Let be an acute triangle with . Let be its circumcircle, its orthocenter, and the foot of the altitude from . Let be the midpoint of . Let be the point on such that , and let be the point on such that . Prove that the circumcircles of triangles and are tangent to each other.
The circumcircles of and are orthogonal at .
No such configuration exists under the given conditions.
The circumcircles of and are disjoint from .
The circumcircles of and are tangent at .
Hint 1: lies on both and the circle with diameter . Identify explicitly using the orthocenter's reflection properties.
Hint 2: For tangency at , you need the tangent lines to both circumcircles at to coincide. Express these tangent directions in terms of inscribed angles.
Hint 3: Use the nine-point circle: and both lie on it. The nine-point circle passes through the midpoints and altitude feet. Consider inversion centered at .
Step 1 (Key observations): is the foot of the altitude from , so lies on with . is the midpoint of . is on with , so lies on the circle with diameter . Since and are both related to , is a specific point.
Step 2 (Locate ): The condition means lies on the circle with diameter . Since as well, is an intersection of and the circle with diameter . One intersection is the second point where the altitude from meets (the antipodal point of the midpoint of arc ). The other gives .
Step 3 (Locate ): Similarly, means lies on the circle with diameter , and .
Step 4 (Tangency condition): Two circles are tangent at a point if and only if they share a common tangent line at . The tangent to the circumcircle of at is determined by between and . The tangent to the circumcircle of at is determined by .
Using angle chasing with the inscribed angle theorem on , and the properties of the orthocenter (, reflections of over midpoints lie on ), one shows that the tangent directions at coincide.
Step 5 (Conclusion): The tangent lines to both circles at are the same, proving the circles are tangent.
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