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Geometry Difficulty 7.0 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

In triangle ABCABC , angle AA is twice angle BB , angle CC is obtuse , and the three side lengths a,b,ca, b, c are integers. Determine, with proof, the minimum possible perimeter .

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Solution 1
[asy] import olympiad; pair A, B, C, D, extensionAC; real angleABC; path braceBC; A = (0, 0); B = (2, 0); D = (1, .5); angleABC = atan(.5); //y = 4x/3 and x+2y = 2 (sides AC and BC, respectively) intersect here: C = (6/11, 8/11); braceBC = brace(C, B, .1); label("A\mathsf{A}", A, W); label("B\mathsf{B}", B, E); label("C\mathsf{C}", C, N); label("D\mathsf{D}", D, S); label("a\mathsf{a}", braceBC, NE); label("b\mathsf{b}", A--C, NW); label("c\mathsf{c}", A--B, S); label("x\mathsf{x}", A--D, N); draw(A--B--C--cycle); draw(A--D); draw(anglemark(C, B, A)); draw(anglemark(B, A, D)); draw(anglemark(D, A, C)); draw(braceBC); [/asy] (diagram by integralarefun)
After drawing the triangle, also draw the angle bisector of A\angle A , and let it intersect BC\overline{BC} at DD . Notice that ADCBAC\triangle ADC\sim \triangle BAC , and let AD=xAD=x . Now from similarity, x=bcax=\frac{bc}{a} However, from the angle bisector theorem, we have BD=acb+cBD=\frac{ac}{b+c} but ABD\triangle ABD is isosceles, so x=BDbca=acb+ca2=b(b+c)x=BD\Longrightarrow \frac{bc}{a}=\frac{ac}{b+c}\Longrightarrow a^2=b(b+c) so all sets of side lengths which satisfy the conditions also meet the boxed condition.
Notice that gcd(a,b,c)=1\text{gcd}(a, b, c)=1 or else we can form a triangle by dividing a,b,ca, b, c by their greatest common divisor to get smaller integer side lengths, contradicting the perimeter minimality. Since aa is squared, bb must also be a square because if it isn't, then bb must share a common factor with b+cb+c , meaning it also shares a common factor with cc , which means a,b,ca, b, c share a common factor—a contradiction. Thus we let b=x2,b+c=y2b = x^2, b+c = y^2 , so a=xya = xy , and we want the minimal pair (x,y)(x,y) .
By the Law of Cosines , b2=a2+c22accosBb^2 = a^2 + c^2 - 2ac\cos B
Substituting a2=b2+bca^2 = b^2 + bc yields cosB=b+c2a=y2x\cos B = \frac{b+c}{2a} = \frac{y}{2x} . Since C>90\angle C > 90^{\circ} , 0<B<303<yx<20^{\circ} < \angle B < 30^{\circ} \Longrightarrow \sqrt{3} < \frac{y}{x} < 2 . For x3x \le 3 there are no integer solutions. For x=4x = 4 , we have y=7y = 7 that works, so the side lengths are (a,b,c)=(28,16,33)(a, b, c)=(28, 16, 33) and the minimal perimeter is 77\boxed{77} .
Alternate Solution
In ABC\triangle ABC let B=β,A=2β,C=1803β\angle B = \beta, \angle A = 2\beta, \angle C = 180^{\circ} - 3\beta . From the law of sines, we have asin2β=bsinβ=csin(1803β)=csin3β\frac{a}{\sin 2\beta} = \frac{b}{\sin \beta} = \frac{c} {\sin (180^{\circ} - 3\beta)} = \frac{c}{\sin 3\beta} Thus the ratio b :a :c=sinβ :sin2β :sin3βb : a : c = \sin\beta : \sin 2\beta : \sin 3\beta We can simplify sin2βsinβ=2sinβcosβsinβ=2cosβ\frac{\sin 2\beta}{\sin\beta} = \frac{2\sin\beta\cos\beta}{\sin\beta} = 2\cos\beta Likewise, sin3βsinβ=sin2βcosβ+sinβcos2βsinβ=2sinβcos2β+sinβ(cos2βsin2β)sinβ\frac{\sin 3\beta}{\sin\beta} = \frac{\sin 2\beta\cos\beta + \sin\beta\cos 2\beta}{\sin\beta} = \frac{2\sin\beta\cos^2\beta + \sin\beta(\cos^2\beta - \sin^2\beta)}{\sin\beta} =2cos2β+cos2βsin2β=4cos2β1= {2 \cos^2 \beta + \cos^2 \beta - \sin^2 \beta} = 4\cos^2 \beta - 1 Letting γ=cosβ\gamma = \cos\beta , rewrite b :a :c=1 :2γ :4γ21b : a : c = 1 : 2\gamma : 4\gamma^2 - 1
We find that to satisfy the conditions for an obtuse triangle, β(0,30)\beta \in (0^\circ, 30^\circ) and therefore γ(32,1)\gamma \in \left(\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2}, 1\right) .
The rational number with minimum denominator (in order to minimize scaling to obtain integer solutions) above 32\frac{\sqrt{3}}{2} is 78\frac{7}{8} , which also has a denominator divisible by 2 (to take advantage of the coefficients of 2 and 4 in the ratio and further minimize scaling).
Inserting γ=78\gamma = \frac{7}{8} into the ratio, we find b :a :c=1 :74 :3316b : a : c = 1 : \frac{7}{4} : \frac{33}{16} . When scaled minimally to obtain integer side lengths, we find b,a,c=16,28,33b, a, c = 16, 28, 33 and that the perimeter is 77\boxed{77} .
(note by integralarefun: The part of the solution about finding γ\gamma is not rigorous and would likely require further proof in an actual test.)
Alternate solutions are always welcome. If you have a different, elegant solution to this problem, please add it to this page.

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