. ΩB\Omega_B and ΩC\Omega_C touch each other at AA. When BAC=90\angle BAC = 90^\circ, we have β+γ=90\beta + \gamma = 90^\circ and so β=90γ=BDA\beta = 90^\circ - \gamma = \angle BDA as well as γ=90β=AEC\gamma = 90^\circ - \beta = \angle AEC. The converse of the Alternate Segment Theorem implies then that BCBC is tangent to both circles.

Solution 2

We use notation from Solution 1 and let OBO_B and OCO_C be the centres of ΩB\Omega_B and ΩC\Omega_C, respectively. The assumptions about the angle in the segment external to the triangle imply that the central angle AOBB\angle AO_B B equals 1802γ180^\circ - 2\gamma and that AOCC=1802β\angle AO_C C = 180^\circ - 2\beta. These equations imply OBAB=γ\angle O_B AB = \gamma and OCAC=β\angle O_C AC = \beta. Because BAC=180βγ\angle BAC = 180^\circ - \beta - \gamma we see now that OA,OBO_A, O_B and AA are collinear, hence the two circles touch each other at AA.
Figure 2

For the right angled case, see the end of Solution 1.

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