Points P and Q lie inside parallelogram ABCD and are such that triangles ABP and BCQ are equilateral. Prove that the line through P perpendicular to DP and the line through Q perpendicular to DQ meet on the altitude from B in triangle ABC.
Solution
Let ∠ABC=m and let O be the circumcenter of triangle DPQ. Since P and Q are in the interior of ABCD, it follows that m=∠ABC>60∘ and ∠DAB=180∘−m>60∘ which together imply that 60∘<m<120∘. Now note that ∠DAP=∠DAB−60∘=120∘−m, ∠DCQ=∠DCB−60∘=120∘−m and that ∠PBQ=60∘−∠ABQ=60∘−(∠ABC−60∘)=120∘−m. This combined with the facts that AD=BQ=CQ and AP=BP=CD implies that triangles DAP, QBP and QCD are congruent. Therefore DP=PQ=DQ and triangle DPQ is equilateral. This implies that ∠ODA=∠PDA+30∘=∠DQC+30∘=∠OQC. Combining this fact with OQ=OD and CQ=AD implies that triangles ODA and OQC are congruent. Therefore OA=OC and, if M is the midpoint of segment AC, it follows that OM is perpendicular to AC. Since ABCD is a parallelogram, M is also the midpoint of DB. If K denotes the intersection of the line through P perpendicular to DP and the line through Q perpendicular to DQ, then K is diametrically opposite D on the circumcircle of DPQ and O is the midpoint of segment DK. This implies that OM is a midline of triangle DBK and hence that BK is parallel to OM which is perpendicular to AC. Therefore K lies on the altitude from B in triangle ABC, as desired. □
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