Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Switzerland — Second Round /5 of 9

Switzerland — Second Round, 2022

Geometry Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it Switzerland

Problem:
Let kk be a circle centred at OO and let X,A,YX, A, Y be three points on kk in this order such that the tangent to the circumcircle of triangle OXAO X A through XX and the tangent to the circumcircle of OAYO A Y through YY are parallel. Show that ∠XAY=120∘\angle X A Y=120^{\circ} if AA lies on the minor arc XYX Y.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Solution:
Let PP be the intersection of OXO X with the tangent through YY, and QQ any point on the tangent through XX such that AA and QQ are not on the same side of OXO X. Note that ∠OAY=∠OYA\angle O A Y=\angle O Y A, as OY=OAO Y=O A. Also, by the tangent chord theorem, ∠OAY=∠OYP\angle O A Y=\angle O Y P. Similarly, ∠OAX=∠OXA\angle O A X=\angle O X A, as OX=OAO X=O A and by the tangent chord theorem, we have ∠OAX=∠OXQ\angle O A X=\angle O X Q. We will now use the fact that the tangents through XX and YY are parallel, so that ∠OXQ=∠OPY\angle O X Q=\angle O P Y. We can now conclude, as the sum of the interior angles in the quadrilateral XAYPX A Y P is 360∘360^{\circ}. Hence,
360∘=∠OAY+∠OYA+∠OYP+∠YPX+∠PXA+∠XAO=3⋅(∠XAO+∠OAY)=3⋅∠XAY \begin{aligned} 360^{\circ} & =\angle O A Y+\angle O Y A+\angle O Y P+\angle Y P X+\angle P X A+\angle X A O \\ & =3 \cdot(\angle X A O+\angle O A Y) \\ & =3 \cdot \angle X A Y \end{aligned}
proving that ∠XAY=120∘\angle X A Y=120^{\circ}.

Solution 2

Solution:
As in Solution 1, we introduce PP and QQ and prove that ∠OAY=∠OYP\angle O A Y=\angle O Y P and ∠OAX=∠OXQ\angle O A X=\angle O X Q by the tangent chord theorem. Now let RR be a point on the parallel to the tangents through OO, such that RR and AA are on the same side as XOX O. As the lines are parallel, we have that ∠OXQ=∠XOR\angle O X Q=\angle X O R and ∠OYP=∠YOR\angle O Y P=\angle Y O R. This proves that
∠XAY=∠XAO+∠OAY=∠OXQ+∠OYP=∠XOR+∠YOR=∠XOY \begin{aligned} \angle X A Y & =\angle X A O+\angle O A Y \\ & =\angle O X Q+\angle O Y P \\ & =\angle X O R+\angle Y O R \\ & =\angle X O Y \end{aligned}
To conclude, we introduce a point SS on the arc⁡XY\operatorname{arc} X Y that does not contain AA. Then, by the inscribed angle theorem, and using that XAYSX A Y S is cyclic, we have
180∘=∠XAY+∠XSY=∠XAY+12⋅∠XOY=32⋅∠XAY \begin{aligned} 180^{\circ} & =\angle X A Y+\angle X S Y \\ & =\angle X A Y+\frac{1}{2} \cdot \angle X O Y \\ & =\frac{3}{2} \cdot \angle X A Y \end{aligned}
proving that ∠XAY=120∘\angle X A Y=120^{\circ}.

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