Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 55 of 300 #1455 of 1964

Problem 1455

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.1 Prove it

In triangle ABCABC with CA=CBCA=CB, point EE lies on the circumcircle of ABCABC such that ECB=90\angle ECB=90^{\circ}. The line through EE parallel to CBCB intersects CACA in FF and ABAB in GG. Prove that the center of the circumcircle of triangle EGBEGB lies on the circumcircle of triangle ECFECF.

Proposed by Prithwijit De

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.

Official solution

1. Identify Key Points and Properties:
- Given triangle ABCABC with CA=CBCA = CB.
- Point EE lies on the circumcircle of ABCABC such that ECB=90\angle ECB = 90^\circ.
- Line through EE parallel to CBCB intersects CACA at FF and ABAB at GG.

2. **Establish Rectangle BCEPBCEP:**
- Let PP be the other intersection of EFEF with the circumcircle of ABCABC.
- Since ECB=90\angle ECB = 90^\circ, quadrilateral BCEPBCEP is a rectangle.
- Therefore, EP=BCEP = BC and CP=BECP = BE.

3. Power of a Point and Segment Lengths:
- By the Power of a Point theorem, FEFE equals one of AFAF or FCFC.
- Since FEC=90\angle FEC = 90^\circ, FC>FEFC > FE, so FE=AFFE = AF and PF=FCPF = FC.

4. Angle Relationships and Arc Midpoint:
- BCP=EBC=EAC=AEP=ACP\angle BCP = \angle EBC = \angle EAC = \angle AEP = \angle ACP.
- Thus, PP is the arc midpoint of minor arc ABAB, and PP lies on the perpendicular bisector of ABAB.
- Since CC lies on the perpendicular bisector of ABAB, CPABCP \perp AB.

5. Isosceles Trapezoid and Cyclic Quadrilateral:
- Let QQ be the point on line BCBC such that BEQEBE \perp QE.
- EQB=90EBC=90PCB=GBQ\angle EQB = 90^\circ - \angle EBC = 90^\circ - \angle PCB = \angle GBQ.
- Since BQEGBQ \parallel EG, quadrilateral BQEGBQEG is an isosceles trapezoid and thus cyclic.

6. **Circumcenter OO of Triangle BEGBEG:**
- Let OO be the circumcenter of triangle BEGBEG.
- Since BEQ=90\angle BEQ = 90^\circ, OO is the midpoint of BQBQ and OB=OEOB = OE.

7. **Cyclic Quadrilateral CEFOCEFO:**
- Since PF=FCPF = FC, EFC=2EPC=2EBC=EOC\angle EFC = 2\angle EPC = 2\angle EBC = \angle EOC.
- Therefore, quadrilateral CEFOCEFO is cyclic (in fact, it is a rectangle).

Thus, the center of the circumcircle of triangle EGBEGB lies on the circumcircle of triangle ECFECF.

\blacksquare

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.