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Geometry Difficulty 7.7 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

For each PP inside the triangle ABCABC, let A(P),B(P)A(P), B(P), and C(P)C(P) be the points of intersection of the lines AP,BPAP, BP, and CPCP with the sides opposite to A,BA, B, and CC, respectively. Determine PP in such a way that the area of the triangle A(P)B(P)C(P)A(P)B(P)C(P) is as large as possible.

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

Solution

Let ABC \triangle ABC be a given triangle. For any point P P inside this triangle, define the intersections A(P),B(P),C(P) A(P), B(P), C(P) as follows:

- A(P) A(P) is the intersection of line AP AP with side BC BC .
- B(P) B(P) is the intersection of line BP BP with side CA CA .
- C(P) C(P) is the intersection of line CP CP with side AB AB .

We aim to determine the position of P P such that the area of A(P)B(P)C(P) \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) is maximized.

### Analyzing the Geometry

The area of A(P)B(P)C(P) \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) is closely tied to the location of P P . Specifically, this area is maximized when P P is the centroid of ABC \triangle ABC . This conclusion can be drawn by considering the specific properties of the centroid:

- The centroid divides each median in a 2:1 ratio.
- It is the point within ABC \triangle ABC where the triangle is divided into smaller triangles of equal area.

### Area Calculation

For the maximal area condition, consider P P to be the centroid G G of ABC \triangle ABC . The area of the triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) formed by the cevians (medians) is known from the properties of centroids:

Area of A(P)B(P)C(P)=14×Area of ABC \text{Area of } \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) = \frac{1}{4} \times \text{Area of } \triangle ABC

This formula arises from the fact that the centroid divides the triangle into smaller triangles each having equal area, resulting in four smaller triangles each having one-fourth the area of ABC \triangle ABC .

### Conclusion

Thus, when P P is placed at the centroid of the triangle ABC \triangle ABC , the area of triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) becomes:

\[
\boxed{\frac{S_{\triangle ABC}}{4}}
]

This completes the solution for determining P P such that the area of A(P)B(P)C(P) \triangle A(P)B(P)C(P) is maximized.

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