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Geometry Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Prove it Romania

Two circles γ\gamma and γ\gamma' cross one another at points AA and BB. The tangent to γ\gamma' at AA meets γ\gamma again at CC, the tangent to γ\gamma at AA meets γ\gamma' again at CC', and the line CCCC' separates the points AA and BB. Let Γ\Gamma be the circle externally tangent to γ\gamma, externally tangent to γ\gamma', tangent to the line CCCC', and lying on the same side of CCCC' as BB. Show that the circles γ\gamma and γ\gamma' intercept equal segments on one of the tangents to Γ\Gamma through AA.

Solution

Invert with respect to a circle centred at AA and denote by XX^* the image of a point XAX \neq A under this inversion. The circles γ\gamma and γ\gamma' invert into straight lines BCB^*C^* and BCB^*C'^*, and the tangents at AA into lines through AA, parallel to BCB^*C^* and BCB^*C'^*. The line CCCC' inverts into the circle ACCAC^*C'^*, and 'CC' separating AA and BB' is equivalent to 'BB' lying inside circle ACCAC^*C'^*. So ACBCAC^*B^*C'^* is a parallelogram, obtuse-angled at AA and BB^*. Draw the line through AA, parallel to CCC^*C'^*, meeting the lines BCB^*C^* and BCB^*C'^* at DD and DD', respectively. Then AA, CC^* and CC'^* are the midpoints of the sides of the triangle BDDB^*DD', and the line DDDD' is the inverse of the line through AA on which γ\gamma and γ\gamma' intercept equal segments. The circle ACCAC^*C'^* is the nine-point circle of the triangle BDDB^*DD'; by Feuerbach's theorem, it touches the incircle of that triangle. Since this incircle is the inverse of the circle Γ\Gamma in the original configuration, touching γ\gamma and γ\gamma' externally and the line CCCC', the conclusion follows.

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