Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 5 / 203 of 400 #803 of 1964

Problem 803

AIME late
Geometry Difficulty 5.4 Find the answer

Given a triangle PEF\mathrm{PEF} with sides PE=3,PF=5,EF=7\mathrm{PE}=3, \mathrm{PF}=5, \mathrm{EF}=7. On the extension of side FP\mathrm{FP} beyond point P\mathrm{P}, a segment PA=1.5\mathrm{PA}=1.5 is laid out. Find the distance dd between the centers of the circumcircles of triangles EPA\mathrm{EPA} and EAF\mathrm{EAF}. In the answer, specify the number equal to 2d2d.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

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Official solution

3. By the cosine theorem for angle EPF, we find that Cos⁡EPF=−12\operatorname{Cos} E P F=-\frac{1}{2}. Therefore, the angle EPF=120∘\mathrm{EPF}=120^{\circ}; hence the adjacent angle will be 60∘60^{\circ}. Draw a perpendicular from point E to PF, meeting at point D. Since angle EPF is obtuse, point D will lie outside triangle EPF. In the right triangle PED, PD lies opposite the angle 30∘30^{\circ}, so PD=12EP=1.5\mathrm{PD}=\frac{1}{2} \mathrm{EP}=1.5. Therefore, point D coincides with point A. Thus, we have two right triangles: EAP and EAF. The centers of the circumcircles of these triangles lie on the midpoints of the corresponding hypotenuses. Therefore, the desired distance is equal to the midline of triangle EPF, i.e., d=2.5d=2.5. Hence, the answer is: {5}\{5\}.

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