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Geometry Difficulty 4.5 AIME Prove it

Given triangle ABCABC with internal angles AA, BB, and CC, and opposite sides aa, bb, and cc respectively:
(Ⅰ) If C=2BC=2B, prove that cosA=3cosB4cos3B\cos A=3\cos B-4\cos^3 B;
(Ⅱ) If bsinBcsinC=ab\sin B - c\sin C = a, and the area SS of ABC\triangle ABC is b2+c2a24\frac{b^2+c^2-a^2}{4}, find the measure of angle BB.

Solution

(Ⅰ) Proof:
Given that cosA=3cosB4cos3B\cos A=3\cos B-4\cos^3 B, this can be rewritten as:
\begin{align*}
\cos A &= 3\cos B - 4\cos^3 B \\
&= \cos B (3 - 4\cos^2 B) \\
&= \cos B \left(3 - 4 \times \frac{1+\cos 2B}{2}\right) \\
&= \cos B - 2\cos B \cos 2B \\
\cos A + 2\cos B \cos 2B &= \cos B
\end{align*}

Since C=2BC = 2B, we have A=πBC=π3BA = \pi - B - C = \pi - 3B, thus we can rewrite the equation as:
\begin{align*}
-\cos 3B + 2\cos B \cos C &= \cos B \\
2\cos B \cos C - \cos B &= \cos 3B \\
2\cos B \cos C - \cos B &= \cos (B + C) \\
&= \cos B \cos C - \sin B \sin C
\end{align*}

Rearranging terms, we have:
\begin{align*}
\cos B \cos C - \cos B &= -\sin B \sin C \\
\cos B (\cos C - 1) &= -\sin B \sin C
\end{align*}

Since cosC+sinBsinC=cosB\cos C + \sin B \sin C = \cos B and using the identity cos(CB)=cosB\cos(C-B) = \cos B, we obtain:
cos(2BB)=cosB \cos(2B - B) = \cos B
This holds true, therefore proving that cosA=3cosB4cos3B\cos A = 3\cos B - 4\cos^3 B.

(Ⅱ) **To find angle BB**:
In triangle ABCABC, given S=b2+c2a24S = \frac{b^2 + c^2 - a^2}{4}, we have:
12bcsinA=b2+c2a24 \frac{1}{2} bc \sin A = \frac{b^2 + c^2 - a^2}{4}
This leads to:
12bcsinA=12bccosA \frac{1}{2} bc \sin A = \frac{1}{2} bc \cos A
Thus:
tanA=1 \tan A = 1
Therefore, we get:
A=45 A = 45^\circ
Since bsinBcsinC=ab \sin B - c \sin C = a, we have:
sin2Bsin2C=22 \sin^2 B - \sin^2 C = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}
Equivalently:
cos2Ccos2B=22 \cos 2C - \cos 2B = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}
This can be written as:
cos(2702B)cos2B=22 \cos(270^\circ - 2B) - \cos 2B = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}
Simplifying further, we get:
sin2Bcos2B=22 -\sin 2B - \cos 2B = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}
Hence:
sin(2B+45)=12 \sin(2B + 45^\circ) = -\frac{1}{2}
As a result, we have two possibilities for the equation:
2B+45=210or2B+45=330 2B + 45^\circ = 210^\circ \quad \text{or} \quad 2B + 45^\circ = 330^\circ
Solving for BB yields:
B=77.5orB=142.5 B = 77.5^\circ \quad \text{or} \quad B = 142.5^\circ
However, we discard the second value because it is not possible in this context, thus the final answer is:
B=77.5 B = \boxed{77.5^\circ}

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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.