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Geometry Difficulty 8.4 Shortlist Prove it Baltic Way

Points AA, BB, CC, DD lie, in this order, on a circle ω\omega, where ADAD is a diameter of ω\omega. Furthermore, AB=BC=aAB = BC = a and CD=cCD = c for some relatively prime positive integers aa and cc. Show that if the diameter dd of ω\omega is also an integer, then dd is a perfect square or 2d2d is a perfect square.

Solution

By Pythagoras, the lengths of the diagonals of quadrangle ABCDABCD are d2−a2\sqrt{d^2 - a^2} and d2−c2\sqrt{d^2 - c^2}. Applying Ptolemaios' Theorem to the quadrilateral ABCDABCD gives
d2−a2⋅d2−c2=ab+ac, \sqrt{d^2 - a^2} \cdot \sqrt{d^2 - c^2} = ab + ac,
which after squaring and simplifying becomes
d3−(2a2+c2)d−2a2c=0. d^3 - (2a^2 + c^2)d - 2a^2c = 0.
Then d=−cd = -c is a root of this equation, hence, c+dc + d is a positive factor of the left-hand side. Hence, the remaining factor (which is quadratic in dd) must vanish, and we obtain d2=cd+2a2d^2 = cd + 2a^2. Let e=2d−ce = 2d - c. The number c2+8a2=(2d−c)2=e2c^2 + 8a^2 = (2d - c)^2 = e^2 is a square, and it follows that 8a2=e2−c28a^2 = e^2 - c^2. If ee and cc both were even, then by 8∣(e2−c2)8 \mid (e^2 - c^2) we also have 16∣(e2−c2)=8a216 \mid (e^2 - c^2) = 8a^2 which implies 2∣a2 \mid a, a contradiction to the fact that aa and cc are relatively prime. Hence, ee and cc both must be odd. Moreover, ee and cc are obviously relatively prime. Consequently, the factors on the right-hand side of 2a2=e−c2⋅e+c22a^2 = \frac{e-c}{2} \cdot \frac{e+c}{2} are relatively prime. It follows that d=e+c2d = \frac{e+c}{2} is a perfect square or twice a perfect square.

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