Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Estonija /16 of 32

Estonija, 2010

Geometry Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Given a convex quadrangle ABCDABCD with ∣AD∣=∣BD∣=∣CD∣|AD| = |BD| = |CD| and ∠ADB=∠DCA\angle ADB = \angle DCA, ∠CBD=∠BAC\angle CBD = \angle BAC, find the sizes of the angles of the quadrangle. (Juniors.)

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Denote ∠ADB=∠DCA=α\angle ADB = \angle DCA = \alpha and ∠CBD=∠BAC=β\angle CBD = \angle BAC = \beta (Fig. 1).

In triangle DACDAC we have ∣DA∣=∣DC∣|DA| = |DC| and therefore ∠DAC=∠DCA=α\angle DAC = \angle DCA = \alpha; analogously in triangles DABDAB and DBCDBC, we have ∠DBA=∠DAB=α+β\angle DBA = \angle DAB = \alpha + \beta and ∠DCB=∠DBC=β\angle DCB = \angle DBC = \beta, respectively. So ∠BCA=β−α\angle BCA = \beta - \alpha.

From triangle ABCABC now β+α+β+β+β−α=180∘\beta + \alpha + \beta + \beta + \beta - \alpha = 180^\circ or, equivalently, 4β=180∘4\beta = 180^\circ, giving β=45∘\beta = 45^\circ.

From triangle ADBADB we get α+β+α+β+α=180∘\alpha + \beta + \alpha + \beta + \alpha = 180^\circ or, equivalently, 3α=180∘−2β=90∘3\alpha = 180^\circ - 2\beta = 90^\circ and α=30∘\alpha = 30^\circ.

Therefore, the sizes of the angles of quadrangle ABCDABCD are ∠DAB=α+β=75∘\angle DAB = \alpha + \beta = 75^\circ, ∠ABC=α+2β=120∘\angle ABC = \alpha + 2\beta = 120^\circ, ∠BCD=β=45∘\angle BCD = \beta = 45^\circ, and ∠CDA=360∘−75∘−120∘−45∘=120∘\angle CDA = 360^\circ - 75^\circ - 120^\circ - 45^\circ = 120^\circ.

Figure 1
Fig. 1

Solution 2

We use the same notation as in the Solution 1. Triangle BCDBCD is isosceles, hence ∠DCB=∠DBC=β\angle DCB = \angle DBC = \beta. As DD is the circumcenter of ABCABC, we have ∠BDC=2∠BAC=2β\angle BDC = 2\angle BAC = 2\beta. The sizes of the angles of triangle BCDBCD are therefore β,β\beta, \beta, and 2β2\beta; thus β+β+2β=180∘\beta + \beta + 2\beta = 180^\circ, whence β=45∘\beta = 45^\circ.

As ∠BCA=∠BDA2\angle BCA = \frac{\angle BDA}{2}, we have ∠BCD=α2+α=β\angle BCD = \frac{\alpha}{2} + \alpha = \beta, whence α=23β=30∘\alpha = \frac{2}{3}\beta = 30^\circ.

Consequently, the sizes of the angles of quadrangle ABCDABCD are ∠DAB=∠ABD=180∘−α2=75∘\angle DAB = \angle ABD = \frac{180^\circ - \alpha}{2} = 75^\circ, ∠ABC=∠ABD+∠CBD=75∘+45∘=120∘\angle ABC = \angle ABD + \angle CBD = 75^\circ + 45^\circ = 120^\circ, ∠BCD=β=45∘\angle BCD = \beta = 45^\circ, and ∠CDA=∠CDB+∠BDA=90∘+30∘=120∘\angle CDA = \angle CDB + \angle BDA = 90^\circ + 30^\circ = 120^\circ.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

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