Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 4 / 45 of 340 #305 of 1964

Problem 305

AMC 12 late, AIME early
Geometry Difficulty 4.5 Prove it

In triangle ABCABC, the sides opposite angles AA, BB, and CC are denoted as aa, bb, and cc respectively, and it is given that cos⁡Aa+cos⁡Bb=sin⁡Cc\frac{\cos A}{a} + \frac{\cos B}{b} = \frac{\sin C}{c}.

(I)(I) Prove that sin⁡Asin⁡B=sin⁡C\sin A \sin B = \sin C;

(II)(II) If b2+c2−a2=65bcb^2 + c^2 - a^2 = \frac{6}{5}bc, find tan⁡B\tan B.

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

(I)(I) To prove the statement, we start with the given equation and apply the Law of Sines:

cos⁡Aa+cos⁡Bb=sin⁡Cc  ⟹  cos⁡A⋅sin⁡Ccos⁡C+cos⁡B⋅sin⁡Ccos⁡C=sin⁡C  ⟹  cos⁡Asin⁡A⋅sin⁡A⋅sin⁡Ccos⁡C+cos⁡Bsin⁡B⋅sin⁡B⋅sin⁡Ccos⁡C=sin⁡C  ⟹  cos⁡Asin⁡Csin⁡A+cos⁡Bsin⁡Csin⁡B=sin⁡C \frac{\cos A}{a} + \frac{\cos B}{b} = \frac{\sin C}{c} \implies \cos A \cdot \frac{\sin C}{\cos C} + \cos B \cdot \frac{\sin C}{\cos C} = \sin C \\ \implies \frac{\cos A}{\sin A} \cdot \sin A \cdot \frac{\sin C}{\cos C} + \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} \cdot \sin B \cdot \frac{\sin C}{\cos C} = \sin C \\ \implies \frac{\cos A \sin C}{\sin A} + \frac{\cos B \sin C}{\sin B} = \sin C

Based on the addition formula for sine, sin⁡(A+B)=sin⁡C\sin(A+B)=\sin C, we can express this relationship as

cos⁡Asin⁡B+cos⁡Bsin⁡Asin⁡Asin⁡B=sin⁡(A+B)sin⁡Asin⁡B=1 \frac{\cos A \sin B + \cos B \sin A}{\sin A \sin B} = \frac{\sin(A+B)}{\sin A \sin B} = 1

Thus, by multiplying both sides by sin⁡Asin⁡B\sin A \sin B, we get

sin⁡Asin⁡B=sin⁡C \boxed{\sin A \sin B = \sin C}

(II)(II) Given that b2+c2−a2=65bcb^2 + c^2 - a^2 = \frac{6}{5}bc, we can use the Law of Cosines to find cos⁡A\cos A:

a2=b2+c2−2bccos⁡A a^2 = b^2 + c^2 - 2bc \cos A

Comparing the given equation with the one from the Law of Cosines, we can deduce that 2bccos⁡A=45bc2bc \cos A = \frac{4}{5}bc. Hence,

cos⁡A=45bc÷2bc=25 \cos A = \frac{4}{5}bc \div 2bc = \frac{2}{5}

Using the Pythagorean identity, sin⁡2A+cos⁡2A=1\sin^2 A + \cos^2 A = 1, we find:

sin⁡A=1−cos⁡2A=1−(25)2=1−425=2125=215 \sin A = \sqrt{1 - \cos^2 A} = \sqrt{1 - \left(\frac{2}{5}\right)^2} = \sqrt{1 - \frac{4}{25}} = \sqrt{\frac{21}{25}} = \frac{\sqrt{21}}{5}

Now, we return to our original equation and substitute cos⁡A\cos A and sin⁡A\sin A:

cos⁡Asin⁡A+cos⁡Bsin⁡B=1  ⟹  25215+cos⁡Bsin⁡B=1  ⟹  221+cos⁡Bsin⁡B=1 \frac{\cos A}{\sin A} + \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} = 1 \implies \frac{\frac{2}{5}}{\frac{\sqrt{21}}{5}} + \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} = 1 \implies \frac{2}{\sqrt{21}} + \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} = 1

This implies:

cos⁡Bsin⁡B=1−221 \frac{\cos B}{\sin B} = 1 - \frac{2}{\sqrt{21}}

To find tan⁡B\tan B, which is sin⁡Bcos⁡B\frac{\sin B}{\cos B}, we take the reciprocal of the above expression:

tan⁡B=(1−221)−1=(2121−2) \tan B = \left(1 - \frac{2}{\sqrt{21}}\right)^{-1} = \boxed{\left(\frac{\sqrt{21}}{\sqrt{21} - 2}\right)}

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