A triangle is given in the plane together with a point lying on the half-line opposite to . Construct a rectangle whose vertices and lie on the lines and , respectively. (We allow the rectangle to be a square.)
Problem 1645
Official solution
1. Coordinate System Setup:
- Place the coordinate origin at point and align the positive x-axis along the ray .
- Let and . The equation of the line is .
2. **Point on Line **:
- Let be an arbitrary point on , so where .
3. Circle Center and Radius:
- The perpendicular bisector of segment intersects at the center of the circle with radius .
- The line intersects the circle again at point , where .
4. **Power of Point **:
- Let be the perpendicular projection of on . The power of to the circle is given by:
5. **Equation of Locus **:
- Eliminate the arbitrary parameter to find the equation of the locus of :
- This is the general equation of a conic section with . Since , it is a hyperbola.
6. Asymptotes of the Hyperbola:
- The slopes of the asymptotes and are obtained by factoring the first three terms:
- The slopes are and . Thus, one asymptote and the other .
7. Equations of Asymptotes:
- Let the equations of the asymptotes be and . For any :
- Since , we have and , .
8. Intersection Points and Tangents:
- Let cut the y-axis at and let be the reflection of in . The asymptote passes through and passes through .
- Since the absolute term of the hyperbola equation is , . Since is the midpoint of , is tangent to at .
9. Hyperbola Center and Major Axis:
- The intersection is the hyperbola center. The internal bisector of is the hyperbola major axis line.
- Let and be the hyperbola foci, which need to be constructed.
10. Construction of Foci:
- The hyperbola tangent , bisecting , intersects the perpendicular bisector of through at .
- The circumcircle of , centered on and passing through and , intersects the hyperbola major axis line at the hyperbola foci and .
11. Hyperbola Vertices:
- The perpendicular projection of the focus on the hyperbola tangent lies on the hyperbola pedal circle , which intersects the hyperbola major axis line at the hyperbola vertices and .
12. Circle Construction:
- Let be a circle centered at with radius . Let be the reflection of in .
- The two circles and through and , and externally tangent to at and , are centered on the line .
13. Intersection Points:
- Since and similarly, , and are intersections of the line and the hyperbola .
14. Radical Axes and Tangents:
- Let be an arbitrary circle through and , preferably intersecting at and . The radical axes and of circle pairs and meet at the radical center of .
- Tangents and of from are radical axes of externally tangent circle pairs and . Thus, and .
15. Circumcenters of Rectangles:
- The perpendicular bisectors of and intersect the line at the circumcenters and of rectangles and , respectively, providing the two problem solutions.
The final answer is the construction of the rectangles and .