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Sina Ghaseminejad
January 2019
1 Introduction
Geometry is an important part of Mathematics Olympiad and Competitions.
In many problems you need to compute some of the lengths or angles. Angle
chasing is simple enough for a lot of us. But sometimes finding the lengths is a
boring and hard job to do; especially if you don’t like calculations in geometry.
Here are some important theorems, lemmas and important triangle lengths that
will appear a lot in bashing geometry problems. In the last section I’ve provided
a bunch of computational problems for you. At the end I have to thank my
dear friend Matin Yousefi for helping me by gathering many of those wonderful
problems and Amir Hossein Parvardi who helped me a lot in writing this article
and improving it. I hope you like it and Happy bashing!
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
Using the equations above, you will have double and half angle formulas:
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
b2 · BX + c2 · CX = a(AX 2 + BX · CX).
b CDa sin B
= =
c BDa sin C
If and only if ADa is an angle bisector.
AB · CD + AD · BC ≥ AC · BD.
Theorem 4.8. (Ceva’s Theorem) We call a line drawn from one of the ver-
tices of triangle meeting the opposite side, a Cevian. In triangle 4ABC, three
Cevians AA0 , BB 0 , and CC 0 are concurrent if and only if we have:
AC 0 BA0 CB 0
· · = 1.
C 0 B A0 C B 0 A
Theorem 4.9. (Trigonometric Ceva) In triangle 4ABC, three Cevians AA0 ,
BB 0 , and CC 0 are concurrent if and only if we have:
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
Theorem 4.11. (Area of the Triangle) The area of a triangle can be calculated
using following formulas which can be proved easily.
Let ha be the altitude from vertex A, then the area of 4ABC can be written as
these equations:
a · ha
[ABC] =
2
bc · sin A
[ABC] =
2
Let R, r and p be the circumradius, inradius and semiperimeter of 4ABC
respectively, we will have the following equations as well:
[ABC] = pr
abc
[ABC] =
4R
2
[ABC] = 2R sin A sin B sin C
p
[ABC] = p(p − a)(p − b)(p − c)
Theorem 4.12. (Euler Line) In the triangle 4ABC, let O be the circumcen-
ter, G be the centroid, N9 be the center of Nine-Point Circle, and H be the
orthocenter.
Then, O, G, N9 and H are colinear and they share the ratio:
OG : GN9 : N9 H = 2 : 1 : 3.
Theorem 4.13. (Nagel Line) In the triangle 4ABC, let I be the incenter, G
be the centroid, and N be the Nagel Point.
Then, I, G, and N are colinear and they share the ratio:
IG : GN = 1 : 2.
AH : OM = 2 : 1.
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
Lemma 5.1. (Lemma of Ratio) In the triangle 4ABC, if a line passing through
A meet BC at X, we have:
BX c · sin (BAX)
= .
CX b · sin (CAX)
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
Proof. Since we know that ∠P AB = ∠CAQ, it’s obvious that ∠ABP = ∠AQC =
∠B, so we get:
b AQ
4ABP ∼ 4AQC ⇒ =
AP c
=⇒ AP · AQ = bc.
Corollary 5.9. Let I be the incenter of 4ABC and Ia be the center of the
excircle relative to the vertex A, then this lemma can be written for I and Ia as
well.
In the triangle 4ABC, we have:
AI · AIa = bc.
Proof. We know that ∠BAIa = ∠IAC = ∠ A2 ; with some angle chasing we can
see that ∠ABIa = ∠AIC = ∠B + ∠ A+C
2 . So we have:
c AI
4ABIa ∼ 4AIC ⇒ =
AIa b
=⇒ AI · AIa = bc.
6 Geometric Calculations
6.1 Median
In the triangle 4ABC, we have:
• Ma , Mb , Mc , as the midpoints of sides a, b, c respectively.
• ma , mb , mc , as the medians from midpoints of a, b, c, respectively.
6.1.1 Length of ma
Using the Law of Cosines, we have:
a2 a2 + c2 − b2
a 2 a
m2a 2
=c + − 2c cos B = c + 2
− ac
2 2 4 2ac
a2 a2 c2 b2
m2a = c2 + − − +
4 2 2 2
c2 b2 a2
m2a = + −
2 2 4
r
2b + 2c − a2
2 2
=⇒ ma = .
4
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
6.2 Altitude
In the triangle 4ABC, we have:
• H as the Orthocenter of triangle.
• ha , hb , hc , as the altitudes from A, B, C, respectively.
• Ha , Hb , Hc are where the altitudes ha , hb , hc , touch a, b, c, respectively.
6.2.1 Length of ha
i) Using the Law of Sines, we have:
sin B sin 90
=
ha c
=⇒ ha = c · sin B.
ii) Using the formulas of the area, we will get:
a · ha bc · sin A
=
2 2
bc · sin A
⇒ ha = .
a
a
By the Law of Sines we know that sin A = 2R , using that, we get:
bc
=⇒ ha = .
2R
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
6.2.3 Length of AH
We know that HHb CHa is a cyclic quadrilateral; So:
AH · b · sin C = c · cos A · b
=⇒ AH = a · cot A.
a
Using sin A = 2R, it can be written like:
=⇒ AH = 2R · cos A.
6.2.5 Length of Hb Hc
With some angle chasing we will know that ∠AHb Hc = ∠ABC and ∠AHc Hb =
∠ACB, this will lead us to the similarity 4AHb Hc ∼ 4ABC; so:
Hb Hc AHb
= = cos A
a c
=⇒ Hb Hc = a · cos A.
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
• Da0 , Db0 , Dc0 are where d0a , d0b , d0c meet the extension of BC, AC, AB,
respectively.
6.3.1 Length of da
Using the Stewart’s Theorem, we will have:
a2 bc
2 2 ac 2 ab
a da + +b +c
(b + c)2 b+c b+c
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
6.3.4 Length of AI
i) Using the Angle Bisector Theorem in the triangle 4ABDa , we will get:
AI c
=
IDa BD
AI c b+c
= ac =
IDa b+c a
AI b+c
=
AI + IDa a+b+c
AI b+c
⇒ =
ADa 2p
b+c 2bc A b+c
AI = ADa · = · cos ·
2p b+c 2 2p
bc A
=⇒ AI = · cos .
p 2
ii) If we connect I to Ec , it’s obvious that IEc ⊥AB and IEc = r; in the triangle
4AIEc , we will get:
r
⇒ AI = .
sin A2
iii) Having Ec and the incircle again, it’s easy to prove that AEc = p − a; in
the triangle 4AIEc , we will get:
p−a
=⇒ AI = .
cos A2
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
6.5 T and T 0
We defined T and T 0 as the points where the internal and exterior bisectors
of ∠A meet the circumcircle of the triangle 4ABC; or we can say that T is
> >
the midpoint of arc BC not containing A, and T 0 is the midpoint of arc BC
containing A. We use the same notations as the previous parts in this section:
• da , db , dc , as the angle bisectors of ∠A, ∠B, ∠C.
• Da , Db , Dc are where the bisectors da , db , dc , meet a, b, c, respectively.
• Ea , Eb , Ec are where the incircle touch a, b, c, respectively.
• d0a , d0b , d0c as the exterior angle bisectors of ∠A, ∠B, ∠C, respectively.
• Da0 , Db0 , Dc0 are where d0a , d0b , d0c meet the extension of BC, AC, AB,
respectively.
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
6.5.1 Length of AT
An special case of the Isogonal Lines Lemma that we proved, is when A, P , Q
are collinear; And that is when P ≡ Da and Q ≡ T .
Using the lemma, we get:
ADa · AT = bc.
We know that ADa = b+c · cos A2 , by putting that in our equation we have:
2bc
2bc A
AT · · cos = bc
b+c 2
b+c
=⇒ AT = .
2 cos ( A2 )
6.5.2 Length of AT 0
Here, we need to use Da0 again. it’s obvious that T 0 , A and Da0 are collinear;
with angle chasing we know that ∠ABDa0 = ∠AT 0 C and ∠Da0 AB = ∠CAT 0 ,
so:
c d0a
4ABDa0 ∼ 4AT 0 C ⇒ =
AT 0 b
0 2bc
Just like the length of AT , by putting da = |b−c| · sin A2 in the equation, we
get:
|b − c|
=⇒ AT 0 = .
2 sin A2
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
iii) Having Zc again; it’s easy to prove that AZc = p; using that in the triangle
4AZc Ia , we get:
p
=⇒ AIa = .
cos A2
rb
=⇒ AIb = .
cos A2
6.6.3 Length of ra
[ABC]
i) Calculating the length of ra is quite like proving r = p ; we use the area
of 4ABC to calculate it.
Consider ra ; we know that:
[ABC] = [AIa B] + [AIa C] − [CIa B].
p · ra p · ra a · ra
⇒ [ABC] = + −
2 2 2
With a little calculations, we get:
[ABC] = (p − a) · ra
[ABC]
=⇒ ra = .
p−a
[ABC] [ABC]
In the exact same way, we can prove that rb = p−b and rc = p−c .
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
7 Training Problems
Here are some problems gathered from Mathematics Olympiads all over the
world that can be solved by length bashing for some exercise. You may solve
some of these in much easier ways; But please don’t! There’s much more benefit
in solving them by calculations than other ways.
4. Equal circles ω1 and ω2 are passing through each others centers. The triangle
4ABC is inscribed into the circle ω1 such that lines AC and BC are tangent
to the circle ω2 . Prove that: cos A + cos B = 1.
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
10. Let 4ABC be an acute-angled triangle with altitudes AD, BE, and CF .
Let H be the orthocentre, that is, the point where the altitudes meet. Prove
that:
AB · AC + BC · CA + CA · CB
≤ 2.
AH · AD + BH · BE + CH · CF
11. Let 4ABC be an acute angled triangle. Let D, E, F be points on BC, CA, AB
such that AD is the median, BE is the internal bisector and CF is the alti-
tude. Suppose that ∠F DE = ∠C, ∠DEF = ∠A and ∠EF D = ∠B. Show that
4ABC is equilateral.
12. The incircle of a triangle 4ABC touches the side AB and AC at respec-
>
tively at X and Y . Let K be the midpoint of the arc AB on the circumcircle
of 4ABC. Assume that XY bisects the segment AK. What are the possible
measures of angle ∠BAC?
13. Let ABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let P , Q, R be the feet of the perpen-
diculars from D to the lines BC, CA, AB, respectively. Show that P Q = QR
if and only if the bisectors of ∠ABC and ∠ADC are concurrent with AC.
15. Let N be a point on the longest side AC of a triangle 4ABC. The perpen-
dicular bisectors of AN and N C intersect AB and BC respectively in K and
M . Prove that the circumcenter O of 4ABC lies on the circumcircle of triangle
4KBM
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
18. In a scalene triangle 4ABC the altitudes AA1 and CC1 intersect at H, O
is the circumcenter, and B0 the midpoint of side AC. The line BO intersects
side AC at P , while the lines BH and A1 C1 meet at Q. Prove that the lines
HB0 and P Q are parallel.
19. Triangle 4ABC has integer-length sides. Line ` is tangent to the cir-
cumcircle of 4ABC at A. Let S be the intersection of ` and BC. if AS is an
integer as well, Prove that: gcd(AB, AC) > 1.
21. Let I and G be the incenter and centroid of triangle 4ABC respectively.
Prove that IG is perpendicular to BC if and only if we have: AB + BC = 3BC.
24. Let P , Q be two points on the side BC of triangle 4ABC such that
2P Q = BC and P is closer to B than Q. Perpendiculars at P and Q to BC,
meet AB and AC at X and Y respectively. of O is the circumcenter of 4ABC,
Prove that AXOY is cyclic.
26. Let ω be the incircle of triangle 4ABC with center I. Circle ω touches AB
and AC at E and F respectively. Line BI and CI intersect EF at X and Y
respectively. If M is the midpoint of BC, Prove that 4M XY is equilateral if
and only if ∠A = 60o .
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
27. Let Ω be the circumcircle of triangle 4ABC and G be its centroid. Lines
AG, BG and CG meet Ω at A0 , B 0 and C 0 respectively. Prove that:
X X
A0 G ≥ AG.
29. If I is the incenter of triangle 4ABC and a circle passing through A and
I meets AB and AC at E and F , And M is the midpoint of EF , Show that:
∠BM C > 90o
30. The incircle of triangle 4ABC touches the sides AB, BC and CA at
D, E and F respectively. Perpendicular line from E to DF , meets DF at X.
Prove that two angles ∠BXE and ∠CXE are equal.
32. (Leibniz Theorem) Let G be the centroid of triangle 4ABC. Prove that,
for any point P on the plane, we have:
X 1X
P A2 = AB 2 + 3P G.
3
>
33. Circumcircle of triangle 4ABC is Ω. Let K be the midpoint of arc BAC.
Prove that: KB + KC ≥ AB + AC.
34. Points P and Q are inside the triangle 4ABC such that ∠P BA = ∠QBC,
∠P CB = ∠QCA and ∠P AB = ∠QAC. Prove that:
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
37. Let r be the radius of the circle inscribed in triangle 4ABC and Ωa be
the excircle relative to vertex A and Ia be its center. Ωa touches lines BC, AB
and AC at D, E and F respectively. EF meets Ia B and Ia C at X and Y . The
intersection of XC and Y B is K. Prove that the distance of K and BC is equal
to r.
39. Line ` is passing through triangle 4ABC. AX, BY and CZ are per-
pendiculars to `. Prove that the centroid of 4ABC lies on ` if and only if we
have: AX = BY + CZ.
42. Let Ω be the circumcircle of triangle 4ABC. A line passing through the
> >
centroid of 4ABC meets arcs AB and AC of Ω at X and Y . Prove that:
AX · AY = BX · BY + CX · CY.
AD · BC + n(n − 1) · AB 2 + n · AB · DC
[ABEF ] ≤ .
2n2
(Here [ABCD] represents the area of quadrilateral ABCD).
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
46. The incircle of triangle 4ABC with center I touches AB, BC and CA
at D, E and F . ` is a line passing through A parallel to DF . Lines ED and
EF meet ` at K and J. Show that: ∠JIK < 90o .
47. The incircle of triangle 4ABC with center I touches AB, BC and CA
at D, E and F . ` is a line passing through A parallel to BC. Lines ED and
EF meet ` at K and J. Show that: ∠JIK < 90o .
50. If G is the centroid of triangle 4ABC and angles ∠BAG and ∠ACG
are equal. Prove that:
2
sin CAG + sin CBG ≤ √ .
3
OA0 · OB 0 · OC 0 ≥ 8R2 .
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
54. Triangle 4ABC with circumradius R and inradius r is given. Prove that:
X A
B 5 r
sin · sin ≤ + .
2 2 8 4R
56. Circle ω with radius R is inscribed inside trapezoid ABCD with AB k CD.
Show that: AB · CD ≥ 4R2 .
57. Triangle 4ABC has integer-length sides and AC = 2007. The Internal
bisector of ∠A meets BC at D. Given that AB = CD. Determine AB and BC.
58. (Casey’s Theorem) Assume the line ` is the radical axis of two circle C1 and
C2 with centers O1 and O2 . For an arbitrary point A on the plane, H is the
projection of A on `. Prove that:
59. A triangle 4ABC is given with AB > AC. Line ` is tangent to the
circumcircle of 4ABC at A. A circle centered in A with radius |AC| cuts AB
in the point D and the line ` in points E, F (such that C and E are in the
same halfplane with respect to AB). Prove that the line DE passes through
the incenter of 4ABC.
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
65. In the rectangle ABCD, Points X, Y are chosen on sides DC, BC such
that CX 6= CY . Let P be the intersection of DY and BX. If AP ⊥XY , show
that DX = BY .
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Length Bashing in Olympiad Geometry Sina Ghaseminejad
AD + BF + CH = BE + GH + IA.
76. The lengths of the sides of a convex hexagon ABCDEF satisfy AB = BC,
CD = DE, EF = F A. Prove that:
BC DE FA 3
+ + ≥ .
BE DA F C 2
78. In an acute-angled and not isosceles triangle 4ABC. we draw the me-
dian AM and the height AH. Points Q and P are marked on the lines AB
and AC, respectively, so that the QM ⊥ AC and P M ⊥ AB. The circumcir-
cle of 4P M Q intersects the line BC for second time at point X. Prove that
BH = CX.
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