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Estonian Mathematical Olympiad

Estonia geometry

Problem

In a triangle , the internal angle bisectors at vertices and intersect at point and intersect the sides and at points and , respectively. Let and be the midpoints of segments and , respectively. The line intersects the external angle bisector at vertex of triangle at point , and the line intersects the external angle bisector at vertex of triangle at point . Prove that the points , and lie on the same circle.

problem
problem
Solution
We have as and are the internal and external angle bisectors at the same vertex (Fig. 43). We will now show . Let be a point on line such that ; then the external angle bisector at vertex of triangle is also perpendicular to line (Fig. 44). Denote . Then and . Therefore, , so the triangle is isosceles with apex at . Thus, the altitude from vertex of triangle bisects the base . As previously established, this altitude lies on the external angle bisector at vertex of triangle . Let . A homothety with center and ratio sends points and to points and , respectively, so it sends the midpoint of segment to the midpoint of segment . Therefore, the line passes through the midpoint of segment . Consequently, the intersection point of line and the external angle bisector at vertex of triangle lies at the midpoint of segment , and , as we wanted to show. Similarly, we can show that . Therefore, points and lie on the circle with diameter . The statement of the problem follows.

Techniques

Triangle centers: centroid, incenter, circumcenter, orthocenter, Euler line, nine-point circleHomothetyCyclic quadrilateralsAngle chasing