Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 3 / 159 of 260 #159 of 1964

Problem 159

AMC 10/12, early questions
Geometry Difficulty 3.5 Find the answer

A line ll passes through point P(1, 1) and intersects the circle x2+y2=4x^2+y^2=4 at points A and B. If AB=23|AB|=2\sqrt{3}, then the equation of line ll is \_\_\_\_\_\_.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Official solution

When the slope of line ll does not exist, the equation of line ll is x=1x=1,

By solving the system of equations {x=1x2+y2=4\begin{cases} x=1 \\ x^{2}+y^{2}=4 \end{cases}, we get A(1, 3-\sqrt{3}) and B(1, 3\sqrt{3}),

In this case, AB=23|AB|=2\sqrt{3}, which holds true;

When the slope of line ll exists, let the equation of line ll be y1=k(x1)y-1=k(x-1), which simplifies to kxyk+1=0kx-y-k+1=0,

The center of the circle x2+y2=4x^2+y^2=4 is O(0, 0) with radius r=2r=2,

The distance dd from the center of the circle to line ll is d=k+1k2+1d=\frac{|-k+1|}{\sqrt{k^2+1}},

Since AB=23|AB|=2\sqrt{3},

By using the formula d2+(AB2)2=r2d^2+(\frac{|AB|}{2})^2=r^2, we get (k+1k2+1)2+(232)2=4(\frac{|-k+1|}{\sqrt{k^2+1}})^2+(\frac{2\sqrt{3}}{2})^2=4,

Solving this gives k=0k=0. Therefore, the equation of line ll is y=1y=1.

Thus, the equation of line ll is either x=1x=1 or y=1y=1.

Hence, the answer is: x=1 or y=1\boxed{x=1 \text{ or } y=1}.

When the slope of line ll does not exist, the equation of line ll is x=1x=1, which holds true; when the slope of line ll exists, let the equation of line ll be kxyk+1=0kx-y-k+1=0, by finding the center of the circle x2+y2=4x^2+y^2=4 is O(0, 0) with radius r=2r=2, and the distance dd from the center of the circle to line ll is d=k+1k2+1d=\frac{|-k+1|}{\sqrt{k^2+1}}, by using the formula d2+(AB2)2=r2d^2+(\frac{|AB|}{2})^2=r^2, we can find the equation of line ll.

This problem tests the method of finding the equation of a line, which is a medium-level question. When solving, it is important to carefully read the problem and correctly apply the formula for the distance from a point to a line and the properties of a circle.

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