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k a June Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
Monday at 3:57 PM
Congratulations to all the mathletes who competed at National MATHCOUNTS! If you missed the exciting Countdown Round, you can watch the video at this link. Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS or AMC 10 contests? How would you like to train for these math competitions in half the time? We have accelerated sections which meet twice per week instead of once starting on July 8th (7:30pm ET). These sections fill quickly so enroll today!

[list][*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
[*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
[*]AMC 10 Problem Series[/list]
For those interested in Olympiad level training in math, computer science, physics, and chemistry, be sure to enroll in our WOOT courses before August 19th to take advantage of early bird pricing!

Summer camps are starting this month at the Virtual Campus in math and language arts that are 2 - to 4 - weeks in duration. Spaces are still available - don’t miss your chance to have a transformative summer experience. There are middle and high school competition math camps as well as Math Beasts camps that review key topics coupled with fun explorations covering areas such as graph theory (Math Beasts Camp 6), cryptography (Math Beasts Camp 7-8), and topology (Math Beasts Camp 8-9)!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:
[list][*]June 5th, Thursday, 7:30pm ET: Open Discussion with Ben Kornell and Andrew Sutherland, Art of Problem Solving's incoming CEO Ben Kornell and CPO Andrew Sutherland host an Ask Me Anything-style chat. Come ask your questions and get to know our incoming CEO & CPO!
[*]June 9th, Monday, 7:30pm ET, Game Jam: Operation Shuffle!, Come join us to play our second round of Operation Shuffle! If you enjoy number sense, logic, and a healthy dose of luck, this is the game for you. No specific math background is required; all are welcome.[/list]
Our full course list for upcoming classes is below:
All classes run 7:30pm-8:45pm ET/4:30pm - 5:45pm PT unless otherwise noted.

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0 replies
jlacosta
Monday at 3:57 PM
0 replies
k i Adding contests to the Contest Collections
dcouchman   1
N Apr 5, 2023 by v_Enhance
Want to help AoPS remain a valuable Olympiad resource? Help us add contests to AoPS's Contest Collections.

Find instructions and a list of contests to add here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c40244h1064480_contests_to_add
1 reply
dcouchman
Sep 9, 2019
v_Enhance
Apr 5, 2023
k i Zero tolerance
ZetaX   49
N May 4, 2019 by NoDealsHere
Source: Use your common sense! (enough is enough)
Some users don't want to learn, some other simply ignore advises.
But please follow the following guideline:


To make it short: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!
If you don't have common sense, don't post.


More specifically:

For new threads:


a) Good, meaningful title:
The title has to say what the problem is about in best way possible.
If that title occured already, it's definitely bad. And contest names aren't good either.
That's in fact a requirement for being able to search old problems.

Examples:
Bad titles:
- "Hard"/"Medium"/"Easy" (if you find it so cool how hard/easy it is, tell it in the post and use a title that tells us the problem)
- "Number Theory" (hey guy, guess why this forum's named that way¿ and is it the only such problem on earth¿)
- "Fibonacci" (there are millions of Fibonacci problems out there, all posted and named the same...)
- "Chinese TST 2003" (does this say anything about the problem¿)
Good titles:
- "On divisors of a³+2b³+4c³-6abc"
- "Number of solutions to x²+y²=6z²"
- "Fibonacci numbers are never squares"


b) Use search function:
Before posting a "new" problem spend at least two, better five, minutes to look if this problem was posted before. If it was, don't repost it. If you have anything important to say on topic, post it in one of the older threads.
If the thread is locked cause of this, use search function.

Update (by Amir Hossein). The best way to search for two keywords in AoPS is to input
[code]+"first keyword" +"second keyword"[/code]
so that any post containing both strings "first word" and "second form".


c) Good problem statement:
Some recent really bad post was:
[quote]$lim_{n\to 1}^{+\infty}\frac{1}{n}-lnn$[/quote]
It contains no question and no answer.
If you do this, too, you are on the best way to get your thread deleted. Write everything clearly, define where your variables come from (and define the "natural" numbers if used). Additionally read your post at least twice before submitting. After you sent it, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.


For answers to already existing threads:


d) Of any interest and with content:
Don't post things that are more trivial than completely obvious. For example, if the question is to solve $x^{3}+y^{3}=z^{3}$, do not answer with "$x=y=z=0$ is a solution" only. Either you post any kind of proof or at least something unexpected (like "$x=1337, y=481, z=42$ is the smallest solution). Someone that does not see that $x=y=z=0$ is a solution of the above without your post is completely wrong here, this is an IMO-level forum.
Similar, posting "I have solved this problem" but not posting anything else is not welcome; it even looks that you just want to show off what a genius you are.

e) Well written and checked answers:
Like c) for new threads, check your solutions at least twice for mistakes. And after sending, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.



To repeat it: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!


Everything definitely out of range of common sense will be locked or deleted (exept for new users having less than about 42 posts, they are newbies and need/get some time to learn).

The above rules will be applied from next monday (5. march of 2007).
Feel free to discuss on this here.
49 replies
ZetaX
Feb 27, 2007
NoDealsHere
May 4, 2019
EGMO 3.20 - IDFK
Sid-darth-vater   1
N 23 minutes ago by TwentyIQ
Source: BAMO 2013/3
Can someone PLEASE explain ts to me. Idk, i most certainly am just being dumb as I've seen multiple solutions already but I have the comprehension of a toddler. Can someone write a sol with homothety/reflecting orthocenters and like yeah...

Let $H$ be the orthocenter of an acute triangle $A B C$. Consider the circumcenters of triangles $A B H$, $B C H$, and $C A H$. Prove that they are the vertices of a triangle that is congruent to $A B C$.
1 reply
Sid-darth-vater
3 hours ago
TwentyIQ
23 minutes ago
ARML Problems
nathan2019lu   1
N 41 minutes ago by Kempu33334
Does anyone have a copy of the ARML problems?
Also what exactly happened with the printing issue to void p9 and p10?
1 reply
+1 w
nathan2019lu
an hour ago
Kempu33334
41 minutes ago
What happened at ARML?
VPAK   34
N an hour ago by Sid-darth-vater
I'm seeing a few things online that at ARML this past weekend they had to discard questions 9 & 10 from the final results. Unfortunately, I'm not "on the ground" at ARML anymore.

Is there anyone who was there that knows what happened to cause this?

34 replies
+2 w
VPAK
Yesterday at 5:14 PM
Sid-darth-vater
an hour ago
REAPER!!
TornadoA1   35
N an hour ago by shaayonsamanta
you know the rules.
if not then check out the actual reaper game.

~~~~~~~~~~

To reap, say /reap
I keep track of the times NOT you
You can reap once every 12 hours. Reaping is in minutes. Gain 10,000 hours or 600,000 minutes to win.
If you reap two times in a row (you want to reap after you reaped without somebody else in between), then the cool down is 48 hours instead

~~~~~~~~~~

SCORES
35 replies
TornadoA1
Mar 22, 2024
shaayonsamanta
an hour ago
Chess game challenge
adihaya   21
N 2 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: 2014 BAMO-12 #5
A chess tournament took place between $2n+1$ players. Every player played every other player once, with no draws. In addition, each player had a numerical rating before the tournament began, with no two players having equal ratings. It turns out there were exactly $k$ games in which the lower-rated player beat the higher-rated player. Prove that there is some player who won no less than $n-\sqrt{2k}$ and no more than $n+\sqrt{2k}$ games.
21 replies
adihaya
Feb 22, 2016
Mr.Sharkman
2 hours ago
[ELMO2] The Multiplication Table
v_Enhance   27
N 2 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: ELMO 2015, Problem 2 (Shortlist N1)
Let $m$, $n$, and $x$ be positive integers. Prove that \[ \sum_{i = 1}^n \min\left(\left\lfloor \frac{x}{i} \right\rfloor, m \right) = \sum_{i = 1}^m \min\left(\left\lfloor \frac{x}{i} \right\rfloor, n \right). \]
Proposed by Yang Liu
27 replies
v_Enhance
Jun 27, 2015
Mr.Sharkman
2 hours ago
Problem 1
randomusername   74
N 3 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: IMO 2015, Problem 1
We say that a finite set $\mathcal{S}$ of points in the plane is balanced if, for any two different points $A$ and $B$ in $\mathcal{S}$, there is a point $C$ in $\mathcal{S}$ such that $AC=BC$. We say that $\mathcal{S}$ is centre-free if for any three different points $A$, $B$ and $C$ in $\mathcal{S}$, there is no points $P$ in $\mathcal{S}$ such that $PA=PB=PC$.

(a) Show that for all integers $n\ge 3$, there exists a balanced set consisting of $n$ points.

(b) Determine all integers $n\ge 3$ for which there exists a balanced centre-free set consisting of $n$ points.

Proposed by Netherlands
74 replies
randomusername
Jul 10, 2015
Mr.Sharkman
3 hours ago
Find Triples of Integers
termas   41
N 3 hours ago by ilikemath247365
Source: IMO 2015 problem 2
Find all positive integers $(a,b,c)$ such that
$$ab-c,\quad bc-a,\quad ca-b$$are all powers of $2$.

Proposed by Serbia
41 replies
termas
Jul 10, 2015
ilikemath247365
3 hours ago
DO NOT OVERSLEEP JOHN MACKEY’S CLASS
ike.chen   31
N 3 hours ago by Mr.Sharkman
Source: USA TSTST 2023/4
Let $n\ge 3$ be an integer and let $K_n$ be the complete graph on $n$ vertices. Each edge of $K_n$ is colored either red, green, or blue. Let $A$ denote the number of triangles in $K_n$ with all edges of the same color, and let $B$ denote the number of triangles in $K_n$ with all edges of different colors. Prove
\[ B\le 2A+\frac{n(n-1)}{3}.\](The complete graph on $n$ vertices is the graph on $n$ vertices with $\tbinom n2$ edges, with exactly one edge joining every pair of vertices. A triangle consists of the set of $\tbinom 32=3$ edges between $3$ of these $n$ vertices.)

Proposed by Ankan Bhattacharya
31 replies
ike.chen
Jun 26, 2023
Mr.Sharkman
3 hours ago
Grade IX - Problem I
icx   23
N 3 hours ago by shendrew7
Source: Romanian National Mathematical Olympiad 2007
Let $a, b, c, d \in \mathbb{N^{*}}$ such that the equation \[x^{2}-(a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2}+1)x+ab+bc+cd+da=0 \] has an integer solution. Prove that the other solution is integer too and both solutions are perfect squares.
23 replies
icx
Apr 13, 2007
shendrew7
3 hours ago
USAMO 2002 Problem 2
MithsApprentice   35
N 3 hours ago by sami1618
Let $ABC$ be a triangle such that
\[ \left( \cot \dfrac{A}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 2\cot \dfrac{B}{2} \right)^2 + \left( 3\cot \dfrac{C}{2} \right)^2 = \left( \dfrac{6s}{7r} \right)^2,  \]
where $s$ and $r$ denote its semiperimeter and its inradius, respectively. Prove that triangle $ABC$ is similar to a triangle $T$ whose side lengths are all positive integers with no common divisors and determine these integers.
35 replies
1 viewing
MithsApprentice
Sep 30, 2005
sami1618
3 hours ago
Center lies on altitude
plagueis   17
N 4 hours ago by bin_sherlo
Source: Mexico National Olympiad 2018 Problem 6
Let $ABC$ be an acute-angled triangle with circumference $\Omega$. Let the angle bisectors of $\angle B$ and $\angle C$ intersect $\Omega$ again at $M$ and $N$. Let $I$ be the intersection point of these angle bisectors. Let $M'$ and $N'$ be the respective reflections of $M$ and $N$ in $AC$ and $AB$. Prove that the center of the circle passing through $I$, $M'$, $N'$ lies on the altitude of triangle $ABC$ from $A$.

Proposed by Victor Domínguez and Ariel García
17 replies
plagueis
Nov 6, 2018
bin_sherlo
4 hours ago
IMO Shortlist 2014 C6
hajimbrak   22
N 4 hours ago by awesomeming327.
We are given an infinite deck of cards, each with a real number on it. For every real number $x$, there is exactly one card in the deck that has $x$ written on it. Now two players draw disjoint sets $A$ and $B$ of $100$ cards each from this deck. We would like to define a rule that declares one of them a winner. This rule should satisfy the following conditions:
1. The winner only depends on the relative order of the $200$ cards: if the cards are laid down in increasing order face down and we are told which card belongs to which player, but not what numbers are written on them, we can still decide the winner.
2. If we write the elements of both sets in increasing order as $A =\{ a_1 , a_2 , \ldots, a_{100} \}$ and $B= \{ b_1 , b_2 , \ldots , b_{100} \}$, and $a_i > b_i$ for all $i$, then $A$ beats $B$.
3. If three players draw three disjoint sets $A, B, C$ from the deck, $A$ beats $B$ and $B$ beats $C$ then $A$ also beats $C$.
How many ways are there to define such a rule? Here, we consider two rules as different if there exist two sets $A$ and $B$ such that $A$ beats $B$ according to one rule, but $B$ beats $A$ according to the other.

Proposed by Ilya Bogdanov, Russia
22 replies
hajimbrak
Jul 11, 2015
awesomeming327.
4 hours ago
annoying algebra with sequence :/
tabel   1
N 4 hours ago by L_.
Source: random 9th grade text book (section meant for contests)
Let \( a_1 = 1 \) and \( a_{n+1} = 1 + \frac{n}{a_n} \) for \( n \geq 1 \). Prove that the sequence \( (a_n)_{n \geq 1} \) is increasing.
1 reply
tabel
Yesterday at 4:55 PM
L_.
4 hours ago
Hexagon collinearity under length condition
ppanther   28
N Feb 21, 2025 by pi271828
Source: USAMO 2021/6
Let $ABCDEF$ be a convex hexagon satisfying $\overline{AB} \parallel \overline{DE}$, $\overline{BC} \parallel \overline{EF}$, $\overline{CD} \parallel \overline{FA}$, and
\[
AB \cdot DE = BC \cdot EF = CD \cdot FA.
\]Let $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ be the midpoints of $\overline{AD}$, $\overline{BE}$, and $\overline{CF}$. Prove that the circumcenter of $\triangle ACE$, the circumcenter of $\triangle BDF$, and the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$ are collinear.
28 replies
ppanther
Apr 15, 2021
pi271828
Feb 21, 2025
Hexagon collinearity under length condition
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: USAMO 2021/6
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ppanther
160 posts
#1 • 6 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2, centslordm, megarnie, v4913, Rounak_iitr
Let $ABCDEF$ be a convex hexagon satisfying $\overline{AB} \parallel \overline{DE}$, $\overline{BC} \parallel \overline{EF}$, $\overline{CD} \parallel \overline{FA}$, and
\[
AB \cdot DE = BC \cdot EF = CD \cdot FA.
\]Let $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ be the midpoints of $\overline{AD}$, $\overline{BE}$, and $\overline{CF}$. Prove that the circumcenter of $\triangle ACE$, the circumcenter of $\triangle BDF$, and the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$ are collinear.
Z K Y
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jj_ca888
2725 posts
#2 • 7 Y
Y by Awesome_guy, khina, samrocksnature, icematrix2, SK_pi3145, megarnie, rama1728
Sketch:

ACE, BDF share same 9point circle by midlines and lengths (PoP combined with weird length condition), reduces to proving ACE, BDF, XYZ centroids collinear by homothety at the center of the common 9pc, easy finish with vectors/complex
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by jj_ca888, Apr 15, 2021, 5:38 PM
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mira74
1010 posts
#3 • 10 Y
Y by franchester, JNEW, 329020, samrocksnature, Kagebaka, icematrix2, SK_pi3145, centslordm, megarnie, AforApple
sol
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by mira74, May 10, 2021, 4:46 PM
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khina
995 posts
#4 • 4 Y
Y by jj_ca888, samrocksnature, icematrix2, SK_pi3145
Let $M_A$ be the midpoint of $CE$, $M_B$ the midpoint of $DF$, and so on. Note that $XY$ passes through $M_C$ and $M_F$ by trapezoid properties, and so on. The key claim is this:

CLAIM: All $M_P$ lie on a circle.

Proof: $M_EX \cdot M_BX = \frac{1}{4} CD \cdot AF = \frac{1}{4} AB \cdot DE = M_FX \cdot M_CX$. So $M_EM_FM_BM_C$ are cyclic, and so on. Since $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ aren't the same point (otherwise the orthocenter is undefined and the problem is dead anyways), we have that all $6$ midpoints are cyclic, as desired. $\blacksquare$

Now note that since $M_AZ = M_DY$, $YZ$ and $M_AM_D$ share a midpoint, and so $XYZ$ also shares the same circumcenter as the $6$ midpoints. Now, apply complex numbers to find that the centroids of $M_AM_CM_E$, $M_BM_DM_F$, and $XYZ$ are collinear. Taking a $\times 3$ homothety at their shared circumcenter, we find that their orthocenters are collinear as well, and we are done!



edit: if the orthocenter is still defined just as $X = Y = Z$ then the problem still follows from homothety things so yay.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by khina, Apr 15, 2021, 5:50 PM
Reason: english
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MP8148
888 posts
#5 • 5 Y
Y by samrocksnature, Kagebaka, mijail, icematrix2, SK_pi3145
using the sketch from post #2:

diagram

Let $H$ be the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$, $M_1M_2M_3$ be the medial triangle of $EAC$, and $N_1N_2N_3$ be the medial triangle of $FBD$. By parallel sides $X$, $Y$, $M_3$ are collinear. We have $$\text{Pow}(M_3,(XYZ)) = M_3Y \cdot M_3X = \frac 14 AB \cdot DE,$$which is symmetric by the length condition. Thus by symmetry all of $M_1$, $M_2$, $M_3$, $N_1$, $N_2$, $N_3$ have equal power wrt ($XYZ$), so they lie on a circle concentric with $(XYZ)$.

Note that $O_1$, the center of $(ACE)$, is the orthocenter of $\triangle M_1M_2M_3$. Similarly the center $O_2$ of $(BDF)$ is the orthocenter of $\triangle N_1N_2N_3$. Use complex numbers with the center of $(XYZ)$ as origin. Compute $$h = x+y+z = \frac 12 (a+d) + \frac 12 (b+e) + \frac 12 (c+f) = \frac 12 (a+b+c+d+e+f)$$$$o_1 = m_1+m_2+m_3 = \frac 12 (a+c) + \frac 12 (c+e) + \frac 12 (e+a) = a+c+e$$$$o_2 = n_1+n_2+n_3 = \frac 12 (b+d) + \frac 12 (d+f) + \frac 12 (f+b) = b+d+f.$$It follows that $h = \frac 12 (o_1+o_2)$, implying the conclusion.
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sugar_rush
1341 posts
#6 • 2 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2
mira74 wrote:
The key claim is that $A+C+E-2O$ is the circumcenter of $ACE$.

What does $A+C+E-2O$ mean?
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mira74
1010 posts
#7 • 2 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2
sugar_rush wrote:
What does $A+C+E-2O$ mean?

If you choose any coordinate axes, if $A$ has coordinates $(x_A,y_A)$, and similar for the other points, then $A+C+E-2O$ has coordinates
\[(x_A+x_C+x_E-2x_O,y_A+y_C+y_E-2y_O).\]Equivalently, you can choose an arbitrary origin, and treat every point as the vector from the origin to that point. Then, $A+C+E-2O$ is the point you get from adding the vector to $A$, the vector to $C$, and the vector to $E$, and subtracting two times the vector to $O$.
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TheUltimate123
1740 posts
#8 • 14 Y
Y by Imayormaynotknowcalculus, Kagebaka, Asuboptimal, siddharths, samrocksnature, Aryan-23, i3435, icematrix2, SK_pi3145, nixon0630, Reef334, CyclicISLscelesTrapezoid, rayfish, Awesome_guy
Construct parallelograms \(FABA'\), \(ABCB'\), \(BCDC'\), \(CDED'\), \(DEFE'\), \(EFAF'\). In general, observe that \(\overline{AF'}\parallel\overline{EF}\parallel\overline{BC}\parallel\overline{AB'}\) and (in directed lengths) \(B'F'=CB-EF=E'C'\), so \(\triangle D'B'F'\) and \(\triangle A'E'C'\) are homothetic and directly congruent. This implies they are translations of each other.

[asy]         size(8cm); defaultpen(fontsize(10pt));         pen pri=blue;         pen sec=red;         pen sec2=lightred;         pen tri=purple;         pen qua=pink+fuchsia;         pen fil=invisible;         pen sfil=invisible;         pen sfil2=invisible;         pen tfil=invisible;

pair O1,Dp,Bp,Fp,MD,MB,MF,A,EE,C,F,D,B,Ap,Ep,Cp,O2,MA,ME,MC,X,Y,Z;         O1=origin;         Dp=dir(120);         Bp=dir(210);         Fp=dir(330);         MD=(Bp+Fp)/2;         MB=(Fp+Dp)/2;         MF=(Dp+Bp)/2;         A=Fp+unit(Fp-Bp)*0.8;         EE=intersectionpoint(Fp--(Fp+100*(Dp-Fp)),circle(O1,abs(A-O1)));         C=intersectionpoint(Dp--(Dp+100*(Bp-Dp)),circle(O1,abs(A-O1)));         F=A+EE-Fp;         D=EE+C-Dp;         B=C+A-Bp;         Ap=B+F-A;         Ep=F+D-EE;         Cp=D+B-C;         O2=circumcenter(Ap,Ep,Cp);         MA=(Ep+Cp)/2;         ME=(Cp+Ap)/2;         MC=(Ap+Ep)/2;         X=(A+D)/2;         Y=(B+EE)/2;         Z=(C+F)/2;

filldraw(X--Y--Z--cycle,tfil,tri+dashed);         filldraw(MD--MB--MF--cycle,tfil,tri);         filldraw(MA--ME--MC--cycle,tfil,tri);         filldraw(circumcircle(Dp,Bp,Fp),sfil2,sec2+dashed);         filldraw(circumcircle(Ap,Ep,Cp),sfil2,sec2+dashed);         draw(Fp--A,sec);         draw(Ep--D,sec);         filldraw(Dp--Bp--Fp--cycle,sfil,sec);         filldraw(Ap--Ep--Cp--cycle,sfil,sec);         filldraw(A--B--C--D--EE--F--cycle,fil,pri);

dot("\(A\)",A,E);         dot("\(B\)",B,SE);         dot("\(C\)",C,SW);         dot("\(D\)",D,W);         dot("\(E\)",EE,NW);         dot("\(F\)",F,NE);         dot("\(D'\)",Dp,Dp);         dot("\(B'\)",Bp,W);         dot("\(F'\)",Fp,NE);         dot("\(A'\)",Ap,N);         dot("\(E'\)",Ep,SW);         dot("\(C'\)",Cp,SE);         dot("\(X\)",X,E);         dot("\(Y\)",Y,SE);         dot("\(Z\)",Z,W);      [/asy]

Claim: If \(AB\cdot DE=BC\cdot EF=CD\cdot FA\), then the circumcenters of \(\triangle D'B'F'\) and \(\triangle ACE\) coincide.

Proof. Observe that \[\operatorname{Pow}(A,(D'B'F'))=AB'\cdot AF'=BC\cdot FE,\]which is fixed, so \(A\), \(C\), \(E\) have equal power with respect to \((D'B'F')\). \(\blacksquare\)

Now let \(O_1\) and \(O_2\) be the circumcenters of \(\triangle D'B'F'\) and \(\triangle A'C'E'\). I contend that in general, the midpoint of \(\overline{O_1O_2}\) coincides with the orthocenter of \(\triangle XYZ\).

Let \(M_DM_BM_F\) and \(M_AM_EM_C\) be the medial triangles of \(\triangle DBF\) and \(\triangle AEC\), so their orthocenters are \(O_1\) and \(O_2\). It is easy to check that \(X\), \(Y\), \(Z\) are the midpoints of \(\overline{M_DM_A}\), \(\overline{M_BM_E}\), \(\overline{M_FM_C}\).

But we know \(\triangle M_DM_BM_F\) and \(\triangle M_AM_EM_C\) are translations of each other, and \(\triangle XYZ\) is their vector average, so we conclude the orthocenter of \(\triangle XYZ\) is the midpoint of \(\overline{O_1O_2}\). This completes the proof.
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by TheUltimate123, May 6, 2021, 5:47 PM
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DrMath
2130 posts
#9 • 5 Y
Y by Kagebaka, samrocksnature, Aryan-23, icematrix2, SK_pi3145
Let $A_1$ be the midpoint of $FB$, $B_1$ be the midpoint of $AC$, and so on. Once you get that $A_1B_1C_1D_1E_1F_1$ is cyclic (which has been proven above so I won't prove it again) and that $Z = A_1D_1\cap B_1E_1$, etc, you can actually directly finish with complex once you realize that the orthocenter of $XYZ$ is the midpoint of the orthocenters of $A_1C_1E_1$ and $B_1D_1F_1$. Indeed, set up $(A_1B_1C_1D_1E_1F_1)$ to be the unit circle, with values $a, b, c, d, e, f$; then by standard complex formulas you get that $z = \frac{ad(b+e)-be(a+d)}{ad-be}$, and similar for $x$ and $y$.

Now, setting $h = \frac{a+b+c+d+e+f}{2}$ (which is the midpoint of the orthocenters of $ACE$ and $BDF$), you just need to check that $ZH\perp XY$. Since $XY$ lies on $C_1F_1$, this is equivalent to $$\frac{z-h}{\overline{z}-\overline{h}} = -\frac{c-f}{\overline{c}-\overline{f}} = cf$$After a not terrible amount of computation, this condition actually nicely reduces to $$\frac{(b+e)-(a+d)}{(\overline{b} + \overline{e}) - (\overline{a} + \overline{d})} = -cf$$which is equivalent to the vectors $(\vec{B} - \vec{A}) + (\vec{E} - \vec{D})$ being parallel to $\vec{F_1} - \vec{C_1}$ after you plug in $\vec{A_1} = \frac{\vec{F} + \vec{B}}{2}$, etc. However, this is obvious from the definitions of $F_1, C_1$.

You can similarly check that $XH\perp YZ$ and $YH \perp ZX$, so you're done.
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MarkBcc168
1595 posts
#10 • 9 Y
Y by MathStudent2002, samrocksnature, Aryan-23, KST2003, icematrix2, 606234, ineqcfe, Mango247, Bigtaitus
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pair D1 = Y+Z-A1;
pair E1 = X+Z-B1;
pair F1 = X+Y-C1;
pair A = C1+E1-A1; pair C = A1+E1-C1; pair E = A1+C1-E1;
pair B = D1+F1-B1; pair D = B1+F1-D1; pair F = B1+D1-F1;
draw(A1--D1^^B1--E1^^C1--F1,linewidth(1));
draw(A--B--C--D--E--F--cycle);
draw(A--C--E--cycle,blue+linewidth(1));
draw(B--D--F--cycle,deepgreen+linewidth(1));
draw(A--D^^B--E^^C--F,red+linewidth(1));
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dot("$E$",E,dir(135),blue);
dot("$F$",F,dir(45),darkgreen);
dot("$A'$",A1,dir(A1),blue);
dot("$B'$",B1,dir(B1),darkgreen);
dot("$C'$",C1,dir(90),blue);
dot("$D'$",D1,dir(D1),darkgreen);
dot("$E'$",E1,dir(-60),blue);
dot("$F'$",F1,dir(F1),darkgreen);
dot("$X$",X,2.5*dir(95),red);
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[/asy]
One of the best hard geo I have ever seen!

First, we define some notations. Let $A'$, $C'$, $E'$ denote the midpoints of $CE$, $EA$, $AC$, and let $B'$, $D'$, $F'$ denote the midpoints of $DF$, $FB$, $BD$. Let $O$ be the circumcenter of $\triangle XYZ$. First, we collect some immediate observations.
  • $A'$, $D'$, $Y$, $Z$ all lie on the mid-segment of $BC$ and $EF$. Similarly, sets $\{B',E',X,Z\}$ and $\{C',F',X,Y\}$ are colinear.
  • $A'Z=D'Y=0.5EF$, so $OA'=OD'$. Similarly, $OB'=OE'$ and $OC'=OF'$.
In fact, we will incorporate the length conditions and prove the following.
Claim: $A'$, $B'$, $C'$, $D'$, $E'$, $F'$ are all concyclic with center $O$.

Proof: Using the length conditions, we get
$$XB'\cdot XE' = \frac{AF}{2}\cdot\frac{CD}{2} = \frac{DE}{2}\cdot\frac{AB}{2} = XC'\cdot XF',$$so $B'$, $E'$, $C'$, $F'$ are concyclic. However, from the observation above, the center must be $O$, so by repeating this with other two sides, we get the claim. $\blacksquare$
It suffices to show that the orthocenters of $\triangle A'C'E'$, $\triangle B'D'F'$, $\triangle XYZ$ are colinear, but these three triangles have the same circumcenter $O$. Thus, it suffices to show that the three centroids are colinear (by Euler line). The easiest way is to use vectors. We have
\begin{align*}
A'+D' &= Y+Z, \\
B'+E' &= X+Z, \\
C'+F' &= X+Y,
\end{align*}so summing up gives
$$\frac{A'+C'+E'}{3} + \frac{B'+D'+F'}{3} = 2\cdot\frac{X+Y+Z}{3},$$done.
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by MarkBcc168, Apr 16, 2021, 2:48 AM
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IndoMathXdZ
694 posts
#11 • 5 Y
Y by samrocksnature, GorgonMathDota, RevolveWithMe101, icematrix2, SK_pi3145
USAMO 2021/6 wrote:
Let $ABCDEF$ be a convex hexagon satisfying $\overline{AB} \parallel \overline{DE}$, $\overline{BC} \parallel \overline{EF}$, $\overline{CD} \parallel \overline{FA}$, and
\[
AB \cdot DE = BC \cdot EF = CD \cdot FA.
\]Let $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ be the midpoints of $\overline{AD}$, $\overline{BE}$, and $\overline{CF}$. Prove that the circumcenter of $\triangle ACE$, the circumcenter of $\triangle BDF$, and the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$ are collinear.
What a great and rich problem! A pinnacle of olympiad geometry :D. Took me ~5 hours to find the following solution, but the amount of satisfaction is immeasurable.

Let us first define $M_{XY}$ to be the midpoint of segment $XY$.

Claim 01. $M_{AC}, M_{BD}, M_{CE}, M_{DF}, M_{EA}, M_{FB}$ are concyclic, and we call this circle $\Gamma$.
Proof. We will divide this proof into two parts:

Part 01. $M_{BF}, Z, M_{CE}$ and $M_{DF}, Z, M_{AC}$ are collinear.
We will first prove that $M_{BF}, Z, M_{CE}$ are collinear. Note that since $M_{BF}$ and $Z$ are the midpoints of segments $BF$ and $CF$. Then $M_{BF} Z \parallel BC$. Similarly, we get $M_{BF} Z \parallel BC \parallel EF \parallel M_{EC}Z$. This is enough to prove that $M_{BF}, Z, M_{CE}$ are collinear. Similarly, we could prove that $M_{DF}, Z, M_{AC}$ are collinear.

Part 02. $M_{BF}, M_{CE}, M_{DF}, M_{AC}$ are concyclic.
Note that the length condition translates to
\[ \frac{AB}{BC} = \frac{FE}{ED} \]Since $AB \parallel DE, BC \parallel EF$, we have $\measuredangle ABC = \measuredangle DEF$. These two conditions force $\triangle ABC \sim \triangle FED$. Similarly $\triangle BCD \sim \triangle AFE$ and $\triangle CDE \sim \triangle BAF$.
Now, taking homothety $\mathcal{H}(F,2)$ maps $\triangle M_{BF} M_{DF} Z \mapsto \triangle BDC$ and $\mathcal{H}(C,2)$ maps $\triangle M_{AC} M_{CE} Z \mapsto \triangle AEF$. Furthermore, from the previous part, we get that $M_{BF} M_{CE} \cap M_{DF} M_{AC} = Z$, therefore
\[ \measuredangle M_{BF} M_{DF} M_{AC} \equiv \measuredangle M_{BF} M_{DF} Z = \measuredangle BDC = \measuredangle FEA = \measuredangle ZM_{EC} M_{AC} \equiv \measuredangle M_{BF} M_{EC} M_{AC} \]implying the desired concyclic condition.
Claim 02. The circumcircle of $\triangle XYZ$ and $\Gamma$ are concentric.
Proof. To do this, we'll prove that $M_{AC} X = M_{DF} Y$. Notice that the homothety $\mathcal{H}(C,2)$ proves $M_{AC} X = \frac{1}{2} FA$ and the homothety $\mathcal{H}(D,2)$ proves $M_{DF} Y = \frac{1}{2} FA$, which implies the desired equality. Now, this implies that the midpoint of $XY$ is the same as midpoint of $M_{AC}M_{DF}$. Furthermore, since $M_{AC} M_{DF}, M_{BD} M_{AE}$ lies on $\Gamma$, then their perpendicular bisector intersects at $O$, center of $\Gamma$, which by definition must be also circumcenter of $\triangle XYZ$ as well.
Now, we are ready to simplify the problem. Notice that $W := N_9(\triangle ACE), N_9(\triangle BDF), O(\triangle XYZ)$ are the same point. To prove that $O(\triangle ACE), O(\triangle BDF), H(\triangle XYZ)$ are collinear. We can take homothety $\mathcal{H} \left( W, \frac{1}{3} \right)$ and by a famous theorem on Euler line states that $H(\triangle), N_9(\triangle), G(\triangle), O(\triangle)$ lies on the Euler line of the triangle with the ratio $HN_9 : N_9 G : GO = 3 : 1 : 2$. Therefore, it suffices to prove that
\[ G(\triangle ACE), G(\triangle BDF), G(\triangle XYZ) \]are collinear.
We'll now finish the problem by proving a more general statement:
Claim 03. Let $A,B,C,D,E,F$ be six points in plane, no three of which are collinear. Let $X,Y,Z$ be the midpoints of $AD, BE, CF$. Then the centroid of $\triangle ABC, \triangle DEF$ and $\triangle XYZ$ are collinear.
Proof. Note that we have $X = \frac{1}{2} (A + D), Y = \frac{1}{2} (B + E), Z = \frac{1}{2} (C + F)$. Therefore, we get
\[ \frac{2}{3} (X + Y + Z) = \frac{1}{3} (A + C + E) + \frac{1}{3} (B + D + F) \]Therefore, $G(\triangle XYZ)$ is the midpoint of segment formed by $G(\triangle ACE)$ and $G(\triangle BDF)$, and we are done.
Long motivational remark
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Kagebaka
3001 posts
#12 • 5 Y
Y by samrocksnature, KST2003, icematrix2, SK_pi3145, Shiro2911
Darn sniped by IndoMath :( Solved with some help from DrMath:

Let $A_1,B_1,C_1,D_1,E_1,F_1$ be the midpoints of $BF, AC, DB, EC, FD, AE,$ respectively; obviously common midlines imply that $X\in B_1E_1, C_1F_1, Y\in A_1D_1, C_1F_1,$ and $Z\in A_1D_1, B_1E_1.$ From the length and parallelity conditions, we get $\tfrac{FA}{BC}=\tfrac{EF}{CD}$ and $\measuredangle EFA=\measuredangle BCD,$ so by SAS similarity $\triangle AFE\sim\triangle BCD,$ hence $\measuredangle DBC=\measuredangle FAE.$ Since $A_1E_1\parallel BD$ and $A_1D_1\parallel BC,$ this implies that $\measuredangle E_1A_1D_1=\measuredangle DBC,$ and by similar logic we have $\measuredangle E_1B_1D_1=\measuredangle FAE,$ so $A_1B_1D_1E_1$ is cyclic and symmetrically $C_1,F_1\in (A_1B_1D_1E_1)$ as well. We can further observe that by homothety $E_1X=\tfrac{1}{2}AF=B_1Y,$ so $B_1E_1$ and $XY$ share a common perpendicular bisector, which implies that $(XYZ)$ and $(A_1B_1C_1D_1E_1F_1)$ are concentric.

Now let $O_1,O_2,O_3$ be the respective orthocenters of $\triangle B_1D_1F_1, \triangle XYZ, \triangle A_1C_1E_1;$ then setting the origin as the common center of $(XYZ)$ and $(A_1B_1C_1D_1E_1F_1),$ we have
\[\vec{O_1}=\vec{B_1}+\vec{D_1}+\vec{F_1}=\vec{A}+\vec{C}+\vec{E}\]\[\vec{O_2}=\vec{X}+\vec{Y}+\vec{Z}=\frac{1}{2}\left(\vec{A}+\vec{B}+\vec{C}+\vec{D}+\vec{E}+\vec{F}\right)\]\[\vec{O_3}=\vec{A_1}+\vec{C_1}+\vec{E_1}=\vec{B}+\vec{D}+\vec{F}.\]Clearly $O_2$ must then be the midpoint of $O_1O_3,$ but $O_1,O_3$ are the circumcenters of $\triangle ACE,\triangle BDF,$ respectively, so we're done. $\blacksquare$

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dot((-4.371557033306901,4.249545052960459),dotstyle); 
label("$C_{1}$", (-5.090479983067604,3.462446809761096), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-0.48844296669309895,-3.329545052960458),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$F_{1}$", (-1.4949989841650283,-3.6221218848324174), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-2.462751171999413,4.487078192232541),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$B_{1}$", (-2.3036851387630127,3.6408066290309733), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((1.1266650792035675,-1.2609875955260579),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$A_{1}$", (0.5158963119648707,-0.7253270405278228), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-5.097248828000587,-3.4670781922325418),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$E_{1}$", (-4.5997436025569655,-3.781301794467356), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-7.026665079203568,-0.9590124044739421),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$D_{1}$", (-7.154981975985857,-0.41696722125794565), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((4.075470940511057,2.1165455437460254),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$A$", (4.172197401232507,2.2938443650175335), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((1.852356873897253,6.455635649666943),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$B$", (1.9453188470734932,6.631618215306452), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-9.00097328450988,6.857610840719056),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$C$", (-9.437023697808925,6.863584731364683), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-10.595470940511056,2.0434544562539743),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$D$", (-11.314396007004894,1.945894590930187), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((-5.052356873897254,-8.775635649666942),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$E$", (-5.700806318395711,-9.388498179864899), NE * labelscalefactor); 
dot((0.4009732845098819,-8.97761084071906),linewidth(4pt) + dotstyle); 
label("$F$", (0.5535197507241093,-9.42046469592313), NE * labelscalefactor); 
clip((xmin,ymin)--(xmin,ymax)--(xmax,ymax)--(xmax,ymin)--cycle); 
 /* end of picture */[/asy]
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by Kagebaka, Apr 16, 2021, 5:24 PM
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KST2003
173 posts
#13 • 8 Y
Y by Kagebaka, samrocksnature, soelinhtetptn20204, CrazyMathMan, SK_pi3145, SpecialBeing2017, Snark_Graphique, icematrix2
Here is an almost synthetic (except for the trig step and the area argument) solution. By the given conditions, it is easy to see that $\triangle ABC\stackrel{-}{\sim} \triangle FED$ and similarly for others. Let $O_1,R_1$ and $O_2,R_2$ be the circumcenter and circumradius of $\triangle ACE$ and $\triangle BDF$. Let $A_1=\overline{BE}\cap \overline{CF}$, and define $B_1$ and $C_1$ similarly.

Claim 1: $R_1=R_2$.

Proof. By the similarities, we have
$\frac{AE}{BD}=\frac{EF}{CD}$ and similarly for others. Cyclicly multiplying all of them shows that
\[\frac{AE}{BD}\cdot\frac{EC}{FB}\cdot\frac{CA}{DF}=1\Longrightarrow AC\cdot CE\cdot EA=BD\cdot DF\cdot FB.\]Since the area of a triangle with side lengths $a,b,c$ and circumradius $R$ is $\frac{abc}{4R}$, to show the claim it suffices to show that $\triangle ACE$ and $\triangle BDF$ have the same area. This follows from the parallelisms.
\[[ACE]=[B_1AC]+[A_1CE]+[C_1EA]+[A_1B_1C_1]=[B_1DF]+[A_1FB]+[C_1BD]+[A_1B_1C_1]=[BDF]. \blacksquare\][asy]
defaultpen(fontsize(10pt));
size(12cm);
real s =1.8;
pair X = dir(30);
pair Y = dir(250);
pair Z = dir(150);
path w = circle((0,0),s);
pair M = IP(L(Y,Z),w,0);
pair N = IP(L(X,Y),w,0);
pair P = IP(L(X,Z),w,1);
pair U = X+Z-P;
pair V = Z+Y-M;
pair W = Y+X-N;
pair A = P+N-M;
pair F = V+W-U;
pair E = P+M-N;
pair D = U+W-V;
pair C = M+N-P;
pair B = U+V-W;
pair O1 = circumcenter(A,C,E);
pair O2 = circumcenter(B,D,F);
pair H = midpoint(O1--O2);
pair A1 = extension(B,E,C,F);
pair B1 = extension(A,D,C,F);
pair C1 = extension(A,D,B,E);
pair M1 = extension(A,D,O1,foot(O1,B,C));
pair N1 = extension(A,D,O2,foot(O2,B,C));
draw(A--C--E--cycle, blue+1);
draw(B--D--F--cycle,red+1);
draw(circumcircle(A,C,E), blue);
draw(circumcircle(B,D,F), red);
draw(A--B--C--D--E--F--cycle, black+1);
draw(A--D);
draw(B--E);
draw(C--F);
draw(O1--A,blue);
draw(O2--D,red);
draw(O1--foot(O1,B,C), dotted);
draw(O2--foot(O2,B,C),dotted);
draw(H--foot(H,B,C),dotted);
draw(O1--O2);
draw(anglemark(M1,O1,A,5));
draw(anglemark(D,O2,N1,5));
draw(rightanglemark(B,foot(O1,B,C),O1,4));
draw(rightanglemark(B,foot(O2,B,C),O2,4));
draw(X--Y--Z--cycle);
dot("$X$",X);
dot("$Y$",Y,dir(270));
dot("$Z$",Z,dir(180));
dot("$A_1$",A1,dir(120));
dot("$B_1$",B1,dir(30));
dot("$C_1$",C1);
dot("$A$",A,dir(A));
dot("$B$",B,dir(B));
dot("$C$",C,dir(C));
dot("$D$",D,dir(D));
dot("$E$",E,dir(E));
dot("$F$",F,dir(F));
dot("$O_1$",O1,dir(270), blue);
dot("$O_2$",O2,dir(180), red);
dot("$H$",H,dir(180));
dot("$M$",M1,dir(350));
dot("$N$",N1,dir(60));
[/asy]
Claim 2: $\angle (O_1A,BC)=-\angle (O_2D,BC)$.

Proof. This is just angle chasing.
\begin{align*}
  &&\angle(O_1A,BC) &=\angle(O_2D,BC)\\
  &\Longleftrightarrow &\measuredangle O_1AB+\measuredangle ABC &=\measuredangle BCD+\measuredangle CDO_2\\
  &\Longleftrightarrow &\measuredangle O_1AC+\measuredangle CAB+\measuredangle ABC &=\measuredangle BCD+\measuredangle CDB+\measuredangle BDO_2\\
  &\Longleftrightarrow & 90^\circ-\measuredangle CEA+\measuredangle EFD+\measuredangle DEF &= \measuredangle EFA+\measuredangle AEF+90^\circ-\measuredangle DFB\\
  &\Longleftrightarrow &\measuredangle EFD+\measuredangle AEF+\measuredangle DEC &= \measuredangle EFD+\measuredangle AEF+\measuredangle BFA
\end{align*}which is true, since $\triangle ABF\stackrel{-}{\sim}\triangle DCE$. $\blacksquare$

Let $H$ be the midpoint of segment $O_1O_2$ ; we claim that $H$ is the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$. Since $YZ\parallel EF\parallel BC$, it suffices to show that $HX\perp BC$. Let $M$ and $N$ be points on $\overline{AD}$, such that $\overline{O_1M}$ and $\overline{O_2N}$ are perpendicular to $BC$. Then by claim 2, we have
\[\measuredangle MO_1A=90^\circ-\angle (O_1A,BC)=90^\circ-\angle(BC,O_2D)=\measuredangle DO_2N.\]Therefore, by the law of sines,
\[AM=\frac{O_1A}{\sin\angle O_1MA}\cdot\sin\angle MO_1A=\frac{O_2D}{\sin\angle O_2ND}\cdot\sin\angle NO_2D = DN.\]Therefore, $X$ is also the midpoint of segment $MN$. Consequently, $\overline{HX}$ is parallel to $\overline{O_1M}$ and hence perpendicular to $\overline{BC}$ as desired.
This post has been edited 4 times. Last edited by KST2003, Apr 25, 2021, 11:42 AM
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mathcool2009
352 posts
#14 • 54 Y
Y by tapir1729, SnowPanda, mira74, numbersandnumbers, insertionsort, aopsuser305, MP8148, Bole, Kagebaka, JasperL, 62861, brianzjk, vsamc, william122, ETS1331, bestzack66, HamstPan38825, Lcz, samrocksnature, Bedwarspro, MathPirate101, HrishiP, algebra_star1234, franchester, 606234, Aryan-23, franzliszt, jacoporizzo, lilavati_2005, KST2003, Nuterrow, 636510, Executioner230607, fuzimiao2013, Mathsweat_notreally, tigerzhang, PhysKid11, mathisawesome2169, NathanTien, icematrix2, DankBasher619, 554183, BVKRB-, rayfish, MathxSudio, mathleticguyyy, Hyperbolic_, Flying-Man, Quidditch, rama1728, Snark_Graphique, lrjr24, Geometry285, Sedro
this is just barely possible with bary
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Billybillybobjoejr.
352 posts
#15 • 5 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2, Mango247, Mango247, Mango247
mathcool2009 wrote:
this is just barely possible with bary

sir quick question are you franzliszt
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mathcool2009
352 posts
#16 • 3 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2, Mango247
I do not control the account franzliszt, nor am I the historical virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt
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Billybillybobjoejr.
352 posts
#17 • 2 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2
mathcool2009 wrote:
I do not control the account franzliszt, nor am I the historical virtuoso pianist Franz Liszt

your post would like to disagree
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vvluo
1574 posts
#18 • 6 Y
Y by samrocksnature, vsamc, Awesome_guy, DebayuRMO, franzliszt, icematrix2
Billybillybobjoejr. wrote:
mathcool2009 wrote:
this is just barely possible with bary

sir quick question are you franzliszt

If it were franzlist using bary, your computer would be dead pressing expand.
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franzliszt
23531 posts
#20 • 6 Y
Y by fuzimiao2013, samrocksnature, icematrix2, Mango247, Mango247, Mango247
Danggggg respect bro :omighty:
I don't think I would've been able to do that :omighty:
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jred
290 posts
#21 • 4 Y
Y by Awesome_guy, samrocksnature, icematrix2, megarnie
An extremely beautiful problem!Thank you to the proposer of this wonderful problem. :-D
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jj_ca888
2725 posts
#22 • 7 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2, megarnie, menlo, eibc, ihatemath123, jf610
here's my funny in-test solution

way overdue
Attachments:
USAMO-6.pdf (225kb)
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by jj_ca888, May 16, 2021, 6:54 PM
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NathanTien
335 posts
#23 • 3 Y
Y by samrocksnature, icematrix2, megarnie
8charlimit
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by NathanTien, Mar 20, 2023, 4:29 AM
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62861
3564 posts
#25 • 31 Y
Y by Smileyklaws, mathleticguyyy, SnowPanda, brianzjk, megarnie, HamstPan38825, tigerzhang, Mathphile4869, ETS1331, 606234, franchester, jj_ca888, khina, OlympusHero, KST2003, 554183, Epistle, hwdaniel, Aryan27, centslordm, NathanTien, aopsuser305, pog, parmenides51, CyclicISLscelesTrapezoid, rayfish, Justpassingby, lrjr24, asdf334, Sedro, IMUKAT
As the author of this problem, I am literally asking for thanks (though some people use the term "upvotes").
https://i.imgur.com/4XMse1c.png
The above image suggests I give "a few thoughts" about how I made the problem, so here they are.
Author commentary (contains spoilers, duh)
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by 62861, Aug 27, 2021, 9:28 PM
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squareman
966 posts
#26 • 6 Y
Y by Catsaway, Bluesoul, rama1728, math31415926535, pog, centslordm
Solved with rama1728. Very nice!

Define point $A'$ so that $ABA'F$ is a parallelogram. Define $B', C', D', E', F'$ similarly. Note that $A'C' \parallel FA \parallel D'F',$ and $A'C' = FA-DC = D'F'.$ Similarly, $C'E' \parallel F'B',$ $E'A' \parallel B'D',$ $C'E' = F'B',$ $E'A'=B'D'.$

By the given length condition, $BA' \cdot BC' = DC' \cdot DE' = FE' \cdot FA',$ thus $B,D,F$ all have equal power wrt $(A'C'E').$ So the center of $(BDF)$ is the center of $(A'C'E'),$ call this $O_1.$ Similarly, the center of $(ACE)$ is the center of $(B'D'F'),$ call this $O_2.$

The orthocenter of the medial triangle of a triangle is its circumcenter. So $O_1, O_2$ are the orthocenters of the medial triangles of $A'C'E'$ and $B'D'F'.$ It's not hard to see $AF'DE',$ $AB'DC'$ are parallelograms, so $X$ is the midpoint of both $B'C'$ and $F'E'.$

So, we can see that the midpoint of the midpoints of $B'F'$ and $E'C'$ is $X$ (since $B'E'C'F'$ is a parallelogram). Using the same argument on $Y,Z$ as well yields that the midpoint of the orthocenters of $A'C'E'$ and $B'D'F',$ which is the midpoint of $O_1O_2,$ is the orthocenter of $XYZ$ as desired. $\blacksquare$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by squareman, Feb 13, 2022, 4:56 AM
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Leo.Euler
577 posts
#29 • 1 Y
Y by asdf334
Let $M_1$, $M_2$, and $M_3$ be the midpoints of $CE$, $AE$, $AC$ and $N_1$, $N_2$, and $N_3$ be the midpoints of $DF$, $BF$, and $BD$. Also, let $H$ be the orthocenter of $XYZ$. Note that we can use parallel sides to see that $X$, $Z$, and $M_3$ are collinear. Thus we have \[ \text{Pow}(M_3,(XYZ)) = M_3Z \cdot M_3X = \frac 14 AB \cdot DE \]by midlines. Applying this argument cyclically, and noting the condition $AB \cdot DE = BC \cdot EF = CD \cdot FA$, $M_1$, $M_2$, $M_3$, $N_1$, $N_2$, $N_3$ all lie on a circle concentric with $(XYZ)$.

Next, realize that basic orthocenter properties imply that the circumcenter $O_1$ of $(ACE)$ is the orthocenter of $\triangle M_1M_2M_3$, and likewise the circumcenter $O_2$ of $(BDF)$ is the orthocenter of $\triangle N_1N_2N_3$.

The rest is just complex numbers; toss on the complex plane so that the circumcenter of $\triangle XYZ$ is the origin. Then we have \[  o_1 = m_1+m_2+m_3 = (c+e)/2+(a+e)/2+(a+c)/2=a+c+e \]\[ o_2 = n_1+n_2+n_3 = (b+d)/2+(d+f)/2+(b+f)/2=b+d+f \]\[ h = x+y+z = (a+d)/2+(b+e)/2+(c+f)/2=(a+b+c+d+e+f)/2.\]Note that from the above we have $h=\frac{o_1+o_2}{2}$, so $H$ is the midpoint of segment $O_1O_2$. In particular, $H$, $O_1$, and $O_2$ are collinear, as required.
This post has been edited 3 times. Last edited by Leo.Euler, Apr 18, 2023, 2:53 AM
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asdf334
7585 posts
#30 • 1 Y
Y by Leo.Euler
Well I was hinted (specifically, the condition doesn't mean similar triangles! instead, it means PoP).

If you try the similar triangles approach, you quickly run into a roadblock, since the problem is not really projective-based. However you can still use Pascal's and DDIT a few times to get something which still feels extremely clean.

If $AF\cap BC=U$, $EF\cap DC=P$, $AE\cap BD=K$, then there exists an involution swapping $(KF,KC),(KA,KB),(KU,KP)$. If we define points $L$ and $M$ similar to $K$, then the involution also swaps $(KM,KL)$.

I think for the most part this question is about not giving up and just continuing to push the boundaries of the problem and try new claims. I think I've been avoiding this too much, and I'm generally afraid to even construct new points just for the sake of experimentation. I had actually drawn the six points on the common nine-point circle and the thought of concyclic points had occurred to me, but my foolish self decided to read the solution instead of trying it for real (and it's a 5-second proof anyway).

Here we go, though:

Let the midpoint of $EC$ be $A_1$ and define other points similarly. Let's also define $O_{\triangle \bullet},G_{\triangle \bullet}, H_{\triangle \bullet}$ in the usual fashion. There are immediate benefits: we can get rid of "circumcenter of $\triangle ACE$" and replace with "orthocenter of $\triangle A_1C_1E_1$", something which is much easier to prove in foresight due to nice homotheties. If you don't find this step, you might end up proving something about radical axes. It's not clean.

Notice that $A_1D_1$ coincides with $YZ$ and is the midline of trapezoid $BCEF$ and cyclically. Now we can begin. I claim that $\bullet_1$ lie on the common nine-point circle of $\triangle ACE$ and $\triangle BDF$. Notice by homothety that
\[YA_1\cdot YD_1=\frac{1}{2}BC\cdot \frac{1}{2}EF\]which is fixed, which should mean that $A_1,D_1,C_1,F_1$ are cyclic. We get similar results for two other cyclic quadrilaterals. But if the circles are different, then we get a contradiction since the radical axes $A_1D_1$ and cyclically do not concur.

Now let's realize that
\[YA_1=\frac{1}{2}BC=D_1Z\]which means that $YZ$ and $A_1D_1$ have a shared perpendicular bisector. As a result, the circumcenter of $\bullet_1$ coincides with the circumcenter of $\triangle XYZ$. We should also realize, though, that
\[G_{\triangle A_1C_1E_1}=\frac{\overrightarrow{A}+\overrightarrow{C}+\overrightarrow{E}}{3}\]\[G_{\triangle B_1D_1F_1}=\frac{\overrightarrow{B}+\overrightarrow{D}+\overrightarrow{F}}{3}\]\[G_{\triangle XYZ}=\frac{\overrightarrow{A}+\overrightarrow{B}+\overrightarrow{C}+\overrightarrow{D}+\overrightarrow{E}+\overrightarrow{F}}{6}\]hence the midpoint of $G_{\triangle A_1C_1E_1}$ and $G_{\triangle B_1D_1F_1}$ is just $G_{\triangle XYZ}$.

Since the circumcenters of the three triangles are the same and the centroids are collinear, the orthocenters are collinear by homothety (around the common circumcenter with scale factor $3$).
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r00tsOfUnity
695 posts
#31
Y by
alternative title: Google Drive Logo Hexagon

Since opposite sides are parallel, we may construct points $D^{\prime}$, $F^{\prime}$, and $B^{\prime}$ inside the hexagon such that $ABCD^{\prime}$, $CDEF^{\prime}$, and $EFAB^{\prime}$ are all parallelograms, making the hexagon look like the Google Drive logo. The length condition is equivalent to \[CD^{\prime}\cdot CF^{\prime} = AD^{\prime}\cdot AB^{\prime} = EF^{\prime}\cdot EB^{\prime}\]in other words, $\text{Pow}(C,(D^{\prime}F^{\prime}B^{\prime}))=\text{Pow}(E,(D^{\prime}F^{\prime}B^{\prime}))=\text{Pow}(A,(D^{\prime}F^{\prime}B^{\prime}))$. Thus, the circumcenter of $\triangle ACE$ coincides with that of $\triangle B^{\prime}D^{\prime}F^{\prime}$.

Repeating this logic, construct points $E^{\prime}$, $A^{\prime}$, and $C^{\prime}$ inside the hexagon such that $BCDE^{\prime}$, $DEFA^{\prime}$, and $FABC^{\prime}$ are all parallelograms. Then rewrite the length condition as \[FC^{\prime}\cdot FA^{\prime}=DE^{\prime}\cdot DA^{\prime}=BE^{\prime}\cdot BC^{\prime}\]so $\text{Pow}(F,(C^{\prime}E^{\prime}A^{\prime}))=\text{Pow}(D,(C^{\prime}E^{\prime}A^{\prime}))=\text{Pow}(B,(C^{\prime}E^{\prime}A^{\prime}))$, hence the circumcenters of $\triangle BDF$ and $\triangle A^{\prime}C^{\prime}E^{\prime}$ are the same point.

It only remains to prove that the circumcenter of $\triangle B^{\prime}D^{\prime}F^{\prime}$, the circumcenter of $\triangle A^{\prime}C^{\prime}E^{\prime}$, and the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$ are collinear. We start with the following claim:

Claim. $\triangle A^{\prime}C^{\prime}E^{\prime}$ and $\triangle B^{\prime}D^{\prime}F^{\prime}$ are translations of each other.

Proof. Use complex numbers. By parallelograms, we have \begin{align*}a^{\prime}=d+f-e \\ b^{\prime}=e+a-f \\ c^{\prime}=f+b-a \\ d^{\prime}=a+c-b \\ e^{\prime}=b+d-c \\ f^{\prime}=c+e-d\end{align*}The triangle formed by $a^{\prime}, c^{\prime}, e^{\prime}$ has sides that are parallel to the vectors \[\left[(d+f-e)-(f+b-a), (f+b-a)-(b+d-c), (b+d-c)-(d+f-e)\right]=\left[d-e-b+a, f-a-d+c, b-c-f+e\right]\]while the triangle formed by $b^{\prime}, d^{\prime}, f^{\prime}$ has sides that are parallel to the vectors \[\left[(e+a-f)-(a+c-b), (a+c-b)-(c+e-d), (c+e-d)-(e+a-f)\right]=\left[e-f-c+b, a-b-e+d, c-d-a+f\right],\]which are the same vectors as above, but in a different order. The claim is proven. $\blacksquare$

We may also verify that \[a-a^{\prime}=a-(d+f-e)=a-d-f+e=(a-f+e)-d=b^{\prime}-d,\]so $AA^{\prime}DB^{\prime}$ is a parallelogram and by a similar logic so are $CC^{\prime}FD^{\prime}$ and $EE^{\prime}BF^{\prime}$. Then, the midpoints of $\overline{AD}$, $\overline{BE}$, and $\overline{CF}$ become the midpoints $X$, $Y$, and $Z$ of $\overline{A^{\prime}B^{\prime}}$, $\overline{C^{\prime}D^{\prime}}$, and $\overline{E^{\prime}F^{\prime}}$. We see that $\triangle XYZ$ is the vector average for the medial triangles of $\triangle A^{\prime}C^{\prime}E^{\prime}$, $\triangle B^{\prime}D^{\prime}F^{\prime}$. But the orthocenter of a medial triangle is the circumcenter of the original triangle (use the Euler line and a homothety of ratio $-2$ at centroid), so the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$ lies halfway between the circumcenters of $\triangle A^{\prime}C^{\prime}E^{\prime}$, $\triangle B^{\prime}D^{\prime}F^{\prime}$. Q.E.D.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by r00tsOfUnity, Mar 18, 2024, 6:40 PM
Reason: typo
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dolphinday
1329 posts
#32
Y by
Let $A'$, $B'$, $\dots$ be the midpoints of $CE$, $DF$, $\dots$. Then $D'Y \cdot A'Y = \frac{1}{4}EF \cdot BC = YF' \cdot YC'$ by midlines on $\triangle BEF$ and $\triangle BCE$, so $A'B'C'D'$ is cyclic, and similarly $C'D'E'F'$ and $E'F'A'B'$. It is easy to check by radical axis that $A'B'C'D'E'F'$ is cyclic. Also we get that $X$, $Y$ and $Z$ have equal power wrt $(A'B'C'D'E'F')$ so the circumcenter of $(XYZ)$ lies on the nine-point center of $(AEC)$(since $(A'E'C')$ is the nine-point circle).
Also note that the orthocenter of $A'E'C'$ is the circumcenter of $AEC$ since the altitude of $A'$ to $E'C'$ is the perpendicular bisector of $EC$. So it suffices to show that the orthocenters of $A'E'C'$, $B'D'F'$ and $X'Y'Z'$ are collinear. However since these three triangles share a circumcenter it suffices to show that the three centroids of the triangles are collinear by homothety at the circumcenter along the Euler line of the three triangles.
However this is obviously true as $\frac{a' + e' + c'}{3} = \frac{a + e + c}{3}$, $\frac{b' + d' + f'}{3} = \frac{b + d + f}{3}$ and $\frac{x + y + z}{3} = \frac{a + b + c + d + e + f}{6}$ which is the midpoint of the previous two centroids, done.
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pi271828
3373 posts
#33 • 1 Y
Y by peace09
Let $A', C', E'$ be the unique points inside the hexagon such that $ABCA'$, $CDEC'$, $EFAE'$ are parallelograms. Likewise, let $B', D', F'$ be the unique points inside the hexagon such that $BAFB'$, $DCBD'$, $FEDF'$ are parallelograms. Note that $\triangle A'C'E'$ and $\triangle F'B'D'$ are congruent and are simply translations of each other. Denote $P$ and $Q$ to be the circumcenters of $\triangle ACE$ and $\triangle BDF$ respectively, and let $H$ be the orthocenter of $\triangle XYZ$.

Claim: $\triangle ACE$ has the same cirumcenter as $\triangle A'C'E'$, and $\triangle BDF$ has the same circumcenter as $\triangle B'D'F'$

Proof. Note that \begin{align*}
\operatorname{Pow} \left( A, \left( A'C'E' \right)\right) = BC \cdot EF \\ = AB \cdot DE = \operatorname{Pow} \left( C, \left( A'C'E' \right)\right)
\end{align*}Likewise, $E$ also has the same power with respect to $(A'C'E')$ as $A$ and $C$, so they all lie the same distance away from $P$, which clearly implies the claim. Likewise, we can do the same thing for $\triangle BDF$. $\square$

Let $\triangle X'Y'Z'$ be the triangle such that $\triangle XYZ$ is its medial triangle. Notice that $H$ is now the circumcenter of $\triangle X'Y'Z'$.

Claim: $X'$ is the midpoint of $B'C'$, and et cetera for $Y'$ and $Z'$.

Proof. First, note that $AA'DD'$, $BB'EE'$, and $CC'FF'$ are all parallelograms. On top of this, we have that $BC'ED'$, $AF'DE'$, $CA'FB'$ are all paralellograms. Therefore, $X$ is the midpoint of $A'D'$ and , etc. Representing this in vector form, we have \begin{align*} \vec{A'} + \vec{D'} = 2\vec{X} = \vec{E'} + \vec{F'} \\ \vec{B'} + \vec{E'} = 2\vec{Y} = \vec{C'} + \vec{D'}\\ \vec{C'} + \vec{F'} = 2\vec{Z} = \vec{A'} + \vec{B'} \end{align*}Because $\triangle XYZ$ is the medial triangle of $\triangle X'Y'Z'$ we also have \begin{align*} \vec{X'} = \vec{Y}+\vec{Z} - \vec{X}\end{align*}and et cetera for $Y'$ and $Z'$. From these two equations we get \begin{align*} 2\vec{X'} = \vec{B'} + \vec{C'}\end{align*}and et cetera for $Y'$ and $Z'$, so the claim is proven. $\square$

To finish, note that since $\triangle A'C'E'$ and $\triangle B'D'F'$ are translations of each other, $\triangle X'Y'Z'$ must also be a translation that is halfway in between these two triangles. This implies their circumcenters are linear, and in fact $H$ must be the midpoint of $P$ and $Q$, so we are done. $\blacksquare$
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