Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 277 of 300 #1677 of 2000

Problem 1677

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.7 Prove it

Let ABCABC be an acute triangle with circumcircle Ω\Omega. Let B0B_0 be the midpoint of ACAC and let C0C_0 be the midpoint of ABAB. Let DD be the foot of the altitude from AA and let GG be the centroid of the triangle ABCABC. Let ω\omega be a circle through B0B_0 and C0C_0 that is tangent to the circle Ω\Omega at a point XAX\not= A. Prove that the points D,GD,G and XX are collinear.

[i]Proposed by Ismail Isaev and Mikhail Isaev, Russia[/i]

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. Define the Medial Triangle and Key Points:
Let ΔA0B0C0\Delta A_0B_0C_0 be the medial triangle of ΔABC\Delta ABC. Here, B0B_0 is the midpoint of ACAC, and C0C_0 is the midpoint of ABAB. Let DD be the foot of the altitude from AA, and GG be the centroid of ΔABC\Delta ABC. Let ω\omega be a circle through B0B_0 and C0C_0 that is tangent to the circumcircle Ω\Omega of ΔABC\Delta ABC at a point XAX \neq A.

2. **Reflect DD and Define Parallel Line:**
Let D1D_1 be the reflection of DD over A0A_0. Let the parallel to BCBC through AA intersect Ω\Omega at TT different from AA. Since GG is also the centroid with respect to ΔADD1\Delta ADD_1 and since ADD1TADD_1T is a rectangle, it follows that DD, GG, and TT are collinear.

3. **Redefine XX and Establish Cyclic Quadrilaterals:**
Redefine XX as the intersection of DGDG and Ω\Omega different from TT. Let DTAD1=HDT \cap AD_1 = H and AGΩ=PAG \cap \Omega = P. From known results (e.g., Greece TST 2018 and All-Russian MO 2018 P2), we have that DA0PXDA_0PX, HB0CXHB_0CX, and XPEFXPEF are cyclic quadrilaterals.

4. Tangency and Power of a Point:
Let QQ be a point on BCBC such that QAQA is tangent to Ω\Omega at AA. Let C0B0AQ=MC_0B_0 \cap AQ = M. Then, MM is the center of (QDA)\odot(QDA). Let (QDA)Ω\odot(QDA) \cap \Omega at XX' different from XX. Let AA' be the AA-antipode of Ω\Omega. Simple angle chasing shows AXD=AXT=AXD\angle A'X'D = \angle A'XT = \angle A'XD, implying AXXDA'XX'D is cyclic, which is impossible unless XXX \equiv X'. Hence, X(QDA)X \in \odot(QDA), implying MX=MAMX = MA.

5. Using Power of a Point:
Using the power of a point, we can show MXMX is tangent to Ω\Omega. It is also well-known that MDMD is tangent to (A0B0C0)\odot(A_0B_0C_0). Hence, MC0MB0=MD2=MA2=MX2MC_0 \cdot MB_0 = MD^2 = MA^2 = MX^2, implying (B0C0X)\odot(B_0C_0X) is tangent to Ω\Omega.

6. Conclusion:
Since DD, GG, and XX are collinear, we have proven the required result.

The points D,G, and X are collinear. \boxed{\text{The points } D, G, \text{ and } X \text{ are collinear.}}

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