Let be a point on a nondegenerate conic. A right angle with vertex intersects the conic at points and . Prove that the line passes through a fixed point located on the normal to the conic through the point
Solution
1. **Label the given conic as and identify the tangent line to at point .**
- Let be an arbitrary fixed circle tangent to at .
- Point is the center of a homology .
2. **Consider the points and where the right angle with vertex intersects the conic .**
- Let and cut again at and , respectively. These points and are the homologous points of and under the homology .
3. **Analyze the angles formed by the points , , and .**
- Since , it follows that as well.
4. **Determine the line in relation to the fixed point .**
- Because , the line always passes through the fixed center of the circle .
5. **Map the fixed point under the homology .**
- The image of the fixed point under the homology is denoted as .
6. **Conclude the behavior of the line .**
- Since always passes through , the line (the image of under ) always passes through the fixed point .
7. **Relate the fixed point to the normal line to through .**
- Consequently, the chords pass through a fixed point on the normal line to through .