The Fables of a G4 and a G7
by math_pi_rate, Jan 30, 2020, 2:27 PM
Hey guys! I know this is many months late
, but I finally got something worthy to post on (after the massive success of the Queue and Ex points post
). The main content of the discussion ahead is based on two extremely well-known problems, namely IMOSL 2002 G7 and IMOSL 2011 G4. The basic agenda is to unravel the relation between these two seemingly unrelated configurations, and then to pick up some problems around this. Hopefully you guys will enjoy this one too. Anyway, let's begin by first showing the two problems about which this whole post is (with solutions included for completeness' sake):
IMOSL 2002 G7: The incircle
of the acute-angled triangle
is tangent to its side
at a point
. Let
be an altitude of triangle
, and let
be the midpoint of the segment
. If
is the common point of the circle
and the line
(distinct from
), then prove that the incircle
and the circumcircle of triangle
are tangent to each other at the point
.
Solution: Suppose the tangent to
at
meets
(which is the tangent to
at
) at some point
. Let
be the incenter,
-excenter of
, and
be the midpoint of
. It is well known that
are collinear, so we get
This gives
(since
is the inverse of
in
), and hence the result.
IMOSL 2011 G4: Let
be an acute triangle with circumcircle
. Let
be the midpoint of
and let
be the midpoint of
. Let
be the foot of the altitude from
and let
be the centroid of the triangle
. Let
be a circle through
and
that is tangent to the circle
at a point
. Prove that the points
and
are collinear.
Solution: Let
be the midpoint of
, and
be the foot of perpendicular from
to
. Notice that the negative homothety centered at
that takes
to
, also takes
to
, and so
are collinear. Thus it suffices to show that
lies on
. Let
be the circumcenter of
, and suppose the tangent to
at
meets
at
. As
is also tangent to
, from the Radical Axes Theorem on
we get that
is tangent to
at
. Now,
is cyclic. As
, we have that
, where the last equality follows from the fact that
lies on
, which is the perpendicular bisector of
. Thus,
lies on
, hence proving what was required.
Now that we are done with the formalities, let's move onto the more important part, i.e. the relation between these two problems.
The Whole Configuration: Let
have incircle
, incenter
and intouch triangle
. Let
be the medial triangle of
. Let
be the midpoint of the
-altitude, and
be the point where
meets
again. By IMOSL 2002 G7,
is tangent to
. Let
be the point on
such that
is tangent to
. Then
.
Proof: Invert about
. Then
and
are swapped.. Thus,
and
get swapped. But the inverse of
(i.e.
) must also be tangent to
. This gives
directly.
![[asy]
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Well having seen the relation, I guess it's time for some properties (From now on we will work with the above configuration only, i.e. same notations).
PROPERTY-1 Let
be the antipode of
in
, and
be the foot of perpendicular from
to
(i.e.
is the isotomic point of the foot of the
-altitude). Then
are isogonal in
. Also lines
are concurrent.
Proof: Seeing isogonal lines with one foot on the circumcircle and the other on the corresponding side inspires us to consider
inversion (If it doesn't, then make sure it does the next time
). So we invert about
with radius
, followed by reflection in
(denoting images under this transformation by
). Then
are the reflections of
in
respectively, while
is a point such that
is tangent to
. Thus, we have
Also, as
is the center of
, so we have that
is the perpendicular bisector of
. Combining this with
, we get that
, as desired.
For the second part, let
be the reflection of
in line
(i.e.
lies on
such that
). Note that
passes through the foot of the
-altitude. Then the same inversion gives that
passes through
. Combined with
and
(which has been shown above), we have the desired result 
PROPERTY-2 (Probably my favourite property related to this configuration): Replace
by
, and define
similarly (We'll continue this notation from now on). Then
concur at the homothety center
of
and the excentral triangle of
. Finally,
also lies on the Euler line of
. (NOTE:
is known as the Isogonal Mittenpunkt Point of
, and is also the homothety center of
and the orthic triangle of
.)
Proof: Using Property-1, lines
concur at the isogonal conjugate of the isotomic conjugate of the orthocenter
of
. Now, let
be the excentral triangle of
, and
be the Bevan Point of
(i.e. the center of
). By IMOSL 2002 G7's proof, we have
. This means that the concurrency point of
is the homothety center
of
and
.
This gives that
also lies on the line joining the circumcenters of
and
, i.e.
. As
is the orthocenter of
, so line
is the Euler line of
. But, it is well known that the Euler lines of
and
are the same. Thus, we get that
lies on the Euler line of
also, as desired. 
PROPERTY-3 Lines
are concurrent.
Proof: We prove the following stronger result (which is known as the Steinbart theorem).
This can easily be proved using Trig Ceva, but I'll be modest, and just use moving points
. Fix
, and animate
on line
. Then
are projective. Thus, it suffices to prove that
for three distinct positions of
on line
. The result trivially follows on taking
, as desired.
REMARK (IMPORTANT): Unlike most of the famous theorems, the converse of Steinbart Theorem is not completely true. The extended Steinbart theorem deals with this anomaly. You can find it here (written by Darij Grinberg).
Well, it's time to move on to some problems (wait, what's the distinction between problems and properties
). Anyway, let's hope I add enough motivational content for each one
.
PROBLEM-1 (Generalization of IMOSL 2011 G4; given by babu2001 here)
Let
. Let
be the reflection of
in the midpoint of
. Let the isogonal ray to
intersect
at
. Let
be the reflection of
in the perpendicular bisector of
. Then
are collinear.
Solution 1: Let
be the midpoint of
, and
such that
is the
-symmedian . We will do a cross ratio chase (don't get afraid if you haven't done one before; it is a wonderful method definitely worth knowing about). The basic inspiration is to note that isogonal rays and isotomic points are related to each other projectively (i.e. they preserve cross ratios). We start with the ratio
and try to prove it is equal to
, after which we are obviously done. First, by isotomic conjugation,
. Then we have
Thus, to show the original problem it suffices to prove that
are collinear. This can equivalently be formulated as
This equivalent statement gives that if we show the problem for even one finite position of
(which is not necessarily
), we can deduce that the problem is true for all positions of
. Taking
as the isotomic point of the foot of the
-altitude (i.e. the foot of perpendicular from the
-antipode on
) quite easily works. Hence, done. 
NOTE (A possible trap): We cannot just show the problem to be true for
or
, and say it is always true, after we have deduced the equivalence relation. This is because, when
, the cross ratio
becomes invariant of point
. A similar thing happens when
is the point at infinity, which is why we must ensure that
is a finite point distinct from
.
Solution 2: There is an easy alternative moving points solution (those who don't know moving points may skip this). Animate
on
. Then, since isogonal and isotomic conjugation are projective maps, so the map
must also be projective. Thus, it suffices to prove the problem for three distinct positions of
. Taking
and the point at infinity on
trivially give the conclusion. 
PROBLEM-2 (EMMO 2016 Junior P5)
Let
be a triangle with circumcenter
and circumcircle
The point
lies on
such that
is the
- symmedian of triangle
The line through
perpendicular to
intersects
in
respectively. Denote by
the nine-point circle of triangle
and let
and
intersect again in
Further, let the tangent to
at
meet the line
in
and let
be the antipode of
with respect to circle
Prove that the points
are collinear.
Solution: Redefine
as the point where
meets
again, in which case we have to show that
lies on the nine-point circle of
. Note that, by Property-1 (second part),
is in fact the 2011 G4 point of
. Suppose the perpendicular bisector of
(i.e. line
) meets
at
. Then we wish to show that
. Consider
inversion. Then, using Property-1, and with the help of the inversive distance formula, we get the following problem:-
As we do with almost all problems, we will assume that the problem is true, and try to deduce whatever we can. Note that, if we denote the reflection of
in
by
, then
and
. The reason we consider
is that it also lets us characterize point
; it is simply the foot of perpendicular from
to
. Thus,
is nothing but the pedal circle of
wrt
. Now, whenever pedal circles are involved, I have a tendency to go towards the isogonal conjugate (and so should you, if you don't have such an urge already). Anyway, the main point here is that isogonal conjugates share their pedal circles (which is also called the six point circle theorem). So we consider the isogonal conjugate of
, which is nothing but the point
where the tangent to
at
and
meet. Note that
, and so using the fact given above, we get that
, as desired. 
REMARK: The trick of considering the common pedal circle of isogonal conjugates is a wonderful tool for tackling problems involving these. Here's another example of this trick (the geometry one, not the combi one
).
PROBLEM-3 (Proposed by AlastorMoody here)
In an acute triangle
, Let
be the isotomic conjugate of the orthocenter
of
. Let
and
be the midpoint of
. Let
be the orthic triangle WRT
and
be the centroid of
. Define
and Let
is the midpoint of 
(i) Let
be the midpoint of
. Show that the intersection of
and
lies on
. Moreover, show that this intersection point lies on 
(ii) Suppose that the intersection point in (i) is
, then prove,
lies on 
(iii) Let
at
, then prove, 
Solution: Redefine
as the 2011 G4 point of
, since Part (ii) and (iii) kind of give away that this should be
. In that case, (ii) and (iii) are true by solution of IMOSL 2011 G4. So we'll just show that
and
. Using
as given in (iii), we notice that
directly gives
by converse of Reim's Theorem. Again using converse of Reim's Theorem, we get
from
(since
and
).
For the final part, i.e. showing
, we bring our old friend, the
-Ex point
, into picture (You'll see soon why). Seeing so many circles, for obvious reasons, we try to use radical axes theorem. Applying it to
, we see that
lies on radical axis of
and
. But, by Property-4 here, we know that point is nothing but
, which in turn means that
are concurrent at
. Then
gives the result. 
REMARK: I believe the problem would have been much harder (especially in exam conditions), if the last 2 parts weren't given. They are sort of the giveaways. Apart from that, the part of getting
concurrent could be observed even by a good eye. Like in my diagram, I had a good hunch that it might be true (and these hunches go a long way with geometry).
PROBLEM-4 (STEMS 2020 Category B Subjective P4)
In triangle
with incenter
, the incircle
touches sides
and
at points
and
, respectively. A circle passing through
and
touches
at point
. The circumcircle of
meets
at
. Prove that
is parallel to
.
Solution: Let
be the
-intouch point of
, and note that
is the 2011 G4 point of
. Redefine
as the point such that
. Then
combined with
gives that
is the center of
, i.e.
is the reflection of
in
. Now, we consider
inversion followed by reflection in angle bisector of
(denoting inverse of point
by
). Let
be the line through
parallel to
. Then
such that
and
. Since,
is the midpoint of
, so we get that
is the foot of perpendicular from
to
. Note that
is equal to the distance of
from the
-altitude, and so we have
. Combined with
, we get that
is a parallelogram. Thus, we have
, and so
must be an isosceles trapezoid, or equivalently,
is cyclic, as desired. 
REMARKS: Wonderfully easy if you know the above theory
.
With that, we come to an end of this section. For a bonus problem, try this one using what we have done till now (Don't see my solution
). After this I will probably be posting on this blog after May only. So enjoy 
P.S. Do write in the comments section if you wish to share something (like a problem or another property). Also, I am extremely sorry for any typos. You can notify me about those too in the comments section. Thanks


IMOSL 2002 G7: The incircle















Solution: Suppose the tangent to

















IMOSL 2011 G4: Let

















Solution: Let

































Now that we are done with the formalities, let's move onto the more important part, i.e. the relation between these two problems.
The Whole Configuration: Let


















Proof: Invert about









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Well having seen the relation, I guess it's time for some properties (From now on we will work with the above configuration only, i.e. same notations).
PROPERTY-1 Let











Proof: Seeing isogonal lines with one foot on the circumcircle and the other on the corresponding side inspires us to consider



















For the second part, let













PROPERTY-2 (Probably my favourite property related to this configuration): Replace













Proof: Using Property-1, lines













This gives that













PROPERTY-3 Lines

Proof: We prove the following stronger result (which is known as the Steinbart theorem).
Steinbart wrote:
Let
be points on
such that
are concurrent at a point
. Then
are also concurrent.





This can easily be proved using Trig Ceva, but I'll be modest, and just use moving points









REMARK (IMPORTANT): Unlike most of the famous theorems, the converse of Steinbart Theorem is not completely true. The extended Steinbart theorem deals with this anomaly. You can find it here (written by Darij Grinberg).
Well, it's time to move on to some problems (wait, what's the distinction between problems and properties


PROBLEM-1 (Generalization of IMOSL 2011 G4; given by babu2001 here)
Let











Solution 1: Let



















NOTE (A possible trap): We cannot just show the problem to be true for








Solution 2: There is an easy alternative moving points solution (those who don't know moving points may skip this). Animate







PROBLEM-2 (EMMO 2016 Junior P5)
Let

























Solution: Redefine













Inverted problem wrote:
Let
be the midpoint and the isotomic point of the
-altitude in
. Suppose
meets
at
. Then show that
is cyclic.







As we do with almost all problems, we will assume that the problem is true, and try to deduce whatever we can. Note that, if we denote the reflection of




















REMARK: The trick of considering the common pedal circle of isogonal conjugates is a wonderful tool for tackling problems involving these. Here's another example of this trick (the geometry one, not the combi one

PROBLEM-3 (Proposed by AlastorMoody here)
In an acute triangle














(i) Let






(ii) Suppose that the intersection point in (i) is



(iii) Let



Solution: Redefine












For the final part, i.e. showing












REMARK: I believe the problem would have been much harder (especially in exam conditions), if the last 2 parts weren't given. They are sort of the giveaways. Apart from that, the part of getting

PROBLEM-4 (STEMS 2020 Category B Subjective P4)
In triangle
















Solution: Let







































REMARKS: Wonderfully easy if you know the above theory

With that, we come to an end of this section. For a bonus problem, try this one using what we have done till now (Don't see my solution


P.S. Do write in the comments section if you wish to share something (like a problem or another property). Also, I am extremely sorry for any typos. You can notify me about those too in the comments section. Thanks

This post has been edited 4 times. Last edited by math_pi_rate, Jan 31, 2020, 6:04 AM