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Geometry Difficulty 6.1 National Olympiad Prove it Spain

The medians AA′AA', BB′BB', CC′CC' of the triangle ABCABC meet the nine points circle at DD, EE, FF, respectively. The points LL, MM, NN are the feet of the altitudes of ABCABC (LL belongs to AA′AA', etc). The tangents to the nine points circle at DD, EE, FF meet the lines MNMN, LNLN and LMLM at points PP, QQ, RR. Show that points PP, QQ and RR are collinear.

Solution

1) Triangles PMDPMD and PDNPDN are similar (indeed, PDM^\widehat{PDM} is half inscribed, DNP^\widehat{DNP} is inscribed and both subtend the same arch in the Euler circle; moreover P^\hat{P} is the same in both triangles). Therefore
PMPD=DMDN=PDPN  ⟹  PMPN=(DMDN)2.(∗) \frac{PM}{PD} = \frac{DM}{DN} = \frac{PD}{PN} \implies \frac{PM}{PN} = \left(\frac{DM}{DN}\right)^2. \quad (*)

Points MM, NN and BB belong to a circle of center A′A' and radius a/2a/2. (Indeed, in the triangle A′BNA'BN we have A′B=a/2A'B = a/2; BN=acos⁡BBN = a \cos B; and by the cosine law
A′N2=A′B2+BN2−2A′B⋅BN⋅cos⁡B=a24. A'N^2 = A'B^2 + BN^2 - 2 A'B \cdot BN \cdot \cos B = \frac{a^2}{4}.
In the triangle A′MCA'MC we repeat the argument and we have A′M=a/2A'M = a/2).

Then, being MA′=NA′=a/2MA' = NA' = a/2, the angle ∠MDN\angle MDN has an angle bisector DA′DA', and so, if we call T=MN∩AA′T = MN \cap AA', results
DMDN=TMTN. \frac{DM}{DN} = \frac{TM}{TN}.
Figure 1

But MNMN is antiparallel of BCBC with respect to ABAB and ACAC, and so
TMTN=AM2AN2=c2b2.(∗∗) \frac{TM}{TN} = \frac{AM^2}{AN^2} = \frac{c^2}{b^2}. \qquad (**)

Combining these results, we have PMPN=c4b4\frac{PM}{PN} = \frac{c^4}{b^4}; in a similar way we get
QNQL=a4c4andRLRM=b4a4, \frac{QN}{QL} = \frac{a^4}{c^4} \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{RL}{RM} = \frac{b^4}{a^4},
therefore
PM⋅QN⋅RLPN⋅QL⋅RM=1. \frac{PM \cdot QN \cdot RL}{PN \cdot QL \cdot RM} = 1.
By the converse of the Menelaus theorem, the points PP, QQ and RR are collinear.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.