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Geometry Difficulty 7.3 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Croatia

Let ABC\triangle ABC be acute triangle and let A1,B1,C1A_1, B_1, C_1 be points on its sides BC,CA,AB\overline{BC}, \overline{CA}, \overline{AB} respectively. Prove that the triangles ABC\triangle ABC and A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1 are similar (A=A1\angle A = \angle A_1, B=B1\angle B = \angle B_1, C=C1\angle C = \angle C_1) if and only if the orthocentre of the triangle A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1 coincides with the circumcentre of the triangle ABC\triangle ABC.

Solution

Let the triangle A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1 be similar to the triangle ABCABC (A=A1=α\angle A = \angle A_1 = \alpha, B=B1=β\angle B = \angle B_1 = \beta, C=C1=γ\angle C = \angle C_1 = \gamma), and let the point OO be the orthocentre of the triangle A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1. Then OB1C1=90γ\angle OB_1C_1 = 90^\circ - \gamma, OC1B1=90β\angle OC_1B_1 = 90^\circ - \beta, so B1OC1=180(90γ)(90β)=β+γ\angle B_1OC_1 = 180^\circ - (90^\circ - \gamma) - (90^\circ - \beta) = \beta + \gamma. Since B1AC1+B1OC1=α+β+γ=180\angle B_1AC_1 + \angle B_1OC_1 = \alpha + \beta + \gamma = 180^\circ, the quadrilateral AC1OB1AC_1OB_1 is cyclic. Hence OAB1=OC1B1=90β\angle OAB_1 = OC_1B_1 = 90^\circ - \beta and OAC1=OB1C1=90γ\angle OAC_1 = \angle OB_1C_1 = 90^\circ - \gamma.

Analogously, because quadrilaterals BA1OC1BA_1OC_1 and CB1OA1CB_1OA_1 are cyclic, we get OBC1=90γ\angle OBC_1 = 90^\circ - \gamma, OBA1=90α\angle OBA_1 = 90^\circ - \alpha and OCA1=90α\angle OCA_1 = 90^\circ - \alpha, OCB1=90β\angle OCB_1 = 90^\circ - \beta, so OO is the circumcentre of the triangle ABCABC.

Figure 1
Figure 2

Now assume that the point OO is the orthocentre of the triangle A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1 and the circumcentre of the triangle ABCABC. Let A=α\angle A = \alpha, B=β\angle B = \beta, C=γ\angle C = \gamma and A1=α1\angle A_1 = \alpha_1, B1=β1\angle B_1 = \beta_1, C1=γ1\angle C_1 = \gamma_1. Let the points BB' on CACA and CC' on ABAB be such that the quadrilaterals CBOA1CB'OA_1 and BA1OCBA_1OC' are cyclic. Then the quadrilateral ACOBAC'OB' is also cyclic. Hence OCB=OAB=OAC=90β\angle OC'B' = \angle OAB' = \angle OAC = 90^\circ - \beta. Since the supplementary angle of the angle A1OC\angle A_1OC' is β\beta, the line A1OA_1O is perpendicular to BCB'C'. This implies BCB1C1B'C' \parallel B_1C_1.

Since OO is the orthocentre of the triangle A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1, the line B1C1B_1C_1 is between AA and OO, and B1OC1=180α1\angle B_1OC_1 = 180^\circ - \alpha_1.

Since A1OBCA_1OB'C is cyclic, A1OB=180γ\angle A_1OB' = 180^\circ - \gamma, and similarly A1OC=180β\angle A_1OC' = 180^\circ - \beta. The sum of these two angles is 180+α180^\circ + \alpha and therefore the line BCB'C' lies between AA and OO.

We may assume that the line BCB'C' is closer to the point AA than the line B1C1B_1C_1 (the other case is similar). That implies BOCB1OC1\angle B'OC' \leq B_1OC_1 and BA1CB1A1C1\angle B'A_1C' \leq B_1A_1C_1. Adding these two inequalities gives
BOC+BA1CB1OC1+B1A1C1.() \angle B'OC' + \angle B'A_1C' \leq \angle B_1OC_1 + \angle B_1A_1C_1. \qquad (\ddagger)
Since BA1C=BA1O+OA1C=BCO+OBC=ACO+OBA=90β+90γ=α\angle B'A_1C' = \angle B'A_1O + \angle OA_1C' = \angle B'CO + \angle OBC' = \angle ACO + \angle OBA = 90^\circ - \beta + 90^\circ - \gamma = \alpha, we have BOC+BA1C=180α+α=180\angle B'OC' + \angle B'A_1C' = 180^\circ - \alpha + \alpha = 180^\circ.

Also, B1OC1+B1A1C1=180α1+α1=180\angle B_1OC_1 + \angle B_1A_1C_1 = 180^\circ - \alpha_1 + \alpha_1 = 180^\circ.

Therefore in ()(\ddagger) we actually have equality, which can be attained only if BOC=B1OC1\angle B'OC' = \angle B_1OC_1 and BA1C=B1A1C1\angle B'A_1C' = \angle B_1A_1C_1, i.e. if α1=α\alpha_1 = \alpha and the lines BCB'C' and B1C1B_1C_1 coincide. Then also β1=β\beta_1 = \beta and γ1=γ\gamma_1 = \gamma, so the triangles A1B1C1A_1B_1C_1 and ABCABC are similar.

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