GeometryDifficulty 5.7AIME, harderProve itSoviet Union
Problem:
Given a finite set X of points in the plane. S is a set of vectors AB where (A,B) are some pairs of points in X. For every point A the number of vectors AB (starting at A) in S equals the number of vectors CA (ending at A) in S. Show that the sum of the vectors in S is zero.
Solution
Solution:
Let X={P1,P2,…,Pn}. For each vector AB in S, let vAB denote the vector from A to B.
The sum of all vectors in S is: AB∈S∑vAB=AB∈S∑(OB−OA) where O is the origin and OA is the position vector of A.
This can be rewritten as: AB∈S∑OB−AB∈S∑OA
For each point A, let dA+ be the number of vectors in S starting at A (i.e., the number of AB in S for fixed A), and dA− be the number of vectors in S ending at A (i.e., the number of CA in S for fixed A).
Then: AB∈S∑OA=A∈X∑dA+OA AB∈S∑OB=B∈X∑dB−OB
So the total sum is: B∈X∑dB−OB−A∈X∑dA+OA=A∈X∑(dA−−dA+)OA
But by the given, for every A, dA+=dA−, so dA−−dA+=0 for all A.
Therefore, the sum is zero.
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