Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 8 / 122 of 180 #1822 of 1964

Problem 1822

IMO Shortlist mid-range; USAMO P2/P5
Algebra Difficulty 8.4 Prove it

In an acute angled triangle ABCABC , let BBBB' and CCCC' be the altitudes. Ray CBC'B' intersects the circumcircle at BB'' andl let αA\alpha_A be the angle ABB^\widehat{ABB''}. Similarly are defined the angles αB\alpha_B and αC\alpha_C. Prove that sinαAsinαBsinαC3632\displaystyle\sin \alpha _A \sin \alpha _B \sin \alpha _C\leq \frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}
(Romania)

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. Setup and Notation:
Let BD B' \equiv D , CE C' \equiv E , and BK B'' \equiv K for convenience. Let ray DE DE intersect the circumcircle at L L . We aim to prove that AK=AL AK = AL .

2. Angle Relationships:
Note that:
AKL=πADKKAC=BKBC \angle AKL = \pi - \angle ADK - \angle KAC = \angle B - \angle KBC
and
ALK=ALCKLC=BKBC \angle ALK = \angle ALC - \angle KLC = \angle B - \angle KBC
Hence, AKL=ALK=αA    AK=AL \angle AKL = \angle ALK = \alpha_A \implies AK = AL .

3. Law of Sines Application:
From the Law of Sines, we get:
AKsinαA=ABsinC \frac{AK}{\sin \alpha_A} = \frac{AB}{\sin \angle C}
and
AKsin(πB)=ADsinαA \frac{AK}{\sin (\pi - \angle B)} = \frac{AD}{\sin \alpha_A}
Dividing these two relationships gives:
sinBsinαA=ABsinαAADsinC    sin2αA=sinBsinCADAB \frac{\sin \angle B}{\sin \alpha_A} = \frac{AB \cdot \sin \alpha_A}{AD \cdot \sin \angle C} \implies \sin^2 \alpha_A = \frac{\sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot AD}{AB}
Since AD=ABcosA AD = AB \cos \angle A , we have:
sin2αA=sinBsinCcosA \sin^2 \alpha_A = \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot \cos \angle A

4. Similar Relationships for Other Angles:
Similarly, we obtain:
sin2αB=sinCsinAcosB \sin^2 \alpha_B = \sin \angle C \cdot \sin \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B
and
sin2αC=sinAsinBcosC \sin^2 \alpha_C = \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C

5. Multiplying the Relationships:
Multiplying these, we get:
sinαAsinαBsinαC=sinAsinBsinCcosAcosBcosC \sin \alpha_A \cdot \sin \alpha_B \cdot \sin \alpha_C = \sqrt{\sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot \cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C}

6. Applying AM-GM Inequality:
From the Arithmetic Mean-Geometric Mean (AM-GM) inequality, we have:
sinAsinBsinC(sinA+sinB+sinC)327 \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \leq \frac{(\sin \angle A + \sin \angle B + \sin \angle C)^3}{27}
The second derivative of the function sinx \sin x is sinx<0 -\sin x < 0 , so sinx \sin x is concave in (0,π2) (0, \frac{\pi}{2}) . From Jensen's inequality, we have:
sinA+sinB+sinC3sin(A+B+C3)=3sin(π3)=332 \sin \angle A + \sin \angle B + \sin \angle C \leq 3 \cdot \sin \left( \frac{\angle A + \angle B + \angle C}{3} \right) = 3 \sin \left( \frac{\pi}{3} \right) = \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2}
Hence:
sinAsinBsinC(332)327=338 \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \leq \frac{\left( \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2} \right)^3}{27} = \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{8}

7. Applying Jensen's Inequality to Cosine:
Similarly, the second derivative of cosx \cos x is cosx<0 -\cos x < 0 in (0,π2) (0, \frac{\pi}{2}) , so:
cosAcosBcosC(cosA+cosB+cosC)327(3cos(A+B+C3))327=cos3(π3)=18 \cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C \leq \frac{(\cos \angle A + \cos \angle B + \cos \angle C)^3}{27} \leq \frac{(3 \cos \left( \frac{\angle A + \angle B + \angle C}{3} \right))^3}{27} = \cos^3 \left( \frac{\pi}{3} \right) = \frac{1}{8}
Therefore:
cosAcosBcosC122=24 \sqrt{\cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C} \leq \frac{1}{2\sqrt{2}} = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4}

8. Final Conclusion:
Combining these results, we have:
sinαAsinαBsinαC33824=3632 \sin \alpha_A \cdot \sin \alpha_B \cdot \sin \alpha_C \leq \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{8} \cdot \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4} = \frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}
Equality holds when A=B=C=π3 \angle A = \angle B = \angle C = \frac{\pi}{3} .

The final answer is 3632\boxed{\frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}}

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