In acute △ A B C with A B < A C , the tangent to the circumcircle passing through C meets line A B at S . Let P be a point in the interior of △ A B C such that S C = S P . Lines B P , A P meet the circumcircle at points X , Z respectively. Suppose that ∠ P S Z = 6 0 ∘ . Find ∠ S Z X in degrees.
Details and assumptions
- The diagram shown is not accurate, so don't rely on it for non-trivial observations.
- This problem is inspired by
IMOSL 2010 G2
.
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Hi Sreejato, may I know how ∠ M P B = ∠ B A P ? Thx. =)
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I have shown that S P is tangent to the circumcircle of △ A B P . The result I used next is a well known fact. To prove this, define O to be the circumcenter of △ A B P . Simple angle chasing gives that ∠ O B P = 9 0 ∘ − ∠ B A P . But again, since O P ⊥ S P , ∠ O B P = 9 0 ∘ − ∠ B P S . Combining these together gives that ∠ B A P = ∠ M P B .
M=BC x PS, S C 2 = S P 2 = S B × S A ⇒ S P S B = S A S P ⇒ △ S B P is isoforms with △ S A P ⇒ ∠ B A P = ∠ B P S ⇒ ∠ B X Z = ∠ B P S ⇒ S P ∥ X Z ⇒ ∠ A Z X = 6 0 o ⇒ ∠ S Z X = ∠ S Z A + 6 0 o = 1 2 0 o
What is " isoforms with " ??
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He means △ S B P and △ S A P are similar.
SP is parallel to SZ? Don't you mean SP is parallel to XZ?
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Let B C meet S P and X Z at points M and N respectively. Note that S P 2 = S C 2 = S A × S B by Power of a Point, so S P is tangent to the circumcircle of △ A B P . It follows that ∠ M P B = ∠ B A P . Also, being angles in the same segment, ∠ B A P = ∠ B X Z . Therefore triangles △ B M P and △ B X N are similar, which gives ∠ B M P = ∠ M N X . This implies X Z ∥ S P , so ∠ S Z X = 1 8 0 ∘ − ∠ P S Z = 1 2 0 ∘ .
Note: The condition A B < A C makes the configuration similar to the diagram we used. If we had A B > A C , S would be on the other side of P . If we had A B = A C , the tangent through C would be parallel to A B and S would be at infinity.