Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 161 of 400 #1161 of 1964

Problem 1161

National olympiad, first round
Geometry Difficulty 6.2 Prove it

Given a circle and three different points on it, F,SF, S, and MM. Construct a triangle whose circumcircle is the given circle, and the intersection points of the angle bisector, median, and altitude from one vertex with the circumcircle are the given points F,SF, S, and MM, respectively.

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

Let AA be the vertex from which the three notable lines originate. We know that FF bisects the arc BCBC not containing AA. If we draw the perpendicular bisector of BCBC, it passes through points FF and OO, where OO is the center of the circumcircle, and OFBCO F \perp B C and AMBCA M \perp B C, that is, OFAMO F \| A M. Furthermore, we know that the lines OFO F and ASA S have a common point on the side BCBC, since both bisect it.
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Based on this, the construction proceeds as follows: We draw the line OFO F and draw a line parallel to it through the point MM. This intersects the circle at the vertex AA. We draw a perpendicular to AMA M through the intersection point of the lines ASA S and OFO F, and the intersection points of this perpendicular with the circle are the vertices BB and CC of the triangle.

From the construction, it follows that the obtained triangle, if it exists, satisfies the condition. If the problem has a solution, there is clearly only one. We claim that if the points M,F,SM, F, S are on an arc smaller than a semicircle, then the problem has a solution. An important step in the construction is the construction of the intersection point of the lines ASA S and OFO F. This intersection point is only an interior point of the circle if AA and SS are on different sides of the diameter OFO F, and since AMOFA M \| O F, MM and SS are also on different sides of the line OFO F, that is, FF indeed lies between MM and SS. We know that the diameter OFO F separates the points AA and SS, similarly, the line BCB C does as well. Reflect the point AA over OFO F, since AABCA A^{\prime} \| B C, it follows that BCB C also separates the points AA^{\prime} and SS, that is, AA^{\prime} is on one of the arcs defined by the points BB and CC, while SS is on the other. The angle MAAM A A^{\prime} is a right angle, from which it follows that M,FM, F, and SS are indeed on an arc smaller than a semicircle.

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