Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 222 of 400 #1222 of 1964

Problem 1222

National Olympiad, first round
Algebra Difficulty 6.3 Prove it

(15 points) Given the parabola C:y=12x2C: y=\frac{1}{2} x^{2} and the line l:y=kx−1l: y=k x-1 have no common points, let point PP be a moving point on the line ll, and draw two tangent lines from PP to the parabola CC, with AA and BB being the points of tangency.
(1) Prove: The line ABA B always passes through a fixed point QQ;
(2) If the line connecting point PP and the fixed point QQ from (1) intersects the parabola CC at points MM and NN, prove: ∣PM∣∣PN∣=∣QM∣∣QN∣\frac{|P M|}{|P N|}=\frac{|Q M|}{|Q N|}.

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

11 (1) Let A(x1,y1)A\left(x_{1}, y_{1}\right), then y1=12x12y_{1}=\frac{1}{2} x_{1}^{2}. From y=12x2y=\frac{1}{2} x^{2}, we get y′=xy^{\prime}=x, so y′∣x=x1=x1\left.y^{\prime}\right|_{x=x_{1}}=x_{1}. Therefore, the equation of the tangent line to the parabola CC at point AA is y−y1=x1(x−x1)y-y_{1}=x_{1}\left(x-x_{1}\right), which simplifies to y=x1x−y1y=x_{1} x-y_{1}.

Let P(x0,kx0−1)P\left(x_{0}, k x_{0}-1\right), then kx0−1=x0x1−y1k x_{0}-1=x_{0} x_{1}-y_{1}. Let B(x2,y2)B\left(x_{2}, y_{2}\right), similarly, we have kx0−1=x0x2−y2k x_{0}-1=x_{0} x_{2}-y_{2}. Therefore, the equation of line ABA B is kx0−1=x0x−yk x_{0}-1=x_{0} x-y, which simplifies to x0(x−k)−(y−1)=0x_{0}(x-k)-(y-1)=0, so line ABA B always passes through the fixed point Q(k,1)Q(k, 1).
(2) The equation of PQP Q is y=kx0−2x0−k(x−k)+1y=\frac{k x_{0}-2}{x_{0}-k}(x-k)+1, and combining this with the parabola equation y=12x2y=\frac{1}{2} x^{2}, we eliminate yy to get
x2−2kx0−4x0−kx+(2k2−2)x0−2kx0−k=0. x^{2}-\frac{2 k x_{0}-4}{x_{0}-k} x+\frac{\left(2 k^{2}-2\right) x_{0}-2 k}{x_{0}-k}=0 .

Let M(x3,y3)M\left(x_{3}, y_{3}\right) and N(x4,y4)N\left(x_{4}, y_{4}\right), then
x3+x4=2kx0−4x0−k,x3x4=(2k2−2)x0−2kx0−k. x_{3}+x_{4}=\frac{2 k x_{0}-4}{x_{0}-k}, \quad x_{3} x_{4}=\frac{\left(2 k^{2}-2\right) x_{0}-2 k}{x_{0}-k} .

To prove
∣PM∣∣PN∣=∣QM∣∣QN∣, \frac{|P M|}{|P N|}=\frac{|Q M|}{|Q N|},

it suffices to prove
x3−x0x4−x0=k−x3x4−k, \frac{x_{3}-x_{0}}{x_{4}-x_{0}}=\frac{k-x_{3}}{x_{4}-k},

which is equivalent to
2x3x4−(k+x0)(x3+x4)+2kx0=0. 2 x_{3} x_{4}-\left(k+x_{0}\right)\left(x_{3}+x_{4}\right)+2 k x_{0}=0 .

From (1), we know that the left side of (2) is
2(2k2−2)x0−4kx0−k−(k+x0)2kx0−4x0−k+2kx0 \frac{2\left(2 k^{2}-2\right) x_{0}-4 k}{x_{0}-k}-\left(k+x_{0}\right) \frac{2 k x_{0}-4}{x_{0}-k}+2 k x_{0}
=2(2k2−2)x0−4k−(k+x0)(2kx0−4)+2kx0(x0−k)x0−k=0. \begin{array}{l} =\frac{2\left(2 k^{2}-2\right) x_{0}-4 k-\left(k+x_{0}\right)\left(2 k x_{0}-4\right)+2 k x_{0}\left(x_{0}-k\right)}{x_{0}-k} \\ =0 . \end{array}

Thus, (2) holds, and the conclusion follows.

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