Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 7.3 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it

Two identically oriented equilateral triangles, ABCABC with center SS and ABCA'B'C, are given in the plane. We also have ASA' \neq S and BSB' \neq S. If MM is the midpoint of ABA'B and NN the midpoint of ABAB', prove that the triangles SBMSB'M and SANSA'N are similar.

Solution

1. Identify the given elements and their properties:
- Two identically oriented equilateral triangles ABC \triangle ABC and ABC \triangle A'B'C' with centers S S and S S' respectively.
- AS A' \neq S and BS B' \neq S .
- M M is the midpoint of AB A'B .
- N N is the midpoint of AB AB' .

2. **Prove that SMB \triangle SMB' is a 30-60-90 triangle:**
- Extend BS BS to D D such that S S is the midpoint of BD BD .
- Extend AB A'B' to E E such that B B' is the midpoint of AE A'E .

3. **Show that BCD \triangle BCD and ECA \triangle ECA' are 30-60-90 triangles:**
- Since ABC \triangle ABC and ABC \triangle A'B'C' are equilateral, the angles in these triangles are all 60 60^\circ .
- By construction, S S is the midpoint of BD BD , making BCD \triangle BCD a 30-60-90 triangle.
- Similarly, B B' is the midpoint of AE A'E , making ECA \triangle ECA' a 30-60-90 triangle.

4. Use spiral symmetry to show similarity:
- By spiral symmetry, BCEDCA \triangle BCE \sim \triangle DCA' .
- Since ECAC EC \perp A'C , we have DABE DA' \perp BE .

5. Calculate the ratio of the sides:
- Since BCD \triangle BCD and ECA \triangle ECA' are 30-60-90 triangles, the ratio of their sides is 13 \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} .
- Therefore, DABE=ACCE=13 \frac{DA'}{BE} = \frac{A'C}{CE} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} .

6. **Prove that SMDA SM \parallel DA' and MBBE MB' \parallel BE :**
- Since SMDABEMB SM \parallel DA' \perp BE \parallel MB' , we have SMMB=DABE=13 \frac{SM}{MB'} = \frac{DA'}{BE} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} .

7. **Conclude that SMB \triangle SMB' is a 30-60-90 triangle:**
- Since SMMB=13 \frac{SM}{MB'} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{3}} , SMB \triangle SMB' is a 30-60-90 triangle.

8. **Similarly, prove that SNA \triangle SNA' is a 30-60-90 triangle:**
- By similar arguments, SNA \triangle SNA' is also a 30-60-90 triangle.

9. **Conclude that SBM \triangle SB'M and SAN \triangle SA'N are similar:**
- Since both SMB \triangle SMB' and SNA \triangle SNA' are 30-60-90 triangles, they are similar by definition.

\blacksquare

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.