Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /21 of 87

Geometry Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it Serbia

Problem:

In ABC\triangle ABC (ABACAB \neq AC) a circle is inscribed, whose center is the point II, and it touches the side BCBC at the point DD. Let MM be the midpoint of the segment BCBC. Prove that the perpendiculars from the points MM and DD to the lines AIAI and MIMI, respectively, intersect on the line containing the altitude of ABC\triangle ABC from the vertex AA.

(Dušan Đukić)

Solution

Solution:

Let us denote by γ\gamma the inscribed circle of ABC\triangle ABC, and by γa\gamma_{a} and IaI_{a} the excircle opposite AA and its center. The point EE symmetric to the point DD with respect to MM is the point of tangency of γa\gamma_{a} with the side BCBC. The perpendicular 1\ell_{1} from DD to MIMI is the radical axis of the circle γ\gamma and the circle ω\omega with diameter DEDE, while the perpendicular 2\ell_{2} from AIAI is the radical axis of the circles γ\gamma and γa\gamma_{a} (because MD=MEMD=ME). Also, the radical axis of the circles γa\gamma_{a} and ω\omega is the perpendicular 3\ell_{3} from EE to MIaMI_{a}. The lines 1,2\ell_{1}, \ell_{2} and 3\ell_{3} intersect at the radical center SS of the circles γ,γa,ω\gamma, \gamma_{a}, \omega. On the other hand, it is known (from the "Great Problem") that MIAEMI \parallel AE and MIaADMI_{a} \parallel AD hold, so the lines 1\ell_{1} and 3\ell_{3} contain the altitudes from DD and EE in the triangle ADEADE. It follows that SS is the orthocenter of ADE\triangle ADE, and it lies on the altitude from the vertex AA.

Figure 1

Second solution.

Let the perpendiculars from MM and DD to AIAI and MIMI, respectively, intersect at the point SS, and let JJ be the point at which the line MIMI intersects the altitude from AA in ABC\triangle ABC. It suffices to prove that AJ=IDAJ=ID. Indeed, then it will follow that AJDIAJDI is a parallelogram, so MSDJMS \perp DJ, so that DD is the orthocenter of the triangle MSJMSJ, and from this JSMDJS \perp MD, i.e. ASBCAS \perp BC.

This is computed directly. Let us denote by HH and FF, respectively, the feet of the altitude and the angle bisector from the vertex AA, and a=BC,b=CA,c=ABa=BC, b=CA, c=AB. Then BF=acb+cBF=\frac{ac}{b+c}, BD=ab+c2BD=\frac{a-b+c}{2} and BH=a2b2+c22aBH=\frac{a^{2}-b^{2}+c^{2}}{2a}, so FH=BFBH=bc((b+c)2a2)2a(b+c)FH=BF-BH=\frac{|b-c|((b+c)^{2}-a^{2})}{2a(b+c)}, FD=BFBD=bc(b+ca)2(b+c)FD=BF-BD=\frac{|b-c|(b+c-a)}{2(b+c)} and finally AJAH=FDFH=aa+b+c=IDAH\frac{AJ}{AH}=\frac{FD}{FH}=\frac{a}{a+b+c}=\frac{ID}{AH}.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from sr; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.