Let be a convex polygon in the plane. The vertices have integral coordinates and lie on a circle. Let be the area of . An odd positive integer is given such that the squares of the side lengths of are all divisible by . Prove that is divisible by .
.
.
.
.
Hint 1: Use the Shoelace formula: . The condition for each side gives modular information.
Hint 2: All vertices are on a circle with integer coordinates. The cocircular condition plus the divisibility of squared side lengths by (odd) constrains the coordinates modulo .
Hint 3: Work modulo (which is odd). Factor the sum-of-squares condition using Gaussian integers modulo , or use the fact that on a circle, consecutive differences are related.
Step 1 (Shoelace formula): By the Shoelace formula, where indices are cyclic. Each term is an integer since coordinates are integral.
Step 2 (Side lengths mod ): The squared side length .
Step 3 (Key lemma): Since all vertices lie on a circle of radius , and is odd, we use the extended law of sines: where is the central angle. The Shoelace terms can be related to the central angles.
Step 4 (Working modulo ): Translate so that . Then and each is constant (all on a circle) — actually after translation the center moves. Instead, use the circle equation: for center and radius , for all .
The difference combined with the cocircular condition gives congruence relations among the coordinates modulo . Since is odd, we can use the factorization and properties of sums of two squares modulo odd numbers.
Step 5 (Conclusion): Combining the congruences from the side-length conditions with the Shoelace formula, every term in picks up a factor of , giving .
Ready to track your progress and master these topics?
Create a free account