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PrintBulgarian National Mathematical Olympiad
Bulgaria geometry
Problem
The point lies on the side of with circumcircle . Denote by and the centers of the circles touching , and the segments and . Assume that the points and are concyclic. Prove that is the tangent point of and the excircle to this side.

Solution
Let and let touch , and at , and , respectively. Let touch , at , and , respectively. First, we shall prove that , i.e. is an isosceles trapezoid. Assume the contrary and set . Then
and, by the Menelaus theorem, the points , and are collinear.
Then . On the other hand, is cocyclic which implies . It follows that , i.e. is cocyclic. But , i.e. is an isosceles trapezoid and then , a contradiction. Hence , i.e. and (1).
Further, the generalized Ptolemy theorem (applied to , , and ) gives . Since and , we get
Analogously,
Finally, (1), (2) and (3) imply which holds if and only if is the tangent point of and the excircle to this side.
and, by the Menelaus theorem, the points , and are collinear.
Then . On the other hand, is cocyclic which implies . It follows that , i.e. is cocyclic. But , i.e. is an isosceles trapezoid and then , a contradiction. Hence , i.e. and (1).
Further, the generalized Ptolemy theorem (applied to , , and ) gives . Since and , we get
Analogously,
Finally, (1), (2) and (3) imply which holds if and only if is the tangent point of and the excircle to this side.
Techniques
TangentsMenelaus' theoremCyclic quadrilaterals