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Ukrainian National Mathematical Olympiad

Geometry Difficulty 6.7 National Olympiad Prove it Ukraine

The inscribed circle of an acute triangle ABC touches sides AB and BC in points C1C_1 and A1A_1 respectively. Let M be the midpoint of the side AC, and N be the midpoint of an arc ABC of the circumcircle of ABC. Also, let P be the projection of a point M to the segment A1C1A_1C_1. Prove the points I, P, and N lie on the same line.
(Anton Trygub)

Figure 1
Fig. 35

Solution

Let's denote the second intersection point of the line BI with the circumcircle of △ABC\triangle ABC as W (fig. 35).
Clearly, W is a midpoint of the smaller arc AC, and points M, W, and N lie on the same line.

Hence, it is enough to prove that triangles PMNPMN and IWNIWN are similar (which will imply that ∠PNM=∠INW\angle PNM = \angle INW and the desired collinearity). In order to prove the similarity, we are going to show that NMNW=PMIW\frac{NM}{NW} = \frac{PM}{IW}.
Let ∠B=2β\angle B = 2\beta, then ∠MNA=β\angle MNA = \beta and
NMNW=PMIW⋅NANW=cos⁡2β. \frac{NM}{NW} = \frac{PM}{IW} \cdot \frac{NA}{NW} = \cos^2 \beta.

Considering a segment PM yields that PM is a midline of a trapezoid AXYC, where X, Y are the projections of A and C onto the line A1C1A_1C_1 respectively. Going further, we get
2PM=CY+XA=CA1sin⁡YA1C+C1sin⁡XC1A=(CA1+AC1)cos⁡β=ACcos⁡β, 2\mathrm{PM} = \mathrm{CY} + \mathrm{XA} = \mathrm{CA}_1 \sin \mathrm{YA}_1\mathrm{C} + \mathrm{C}_1 \sin \mathrm{XC}_1\mathrm{A} = (\mathrm{CA}_1 + \mathrm{AC}_1)\cos \beta = \mathrm{AC}\cos \beta,
because ∠YA1C=∠XC1A=90∘−β\angle \mathrm{YA}_1\mathrm{C} = \angle \mathrm{XC}_1\mathrm{A} = 90^\circ - \beta, and CA1+AC1=AC\mathrm{CA}_1 + \mathrm{AC}_1 = \mathrm{AC}, because A1A_1 and C1C_1 are the points in which inscribed circle touches the sides of a triangle △ABC\triangle ABC.
Finally, from the trillium theorem, IW=CWIW = CW, meaning that
PMIW=AC2CWcos⁡β=CMCWcos⁡β=cos⁡2β, \frac{PM}{IW} = \frac{AC}{2CW} \cos \beta = \frac{CM}{CW} \cos \beta = \cos^2 \beta,
finishing the proof.

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