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NMO Selection Tests for the Junior Balkan Mathematical Olympiad - First Selection Test

Geometry Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Romania

Given the trapezoid ABCDABCD with the smaller base ABAB, squares ADEFADEF and BCGHBCGH are constructed externally to the trapezoid. Prove that the perpendicular bisector of ABAB passes through the midpoint of FHFH.

Solution

Let II be the midpoint of ABAB and MM, QQ be points on the base CDCD, such that DM=QC=AIDM = QC = AI.

Construct squares IMNPIMNP and IQRSIQRS, externally to the triangle IMQIMQ.

Since ∠PIS+∠PIM+∠MIQ+∠QIS=360∘\angle PIS + \angle PIM + \angle MIQ + \angle QIS = 360^\circ and IPUSIPUS is a parallelogram, we infer that ∠PIS+∠MIQ=180∘=∠IPU+∠PIS\angle PIS + \angle MIQ = 180^\circ = \angle IPU + \angle PIS, so ∠IPU=∠MIQ\angle IPU = \angle MIQ. As IP=IMIP = IM and PU=IS=IQPU = IS = IQ, triangles IPUIPU and MIQMIQ are congruent (S.A.S.), so ∠PIU=∠IMQ\angle PIU = \angle IMQ.
Triangle IMVIMV is right-angled at VV, so ∠MIV=90∘−∠IMV=90∘−∠PIU\angle MIV = 90^\circ - \angle IMV = 90^\circ - \angle PIU. It follows that ∠MIV+∠PIU+∠MIP=180∘\angle MIV + \angle PIU + \angle MIP = 180^\circ, therefore UU, II, VV are collinear.
Hence, UIUI is the perpendicular bisector of segment ABAB. Since IPUSIPUS is a parallelogram, the line UIUI passes through the midpoint JJ of the diagonal PSPS.
As ∠DAF=∠MIP=90∘\angle DAF = \angle MIP = 90^\circ and AD∥IMAD \parallel IM, it follows that AF∥IPAF \parallel IP. But AF=IPAF = IP, so AIPFAIPF is a parallelogram, which means that FP∥AIFP \parallel AI and FP=AIFP = AI. Analogously, we prove that SH∥IBSH \parallel IB and SH=IBSH = IB. Since II is the midpoint of ABAB, we infer that FP∥SHFP \parallel SH and FP=SHFP = SH, so FPHSFPHS is parallelogram. Therefore, the diagonals FHFH and PSPS have the same midpoint JJ, so UIUI (the perpendicular bisector of ABAB) passes through the midpoint of FHFH.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.