Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 131 of 300 #1531 of 1964

Problem 1531

National Olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Geometry Difficulty 7.2 Prove it

Let ABCABC be a triangle and DD be the mid-point of BCBC. Suppose the angle bisector of ∠ADC\angle ADC is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle ABDABD at DD. Prove that ∠A=90∘\angle A=90^{\circ}.

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. Let ℓ \ell be the angle bisector of ∠ADC \angle ADC . Since D D is the midpoint of BC BC , we have BD=DC BD = DC .
2. Let X∈ℓ X \in \ell such that AX>BX AX > BX . Also, let ℓ∩AC=Y \ell \cap AC = Y .
3. Since ℓ \ell is the angle bisector of ∠ADC \angle ADC , we have ∠ADY=∠YDC \angle ADY = \angle YDC .
4. Given that the angle bisector ℓ \ell is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle ABD ABD at D D , we know that ∠ADY=∠XDB \angle ADY = \angle XDB (by the tangent-secant angle theorem).
5. Since ∠XDB=∠DAB \angle XDB = \angle DAB (as D D is the point of tangency), we have:
∠ADY=∠DAB \angle ADY = \angle DAB
6. From the above, we can infer that ∠ABC=∠ADY \angle ABC = \angle ADY .
7. Since D D is the midpoint of BC BC , we have BD=DC BD = DC . Also, since ∠ADY=∠DAB \angle ADY = \angle DAB , it implies that △ABD \triangle ABD is isosceles with AD=BD AD = BD .
8. Therefore, BD=DC=AD BD = DC = AD , making △ABD \triangle ABD and △ADC \triangle ADC isosceles with AD AD as the common side.
9. Since ∠ADY=∠DAB \angle ADY = \angle DAB and ∠ABC=∠ADY \angle ABC = \angle ADY , we have:
∠ABC=∠DAB \angle ABC = \angle DAB
10. Given that ∠ABC=∠DAB \angle ABC = \angle DAB and BD=DC=AD BD = DC = AD , it follows that ∠A=90∘ \angle A = 90^\circ .

■\blacksquare

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