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III OBM

Brazil geometry

Problem

Given a sheet of paper and the use of a rule, compass and pencil, show how to draw a straight line that passes through two given points, if the length of the ruler and the maximum opening of the compass are both less than half the distance between the two points. You may not fold the paper.
Solution
Note that we can draw an arbitrarily long line through a given point by repeatedly extending a short line. We can also find the midpoint of an arbitrary line segment. For suppose the segment is . Take a distance which is less than the maximum opening of the compass and less than the length of the ruler. Starting at and using the compasses, mark off distances of leaving a final distance of to . Now bisect the final segment of as usual and a segment length . Then mark off distances of and one of from to get the midpoint.

So suppose the points given are and . Take any lines through and meeting at . Let be the midpoints of respectively. Then take as the midpoints of respectively, and so on until we get . We can now join and to get a line parallel to the desired line . That allows us to draw a short line through in the right direction. We mark off a point on with , then draw circles center radius and center radius to intersect at a point with congruent to and hence on . Now extend to get .

Techniques

Constructions and loci