Maths Olympiad Prep

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Geometry Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Find the answer

A circle Γ \Gamma is inscribed in a quadrilateral ABCD ABCD. If A B 120 , D 90\text{A B 120 , D 90} and BC 1\text{BC 1}, find, with proof, the length of AD AD.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

1. Identify the points of tangency and their properties:
Let M,N,P,Q M, N, P, Q be the points where the sides AB,BC,CD,DA AB, BC, CD, DA touch the circle Γ \Gamma . Since Γ \Gamma is inscribed in the quadrilateral ABCD ABCD , the tangents from a point to a circle are equal. Therefore, we have:
AQ=AM=MB=BN=x AQ = AM = MB = BN = x
and
DQ=DP=y,CP=CN=z DQ = DP = y, \quad CP = CN = z

2. Use the given angles to find relationships between the segments:
Given A=B=120 \angle A = \angle B = 120^\circ and D=90 \angle D = 90^\circ , we can use the properties of tangents and the given angles to find the lengths of the segments.

3. **Express AD AD in terms of r r :**
Since A=120 \angle A = 120^\circ , the tangents from A A to the circle are equal, and similarly for B B . Therefore:
AQ=AM=MB=BN=r33 AQ = AM = MB = BN = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3}
Thus, the length AD AD can be expressed as:
AD=AQ+DQ=r33+r AD = AQ + DQ = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3} + r

4. **Find the length of BC BC :**
Given BC=1 BC = 1 , we can use the tangents from B B and C C :
BC=BN+NC=r33+r(2+3) BC = BN + NC = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3} + r(2 + \sqrt{3})
Simplifying, we get:
1=r33+r(2+3) 1 = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3} + r(2 + \sqrt{3})

5. **Solve for r r :**
Combine the terms involving r r :
1=r33+2r+r3 1 = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3} + 2r + r\sqrt{3}
1=r(33+2+3) 1 = r \left( \frac{\sqrt{3}}{3} + 2 + \sqrt{3} \right)
1=r(2+433) 1 = r \left( 2 + \frac{4\sqrt{3}}{3} \right)
1=r(6+433) 1 = r \left( \frac{6 + 4\sqrt{3}}{3} \right)
r=36+43 r = \frac{3}{6 + 4\sqrt{3}}

6. **Simplify r r :**
Rationalize the denominator:
r=36+43643643 r = \frac{3}{6 + 4\sqrt{3}} \cdot \frac{6 - 4\sqrt{3}}{6 - 4\sqrt{3}}
r=3(643)(6+43)(643) r = \frac{3(6 - 4\sqrt{3})}{(6 + 4\sqrt{3})(6 - 4\sqrt{3})}
r=181233648 r = \frac{18 - 12\sqrt{3}}{36 - 48}
r=1812312 r = \frac{18 - 12\sqrt{3}}{-12}
r=1812312=1812+12312 r = \frac{18 - 12\sqrt{3}}{-12} = \frac{18}{-12} + \frac{-12\sqrt{3}}{-12}
r=32+3 r = -\frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3}

7. **Find AD AD :**
Substitute r r back into the expression for AD AD :
AD=r33+r AD = \frac{r\sqrt{3}}{3} + r
AD=(32+3)33+(32+3) AD = \frac{(-\frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3})\sqrt{3}}{3} + (-\frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3})
Simplify:
AD=33/2+33+(32+3) AD = \frac{-3\sqrt{3}/2 + 3}{3} + (-\frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3})
AD=32+1+(32+3) AD = -\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} + 1 + (-\frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3})
AD=32+132+3 AD = -\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} + 1 - \frac{3}{2} + \sqrt{3}
AD=3232+1 AD = \frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} - \frac{3}{2} + 1
AD=33+22 AD = \frac{\sqrt{3} - 3 + 2}{2}
AD=312 AD = \frac{\sqrt{3} - 1}{2}

The final answer is 312\boxed{\frac{\sqrt{3} - 1}{2}}.

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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.