Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 8 / 10 of 180 #1710 of 1964

Problem 1710

IMO Shortlist mid-range; USAMO P2/P5
Geometry Difficulty 8.0 Prove it

A tetrahedron ABCDABCD satisfies BAC=CAD=DAB=90o\angle BAC=\angle CAD=\angle DAB=90^o. Show that the areas of its faces satisfy the equation area(BAC)2+area(CAD)2+area(DAB)2=area(BCD)2area(BAC)^2 + area(CAD)^2 + area(DAB)^2 = area(BCD)^2.
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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

1. Assign Coordinates:
We start by assigning coordinates to the vertices of the tetrahedron. Let:
A=(0,0,0),B=(b,0,0),C=(0,c,0),D=(0,0,1) A = (0, 0, 0), \quad B = (b, 0, 0), \quad C = (0, c, 0), \quad D = (0, 0, 1)
This ensures that the angles BAC\angle BAC, CAD\angle CAD, and DAB\angle DAB are all 9090^\circ.

2. Vectors Calculation:
Calculate the vectors DB\overrightarrow{DB} and DC\overrightarrow{DC}:
DB=(b,0,1),DC=(0,c,1) \overrightarrow{DB} = (b, 0, -1), \quad \overrightarrow{DC} = (0, c, -1)

3. Dot Product and Magnitudes:
Compute the dot product DBDC\overrightarrow{DB} \cdot \overrightarrow{DC}:
DBDC=b0+0c+(1)(1)=1 \overrightarrow{DB} \cdot \overrightarrow{DC} = b \cdot 0 + 0 \cdot c + (-1) \cdot (-1) = 1
Compute the magnitudes DB|\overrightarrow{DB}| and DC|\overrightarrow{DC}|:
DB=b2+02+(1)2=b2+1 |\overrightarrow{DB}| = \sqrt{b^2 + 0^2 + (-1)^2} = \sqrt{b^2 + 1}
DC=02+c2+(1)2=c2+1 |\overrightarrow{DC}| = \sqrt{0^2 + c^2 + (-1)^2} = \sqrt{c^2 + 1}

4. **Cosine of Angle BCD\angle BCD:**
Using the dot product formula, we find cosBCD\cos \angle BCD:
cosBCD=DBDCDBDC=1b2+1c2+1 \cos \angle BCD = \frac{\overrightarrow{DB} \cdot \overrightarrow{DC}}{|\overrightarrow{DB}| \cdot |\overrightarrow{DC}|} = \frac{1}{\sqrt{b^2 + 1} \cdot \sqrt{c^2 + 1}}
Therefore,
cos2BCD=(1b2+1c2+1)2=1(b2+1)(c2+1) \cos^2 \angle BCD = \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{b^2 + 1} \cdot \sqrt{c^2 + 1}} \right)^2 = \frac{1}{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1)}

5. **Sine of Angle BCD\angle BCD:**
Using the identity sin2θ=1cos2θ\sin^2 \theta = 1 - \cos^2 \theta, we get:
sin2BCD=1cos2BCD=11(b2+1)(c2+1) \sin^2 \angle BCD = 1 - \cos^2 \angle BCD = 1 - \frac{1}{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1)}
Simplify the expression:
sin2BCD=(b2+1)(c2+1)1(b2+1)(c2+1)=b2+c2+b2c2(b2+1)(c2+1) \sin^2 \angle BCD = \frac{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1) - 1}{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1)} = \frac{b^2 + c^2 + b^2c^2}{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1)}

6. **Area of Triangle BCDBCD:**
The area of triangle BCDBCD is given by:
Area(BCD)=12DBDCsinBCD \text{Area}(BCD) = \frac{1}{2} |\overrightarrow{DB}| |\overrightarrow{DC}| \sin \angle BCD
Squaring both sides, we get:
Area(BCD)2=(12)2DB2DC2sin2BCD \text{Area}(BCD)^2 = \left( \frac{1}{2} \right)^2 |\overrightarrow{DB}|^2 |\overrightarrow{DC}|^2 \sin^2 \angle BCD
Substitute the values:
Area(BCD)2=14(b2+1)(c2+1)b2+c2+b2c2(b2+1)(c2+1)=14(b2+c2+b2c2) \text{Area}(BCD)^2 = \frac{1}{4} (b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1) \cdot \frac{b^2 + c^2 + b^2c^2}{(b^2 + 1)(c^2 + 1)} = \frac{1}{4} (b^2 + c^2 + b^2c^2)

7. **Areas of Triangles BACBAC, CADCAD, and DABDAB:**
The areas of triangles BACBAC, CADCAD, and DABDAB are:
Area(BAC)=12bc,Area(CAD)=12c,Area(DAB)=12b \text{Area}(BAC) = \frac{1}{2} bc, \quad \text{Area}(CAD) = \frac{1}{2} c, \quad \text{Area}(DAB) = \frac{1}{2} b
Squaring these areas, we get:
Area(BAC)2=(12bc)2=14b2c2 \text{Area}(BAC)^2 = \left( \frac{1}{2} bc \right)^2 = \frac{1}{4} b^2 c^2
Area(CAD)2=(12c)2=14c2 \text{Area}(CAD)^2 = \left( \frac{1}{2} c \right)^2 = \frac{1}{4} c^2
Area(DAB)2=(12b)2=14b2 \text{Area}(DAB)^2 = \left( \frac{1}{2} b \right)^2 = \frac{1}{4} b^2

8. Summing the Areas:
Summing the squares of the areas of triangles BACBAC, CADCAD, and DABDAB, we get:
Area(BAC)2+Area(CAD)2+Area(DAB)2=14b2c2+14c2+14b2=14(b2+c2+b2c2) \text{Area}(BAC)^2 + \text{Area}(CAD)^2 + \text{Area}(DAB)^2 = \frac{1}{4} b^2 c^2 + \frac{1}{4} c^2 + \frac{1}{4} b^2 = \frac{1}{4} (b^2 + c^2 + b^2c^2)

9. Conclusion:
We have shown that:
Area(BAC)2+Area(CAD)2+Area(DAB)2=Area(BCD)2 \text{Area}(BAC)^2 + \text{Area}(CAD)^2 + \text{Area}(DAB)^2 = \text{Area}(BCD)^2
Therefore, the given equation is satisfied.

\blacksquare

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