Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 7.0 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it

We are given a triangle ABCABC and three rectangles R1,R2,R3R_1,R_2,R_3 with sides parallel to two fixed perpendicular directions and such that their union covers the sides AB,BCAB,BC, and CACA; i.e., each point on the perimeter of ABCABC is contained in or on at least one of the rectangles. Prove that all points inside the triangle are also covered by the union of R1,R2,R3.R_1,R_2,R_3.

Solution

1. Assume the contrary: Suppose the union of the rectangles R1,R2,R3 R_1, R_2, R_3 does not cover all points inside the triangle ABC ABC . This means there exists at least one point inside ABC ABC that is not covered by any of the rectangles.

2. Covering the perimeter: Since the union of the rectangles covers the perimeter of ABC ABC , every point on the sides AB,BC, AB, BC, and CA CA is contained in at least one of the rectangles.

3. Finite region bounded by rectangles: Consider the region inside ABC ABC that is not covered by the rectangles. This region must be bounded by the sides of the rectangles and the sides of the triangle ABC ABC . Since the rectangles have sides parallel to two fixed perpendicular directions, the uncovered region must be a polygon with sides parallel to these directions.

4. Shape of the uncovered region: The uncovered region cannot be a triangle because a triangle cannot have all its sides parallel to two fixed perpendicular directions. Instead, the uncovered region must be a quadrilateral or a more complex polygon.

5. Contradiction with infinite region: If the uncovered region is a quadrilateral, then two of its sides must be parallel to one direction and the other two sides must be parallel to the perpendicular direction. This configuration would imply that the uncovered region extends infinitely in at least one direction, which contradicts the fact that the region is bounded within the finite area of triangle ABC ABC .

6. Conclusion: Since the assumption that there exists an uncovered point inside ABC ABC leads to a contradiction, we conclude that the union of the rectangles R1,R2,R3 R_1, R_2, R_3 must cover all points inside the triangle ABC ABC .

\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.