Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 222 of 300 #1622 of 2000

Problem 1622

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.5 Prove it

On the sides AB,BCAB, BC and ACAC of the triangle ABCABC, points C,AC', A' and BB' are selected, respectively, so that the angle ACBA'C'B' is right. Prove that the segment ABA'B' is longer than the diameter of the inscribed circle of the triangle ABCABC.

(M. Volchkevich)

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, read the official solution, then mark yourself honestly — the ladder only means something if the record is true.

Official solution

1. Identify the incenter and the incircle:
Let I I be the incenter of ABC \triangle ABC . The incenter is the point where the angle bisectors of the triangle intersect, and it is the center of the incircle of ABC \triangle ABC . The radius of the incircle is denoted by r r .

2. **Construct the circle with diameter AB A'B' :**
Let ω \omega be the circle with diameter AB A'B' . Since ACB=90 \angle A'C'B' = 90^\circ , point C C' lies on the circle ω \omega by the property of the circle that states an angle inscribed in a semicircle is a right angle.

3. **Consider the case where ω \omega coincides with the incircle:**
If ω \omega coincides with the incircle of ABC \triangle ABC , then the diameter of ω \omega is 2r 2r . In this case, the segment AB A'B' is exactly 2r 2r , which is the diameter of the incircle.

4. **Consider the case where ω \omega and the incircle are different:**
Assume ω \omega and the incircle of ABC \triangle ABC are different. Since ω \omega has points on the sides of ABC \triangle ABC , it intersects at least one of the sides at two different points.

5. **Construct a tangential triangle to ω \omega :**
Construct a tangential triangle to ω \omega whose sides are parallel to the sides of ABC \triangle ABC . This tangential triangle is similar to ABC \triangle ABC with a similarity ratio greater than 1. This implies that the inradius of this tangential triangle is greater than the inradius of ABC \triangle ABC .

6. Compare the inradii:
Since the inradius of the tangential triangle to ω \omega is greater than the inradius of ABC \triangle ABC , it follows that the diameter of ω \omega (which is AB A'B' ) is greater than the diameter of the incircle of ABC \triangle ABC .

7. Conclusion:
Therefore, AB>2r A'B' > 2r .

AB>2r \boxed{A'B' > 2r}

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