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Problem 1366

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Geometry Difficulty 5.6 Prove it Taiwan IMO Selection Camp · Taiwan

In triangle ABCABC, AA', BB', CC' are respectively the midpoints of sides BCBC, ACAC, ABAB. BB^*, CC^* lie respectively on ACAC, ABAB such that BBBB^*, CCCC^* are altitudes of triangle ABCABC. Let B#B^\#, C#C^\# be respectively the midpoints of BBBB^*, CCCC^*. Let BB#B'B^\# and CC#C'C^\# meet at point KK, and let AKAK meet BCBC at point LL. Prove: BAL=CAA\angle BAL = \angle CAA'.

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, then read the official solution and mark yourself. Be honest about it: the record is only any use to you if it is.

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Official solution

Define AA^*, A#A^\# similarly. Since ABABA'B' \parallel AB, BCBCB'C' \parallel BC, CACAC'A' \parallel CA, and the three altitudes are concurrent, we obtain
CAABBCCAABBC=1=BAACACCBCBBA=1, \frac{C'A^\sharp}{A^\sharp B'} \cdot \frac{B'C^\sharp}{C^\sharp A'} \cdot \frac{A'B^\sharp}{B^\sharp C'} = 1 = \frac{BA^*}{A^*C} \cdot \frac{AC^*}{C^*B} \cdot \frac{CB^*}{B^*A} = 1,
so KK also lies on AAA'A^\sharp. Let a=BCa = BC, b=CAb = CA, c=ABc = AB. By Menelaus' theorem,
AKKAACCBBCCA=1=AKKAAAAAALLA. \frac{A'K}{KA^\sharp} \cdot \frac{A^\sharp C'}{C'B'} \cdot \frac{B'C^\sharp}{C^\sharp A'} = -1 = \frac{A'K}{KA^\sharp} \cdot \frac{A^\sharp A}{AA^*} \cdot \frac{A^*L}{LA'}.
Therefore ALLA=AAAAACCBBCCA=2ccosBabcosAacosB=2bccosAa2\frac{A^*L}{LA'} = \frac{AA^*}{A^\sharp A} \cdot \frac{A^\sharp C'}{C'B'} \cdot \frac{B'C^\sharp}{C^\sharp A'} = 2 \cdot \frac{c \cos B}{a} \cdot \frac{b \cos A}{a \cos B} = \frac{2bc \cos A}{a^2}. Denote this ratio by rr. And AA=bcosC12a=bcosCccosB2A'A^* = b \cos C - \frac{1}{2}a = \frac{b \cos C - c \cos B}{2}, so
BLLC=ccosB+r1+rbcosCccosB2bcosCr1+rbcosCccosB2=2ccosB+r(ccosB+bcosC)2bcosC+r(ccosB+bcosC)=2ccosB+2bccosAa2bcosC+2bccosAa(since ccosB+bcosC=a)=c(acosB+bcosC)b(acosC+ccosA)=c2b2. \begin{aligned} \frac{BL}{LC} &= \frac{c \cos B + \frac{r}{1+r} \cdot \frac{b \cos C - c \cos B}{2}}{b \cos C - \frac{r}{1+r} \cdot \frac{b \cos C - c \cos B}{2}} = \frac{2c \cos B + r(c \cos B + b \cos C)}{2b \cos C + r(c \cos B + b \cos C)} \\ &= \frac{2c \cos B + \frac{2bc \cos A}{a}}{2b \cos C + \frac{2bc \cos A}{a}} \quad (\text{since } c \cos B + b \cos C = a) \\ &= \frac{c(a \cos B + b \cos C)}{b(a \cos C + c \cos A)} = \frac{c^2}{b^2}. \end{aligned}
But BLLC=csinBALbsinCAL\frac{BL}{LC} = \frac{c \sin \angle BAL}{b \sin \angle CAL}, so we get sinBALsinCAL=cb\frac{\sin \angle BAL}{\sin \angle CAL} = \frac{c}{b}. Also, since AA' is the midpoint of BCBC, 1=BAAC=csinBAAbsinCAA1 = \frac{BA'}{A'C} = \frac{c \sin \angle BAA'}{b \sin \angle CAA'}, so
sinBALsinCAL=sinCAAsinBAA \frac{\sin \angle BAL}{\sin \angle CAL} = \frac{\sin \angle CAA'}{\sin \angle BAA'}
Because BAL+CAL=CAA+BAA=A\angle BAL + \angle CAL = \angle CAA' + \angle BAA' = \angle A, we conclude BAL=CAA\angle BAL = \angle CAA', CAL=BAA\angle CAL = \angle BAA'. This completes the proof.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from zh; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.