Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 5 / 308 of 400 #908 of 1964

Problem 908

AIME late
Geometry Difficulty 5.8 Prove it

Let's construct a rhombus, given one side and the sum of the two diagonals.

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 the sum of the two diagonals be 2s2 s, and the given side be aa. To the distance RA=sR A=s, we draw a 4545^{\circ} angle at RR. The other side of this angle intersects the circle drawn from AA with radius aa at points BB and B1B_{1}. Then, we draw circles from BB and B1B_{1} with radius aa. These circles intersect RAR A outside point AA at points CC and C1C_{1}. Points A,BA, B, and CC, as well as A,B1A, B_{1}, and C1C_{1}, are the vertices of the sought rhombus. Indeed, let the feet of the perpendiculars from BB and B1B_{1} to ACA C be OO and O1O_{1}, then

AR=AO+OR=AO+OB=s A R=A O+O R=A O+O B=s

and

AR=AO1+O1R=AO1+O1B1=s A R=A O_{1}+O_{1} R=A O_{1}+O_{1} B_{1}=s

(Jenő Silbermann, Nagyvárad.)

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