Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 45 of 300 #1445 of 1964

Problem 1445

National Olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.0 Prove it

In a convex quadrilateral ABCDABCD, the angles in BB and CC are greater than 120∘120^{\circ}. Show that
∣AC∣+∣BD∣>∣AB∣+∣BC∣+∣CD∣.|AC| + |BD| > |AB|+|BC|+|CD|.

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, then read the official solution and mark yourself. Be honest about it: the record is only any use to you if it is.

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Official solution

1. Define the sides and diagonals:
Let AB=a AB = a , BC=b BC = b , CD=c CD = c , AC=p AC = p , and BD=q BD = q . Without loss of generality, assume BC=1 BC = 1 .

2. **Apply the Law of Cosines to △ABC \triangle ABC :**
Since ∠B>120∘\angle B > 120^\circ, we have:
p2=AB2+BC2−2⋅AB⋅BC⋅cos⁡(∠B) p^2 = AB^2 + BC^2 - 2 \cdot AB \cdot BC \cdot \cos(\angle B)
Given ∠B>120∘\angle B > 120^\circ, cos⁡(∠B)<−12\cos(\angle B) < -\frac{1}{2}. Therefore:
p2≥a2+1+2a⋅12=a2+1+a=a2+a+1 p^2 \geq a^2 + 1 + 2a \cdot \frac{1}{2} = a^2 + 1 + a = a^2 + a + 1
p2>(a+12)2 p^2 > (a + \frac{1}{2})^2
Taking the square root on both sides:
p>a+12 p > a + \frac{1}{2}

3. **Apply the Law of Cosines to △BCD \triangle BCD :**
Similarly, since ∠C>120∘\angle C > 120^\circ, we have:
q2=BD2+BC2−2⋅BD⋅BC⋅cos⁡(∠C) q^2 = BD^2 + BC^2 - 2 \cdot BD \cdot BC \cdot \cos(\angle C)
Given ∠C>120∘\angle C > 120^\circ, cos⁡(∠C)<−12\cos(\angle C) < -\frac{1}{2}. Therefore:
q2≥c2+1+2c⋅12=c2+1+c=c2+c+1 q^2 \geq c^2 + 1 + 2c \cdot \frac{1}{2} = c^2 + 1 + c = c^2 + c + 1
q2>(c+12)2 q^2 > (c + \frac{1}{2})^2
Taking the square root on both sides:
q>c+12 q > c + \frac{1}{2}

4. Combine the inequalities:
Adding the inequalities for p p and q q :
p+q>(a+12)+(c+12)=a+c+1 p + q > (a + \frac{1}{2}) + (c + \frac{1}{2}) = a + c + 1

5. Relate to the original inequality:
Since BC=1 BC = 1 , we have:
p+q>a+b+c p + q > a + b + c
Therefore:
∣AC∣+∣BD∣>∣AB∣+∣BC∣+∣CD∣ |AC| + |BD| > |AB| + |BC| + |CD|

■\blacksquare

The final answer is ∣AC∣+∣BD∣>∣AB∣+∣BC∣+∣CD∣ \boxed{ |AC| + |BD| > |AB| + |BC| + |CD| }

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.