In right triangle
A
B
C
,
∠
A
B
C
=
9
0
∘
,
∠
B
A
C
=
3
0
∘
and
D
is the midpoint of side
A
C
.
Does the intersection point of perpendicular bisectors of A C and B D lie on A B ?
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Add a point
C
′
symmetric to
C
about
A
B
to get an equilateral triangle
△
A
C
C
′
.
B
D
is parallel to
A
C
′
, as it connects the midpoints of
A
C
and
C
C
′
, and because
△
A
C
C
′
is equilateral,
B
D
and
A
C
′
share a common perpendicular bisector -
C
D
′
.
C
′
D
is a perpendicular bisector of
A
C
, so
A
B
,
C
′
D
and
C
D
′
all intersect at
E
- the centroid/incenter/circumcenter/orthocenter of
△
A
C
C
′
.
Drop a perpendicular to A C from D . Say it intersects A B at E . Since B C D is equilateral, the perpendicular from C bisects B D , so all that is required is to show that that perpendicular goes through E , i.e. to show that C E is perpendicular to B D .
To see this, consider right triangles C D E and C B E . These share a hypotenuse, C E , and have congruent legs C D and C B . So they are congruent. Hence ∠ D C E = ∠ B C E = 2 1 ∠ A C B = 3 0 ∘ . The fact that C E bisects ∠ B C D shows that C E is perpendicular to B D : e.g. if C E and B D intersect at F , it's clear that ∠ C F B = 1 8 0 ∘ − 3 0 ∘ − 6 0 ∘ = 9 0 ∘ .
Choose a coordinate system with A at (0,0). Then, by properties of 30-60-90 triangles, the coordinates of the other points are D(Sqrt(3)/2, 1/2), C(Sqrt(3), 1), B(Sqrt(3), 0). If L1 is the perpendicular bisector of AC, we find L1 has slope of -Sqrt(3). Since it passes through D, it's equation is L1(x) = 1/2 - Sqrt(3)*(x-Sqrt(3) / 2). This intersects AB when it's y-coordinate is 0. Doing the algebra yields x = 2/Sqrt(3). Similarly, we can find an equation for L2, the perpendicular bisector of DB. Setting that equation equal to zero also yields x = 2/Sqrt(3), which is the same coordinate as the zero of L1. Therefore, they do meet on AB (at a distance of 2/Sqrt(3) units from A.
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