Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 341 of 400 #1341 of 2000

Problem 1341

National olympiad, first round
Geometry Difficulty 6.6 Find the answer

Triangle ABC ABC is scalene with angle A A having a measure greater than 90 degrees. Determine
the set of points D D that lie on the extended line BC BC, for which
AD\equalBDCD |AD|\equal{}\sqrt{|BD| \cdot |CD|}
where BD |BD| refers to the (positive) distance between B B and D D.

Official solution

1. Understanding the Problem:
We need to find the set of points D D on the extended line BC BC such that AD=BDCD |AD| = \sqrt{|BD| \cdot |CD|} . This condition is reminiscent of the power of a point theorem, which states that for a point D D relative to a circle, the product of the lengths of the segments of any line through D D that intersects the circle is constant.

2. Using the Power of a Point Theorem:
The given condition AD2=BDCD |AD|^2 = |BD| \cdot |CD| suggests that D D lies on the radical axis of the circle passing through A,B, A, B, and C C . This circle is the circumcircle of ABC \triangle ABC .

3. Constructing the Circumcircle:
To find the circumcircle of ABC \triangle ABC , we need to find the perpendicular bisectors of any two sides of ABC \triangle ABC . The intersection of these bisectors is the circumcenter O O of the triangle.

4. **Locating Point D D :**
Since D D must satisfy the power of a point condition relative to the circumcircle, D D must lie on the line BC BC extended. The power of point theorem tells us that the power of D D with respect to the circumcircle is DA2=BDCD |DA|^2 = |BD| \cdot |CD| .

5. Special Case Analysis:
- If A A is the circumcenter, then A A is equidistant from B B and C C , and A \angle A cannot be greater than 90 90^\circ in a scalene triangle.
- Since A \angle A is greater than 90 90^\circ , A A is not the circumcenter, and the circumcenter O O lies outside ABC \triangle ABC .

6. Conclusion:
The point D D must lie on the line BC BC such that the power of D D with respect to the circumcircle is equal to AD2 |AD|^2 . This implies that D D is the point where the perpendicular from A A to BC BC (or its extension) intersects BC BC . However, since A \angle A is obtuse, the perpendicular from A A to BC BC will not intersect BC BC within the segment BC BC , but rather on its extension.

The final answer is D \boxed{ D } lies on the extension of BC BC such that AD=BDCD |AD| = \sqrt{|BD| \cdot |CD|} .

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