Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 139 of 300 #1539 of 2000

Problem 1539

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.3 Find the answer

For a triangle T=ABCT = ABC we take the point XX on the side (AB)(AB) such that AX/AB=4/5AX/AB=4/5, the point YY on the segment (CX)(CX) such that CY=2YXCY = 2YX and, if possible, the point ZZ on the ray (CACA such that CXZ^=180ABC^\widehat{CXZ} = 180 - \widehat{ABC}. We denote by Σ\Sigma the set of all triangles TT for which
XYZ^=45\widehat{XYZ} = 45. Prove that all triangles from Σ\Sigma are similar and find the measure of their smallest angle.

Official solution

1. Identify the given points and ratios:
- Point X X on side AB AB such that AXAB=45 \frac{AX}{AB} = \frac{4}{5} .
- Point Y Y on segment CX CX such that CYYX=2 \frac{CY}{YX} = 2 .
- Point Z Z on the ray CA CA such that CXZ=180ABC \angle CXZ = 180^\circ - \angle ABC .

2. **Determine the coordinates of point X X :**
- Let A=(0,0) A = (0, 0) and B=(b,0) B = (b, 0) .
- Since AXAB=45 \frac{AX}{AB} = \frac{4}{5} , the coordinates of X X are X=(4b5,0) X = \left(\frac{4b}{5}, 0\right) .

3. **Determine the coordinates of point Y Y :**
- Let C=(cx,cy) C = (c_x, c_y) .
- The line segment CX CX can be parameterized as C+t(XC) C + t(X - C) for t[0,1] t \in [0, 1] .
- Since CYYX=2 \frac{CY}{YX} = 2 , we have CY=2YX CY = 2YX , implying Y Y divides CX CX in the ratio 2:1 2:1 .
- Using the section formula, the coordinates of Y Y are:
Y=(24b5+cx3,20+cy3)=(8b+5cx15,cy3) Y = \left( \frac{2 \cdot \frac{4b}{5} + c_x}{3}, \frac{2 \cdot 0 + c_y}{3} \right) = \left( \frac{8b + 5c_x}{15}, \frac{c_y}{3} \right)

4. **Determine the coordinates of point Z Z :**
- Point Z Z lies on the ray CA CA such that CXZ=180ABC \angle CXZ = 180^\circ - \angle ABC .
- This implies that Z Z is on the extension of CA CA past A A .

5. **Calculate the angle XYZ \angle XYZ :**
- Given XYZ=45 \angle XYZ = 45^\circ , we need to use the properties of the triangle and the given conditions to find the relationship between the angles of the triangle.

6. Prove similarity of triangles:
- To prove that all triangles in Σ \Sigma are similar, we need to show that the angles of the triangles are the same.
- Since XYZ=45 \angle XYZ = 45^\circ and the other conditions are met, we can use the properties of similar triangles and angle chasing to show that the triangles are similar.

7. Find the measure of the smallest angle:
- Let A=α \angle A = \alpha , B=β \angle B = \beta , and C=γ \angle C = \gamma .
- Using the given conditions and the fact that the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 180^\circ , we can find the measure of the smallest angle.

8. Conclusion:
- By proving the similarity of the triangles and using the given conditions, we can determine the measure of the smallest angle.

The final answer is 15 \boxed{15^\circ}

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