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Geometry Difficulty 6.1 National Olympiad Prove it Spain

The medians AAAA', BBBB', CCCC' of the triangle ABCABC meet the nine points circle at DD, EE, FF, respectively. The points LL, MM, NN are the feet of the altitudes of ABCABC (LL belongs to AAAA', etc). The tangents to the nine points circle at DD, EE, FF meet the lines MNMN, LNLN and LMLM at points PP, QQ, RR. Show that points PP, QQ and RR are collinear.

Solution

1) Triangles PMDPMD and PDNPDN are similar (indeed, PDM^\widehat{PDM} is half inscribed, DNP^\widehat{DNP} is inscribed and both subtend the same arch in the Euler circle; moreover P^\hat{P} is the same in both triangles). Therefore
PMPD=DMDN=PDPN    PMPN=(DMDN)2.() \frac{PM}{PD} = \frac{DM}{DN} = \frac{PD}{PN} \implies \frac{PM}{PN} = \left(\frac{DM}{DN}\right)^2. \quad (*)

Points MM, NN and BB belong to a circle of center AA' and radius a/2a/2. (Indeed, in the triangle ABNA'BN we have AB=a/2A'B = a/2; BN=acosBBN = a \cos B; and by the cosine law
AN2=AB2+BN22ABBNcosB=a24. A'N^2 = A'B^2 + BN^2 - 2 A'B \cdot BN \cdot \cos B = \frac{a^2}{4}.
In the triangle AMCA'MC we repeat the argument and we have AM=a/2A'M = a/2).

Then, being MA=NA=a/2MA' = NA' = a/2, the angle MDN\angle MDN has an angle bisector DADA', and so, if we call T=MNAAT = MN \cap AA', results
DMDN=TMTN. \frac{DM}{DN} = \frac{TM}{TN}.
Figure 1

But MNMN is antiparallel of BCBC with respect to ABAB and ACAC, and so
TMTN=AM2AN2=c2b2.() \frac{TM}{TN} = \frac{AM^2}{AN^2} = \frac{c^2}{b^2}. \qquad (**)

Combining these results, we have PMPN=c4b4\frac{PM}{PN} = \frac{c^4}{b^4}; in a similar way we get
QNQL=a4c4andRLRM=b4a4, \frac{QN}{QL} = \frac{a^4}{c^4} \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{RL}{RM} = \frac{b^4}{a^4},
therefore
PMQNRLPNQLRM=1. \frac{PM \cdot QN \cdot RL}{PN \cdot QL \cdot RM} = 1.
By the converse of the Menelaus theorem, the points PP, QQ and RR are collinear.

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