Let be points on a circle with and . By reflection across the line , the point is mapped to . Show that is as far from the line as is from .
Solution
All angles appearing below are to be understood as oriented and modulo . This makes considerations of the relative positions of the involved points unnecessary. The feet of the perpendiculars from to are denoted by .
Strategy. Show the congruence of triangles and . (*)
From this, will immediately follow, and thus the claim will be proven. The proof of (*) itself proceeds in three steps using a known congruence theorem.
I. Since , both triangles are right-angled.
II. Because , the cyclic quadrilateral is an isosceles trapezoid, and thus . Furthermore, by the construction of , and therefore , i.e., the hypotenuses are equal.
III. As before, we conclude from that is also an isosceles trapezoid. By repeated application of the inscribed angle theorem, we now get DEC + CAB DAC + CAB DAB DFB CDF CEF CEX + XEF. From , it follows that , or, in other words, .
Remark. Discussions of positional relationships have not been taken into account either positively or negatively in the evaluation.