Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 8 / 135 of 180 #1835 of 1964

Problem 1835

IMO Shortlist mid-range; USAMO P2/P5
Algebra Difficulty 8.4 Prove it

In an acute angled triangle ABCABC , let BB′BB' and CC′CC' be the altitudes. Ray C′B′C'B' intersects the circumcircle at B′′B'' andl let αA\alpha_A be the angle ABB′′^\widehat{ABB''}. Similarly are defined the angles αB\alpha_B and αC\alpha_C. Prove that sin⁡αAsin⁡αBsin⁡αC≤3632\displaystyle\sin \alpha _A \sin \alpha _B \sin \alpha _C\leq \frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}
(Romania)

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. Setup and Notation:
Let B′≡D B' \equiv D , C′≡E C' \equiv E , and B′′≡K B'' \equiv K for convenience. Let ray DE DE intersect the circumcircle at L L . We aim to prove that AK=AL AK = AL .

2. Angle Relationships:
Note that:
∠AKL=π−∠ADK−∠KAC=∠B−∠KBC \angle AKL = \pi - \angle ADK - \angle KAC = \angle B - \angle KBC
and
∠ALK=∠ALC−∠KLC=∠B−∠KBC \angle ALK = \angle ALC - \angle KLC = \angle B - \angle KBC
Hence, ∠AKL=∠ALK=αA  ⟹  AK=AL \angle AKL = \angle ALK = \alpha_A \implies AK = AL .

3. Law of Sines Application:
From the Law of Sines, we get:
AKsin⁡αA=ABsin⁡∠C \frac{AK}{\sin \alpha_A} = \frac{AB}{\sin \angle C}
and
AKsin⁡(π−∠B)=ADsin⁡αA \frac{AK}{\sin (\pi - \angle B)} = \frac{AD}{\sin \alpha_A}
Dividing these two relationships gives:
sin⁡∠Bsin⁡αA=AB⋅sin⁡αAAD⋅sin⁡∠C  ⟹  sin⁡2αA=sin⁡∠B⋅sin⁡∠C⋅ADAB \frac{\sin \angle B}{\sin \alpha_A} = \frac{AB \cdot \sin \alpha_A}{AD \cdot \sin \angle C} \implies \sin^2 \alpha_A = \frac{\sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot AD}{AB}
Since AD=ABcos⁡∠A AD = AB \cos \angle A , we have:
sin⁡2αA=sin⁡∠B⋅sin⁡∠C⋅cos⁡∠A \sin^2 \alpha_A = \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot \cos \angle A

4. Similar Relationships for Other Angles:
Similarly, we obtain:
sin⁡2αB=sin⁡∠C⋅sin⁡∠A⋅cos⁡∠B \sin^2 \alpha_B = \sin \angle C \cdot \sin \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B
and
sin⁡2αC=sin⁡∠A⋅sin⁡∠B⋅cos⁡∠C \sin^2 \alpha_C = \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C

5. Multiplying the Relationships:
Multiplying these, we get:
sin⁡αA⋅sin⁡αB⋅sin⁡αC=sin⁡∠A⋅sin⁡∠B⋅sin⁡∠C⋅cos⁡∠A⋅cos⁡∠B⋅cos⁡∠C \sin \alpha_A \cdot \sin \alpha_B \cdot \sin \alpha_C = \sqrt{\sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \cdot \cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C}

6. Applying AM-GM Inequality:
From the Arithmetic Mean-Geometric Mean (AM-GM) inequality, we have:
sin⁡∠A⋅sin⁡∠B⋅sin⁡∠C≤(sin⁡∠A+sin⁡∠B+sin⁡∠C)327 \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \leq \frac{(\sin \angle A + \sin \angle B + \sin \angle C)^3}{27}
The second derivative of the function sin⁡x \sin x is −sin⁡x<0 -\sin x < 0 , so sin⁡x \sin x is concave in (0,π2) (0, \frac{\pi}{2}) . From Jensen's inequality, we have:
sin⁡∠A+sin⁡∠B+sin⁡∠C≤3⋅sin⁡(∠A+∠B+∠C3)=3sin⁡(π3)=332 \sin \angle A + \sin \angle B + \sin \angle C \leq 3 \cdot \sin \left( \frac{\angle A + \angle B + \angle C}{3} \right) = 3 \sin \left( \frac{\pi}{3} \right) = \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2}
Hence:
sin⁡∠A⋅sin⁡∠B⋅sin⁡∠C≤(332)327=338 \sin \angle A \cdot \sin \angle B \cdot \sin \angle C \leq \frac{\left( \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{2} \right)^3}{27} = \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{8}

7. Applying Jensen's Inequality to Cosine:
Similarly, the second derivative of cos⁡x \cos x is −cos⁡x<0 -\cos x < 0 in (0,π2) (0, \frac{\pi}{2}) , so:
cos⁡∠A⋅cos⁡∠B⋅cos⁡∠C≤(cos⁡∠A+cos⁡∠B+cos⁡∠C)327≤(3cos⁡(∠A+∠B+∠C3))327=cos⁡3(π3)=18 \cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C \leq \frac{(\cos \angle A + \cos \angle B + \cos \angle C)^3}{27} \leq \frac{(3 \cos \left( \frac{\angle A + \angle B + \angle C}{3} \right))^3}{27} = \cos^3 \left( \frac{\pi}{3} \right) = \frac{1}{8}
Therefore:
cos⁡∠A⋅cos⁡∠B⋅cos⁡∠C≤122=24 \sqrt{\cos \angle A \cdot \cos \angle B \cdot \cos \angle C} \leq \frac{1}{2\sqrt{2}} = \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4}

8. Final Conclusion:
Combining these results, we have:
sin⁡αA⋅sin⁡αB⋅sin⁡αC≤338⋅24=3632 \sin \alpha_A \cdot \sin \alpha_B \cdot \sin \alpha_C \leq \frac{3\sqrt{3}}{8} \cdot \frac{\sqrt{2}}{4} = \frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}
Equality holds when ∠A=∠B=∠C=π3 \angle A = \angle B = \angle C = \frac{\pi}{3} .

The final answer is 3632\boxed{\frac{3\sqrt{6}}{32}}

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