In , point is on with . Suppose that and for some integers and with and for which is a multiple of . Suppose also that the perimeter of is and that the number of possible integer values for is . What is the value of ?
Solution
In this solution, we will use two geometric results: (i) The Triangle Inequality This result says that, in , each of the following inequalities is true: . This result comes from the fact that the shortest distance between two points is the length of the straight line segment joining those two points. For example, the shortest distance between the points and is the length of the line segment . Thus, the path from to through a point not on , which has length , is longer. This explanation tells us that . (ii) The Angle Bisector Theorem In the given triangle, we are told that . This tells us that is an angle bisector of . The Angle Bisector Theorem says that, since is the angle bisector of , then . The Angle Bisector Theorem can be proven using the sine law: In , we have . In , we have . Dividing the first equation by the second, we obtain . Since , then . Since , then . Combining these three equalities, we obtain , as required. We now begin our solution to the problem. By the Angle Bisector Theorem, . Therefore, we can set and for some real number . By the Triangle Inequality, . This is equivalent to the inequality or . Since , this is equivalent to . Using the Triangle Inequality a second time, we know that . This is equivalent to , which gives . Since , then and so we obtain . (Since we already know that , a third application of the Triangle Inequality will not give any further information. Can you see why?) The perimeter, , of is . Since , then . Since is an integer, then the smallest possible integer value of is . Since , then . Since is a multiple of , then is an integer, and so the largest possible integer value of is . Every possible value of between and , inclusive, can actually be achieved. We can see this by starting with point almost at point and then continuously pulling away from while keeping the ratio fixed until the triangle is almost flat with along and . We know that the smallest possible integer value of is and the largest possible integer value of is . The number of integers in this range is . From the given information, the number of possible integer values of is . Therefore, we obtain the following equivalent equations: . Solving this, we find .