In the corners of triangle $ABC$ there are three circles with the same radius. Each of them is tangent to two of the triangle's sides. The vertices of triangle $MNK$ lie on different sides of triangle $ABC$, and each edge of $MNK$ is also tangent to one of the three circles. Likewise, the vertices of triangle $PQR$ lie on different sides of triangle $ABC$, and each edge of $PQR$ is also tangent to one of the three circles (see picture below). Prove that triangles $MNK,PQR$ have the same inradius.
Problem
Source: Israel National Olympiad 2018 Q6
Tags: circles, tangent circles, inradius, geometry
08.08.2019 03:15
Let the radius of the three circles be $r$, and the inradii of $\triangle PQR, \triangle MNK$ be $\rho_1, \rho_2$, respectively. Taking into account that the area of a triangle is equal to its semi-perimeter times its inradius, we have: $(ABC)=(AQR)+(BRP)+(PCQ)+(QPR)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot r\cdot(a+b+c)+\frac{1}{2}\cdot(r+\rho_1)\cdot(QP+PR+RQ).$ Similarly we find that $(ABC)=(MAN)+(NBK)+(CMK)+(MNK)=\frac{1}{2}\cdot r\cdot(a+b+c)+\frac{1}{2}\cdot(r+\rho_2)\cdot(MN+NK+KM).$ However, $QR+RP+PQ=(AQ+AR-2r/\tan\frac{A}{2})+(BR+BP-2r/\tan\frac{B}{2})+(CP+CQ-2r/\tan\frac{C}{2})=a+b+c-2r(1/\tan\frac{A}{2}+1/\tan\frac{B}{2}+1/\tan\frac{C}{2})=MN+NK+KM.$ Therefore $\rho_1=\rho_2.$
22.08.2019 06:28
First we'll define some more points. Let $I_a, I_b, I_c, I_1, I_2$ be the incenters of $\triangle ARQ, \triangle BRP, \triangle CPQ, \triangle MNK, \triangle PQR,$ respectively. Let $\omega_a, \omega_b, \omega_c$ be the incircles of $\triangle ARQ, \triangle BRP, \triangle CPQ,$ respectively. Let $A_1 = I_aI_1 \cap MN, B_1 = I_bI_1 \cap NK, C_1 = IcI_1 \cap KM.$ Define $A_2, B_2, C_2$ analogously. Let $r_1, r_2$ be the inradii of $\triangle MNK, \triangle PQR$ respectively. Let $r$ be the radius of the three congruent circles. Now, observe that $\triangle I_aI_bI_c \sim \triangle ABC$, and the two triangles are homothetic. By Monge's Theorem, it's easy to see that $A_1B_1 || I_aI_b$, and so $\triangle A_1B_1C_1$ is homothetic to $\triangle I_aI_bI_c.$ Furthermore, it can be seen that $\triangle A_1B_1C_1$ has an area which is $\frac{r_1^2}{(r+r_1)^2}$ times the area of $\triangle I_aI_bI_c.$ Analogously, $\triangle A_2B_2C_2$ is also homothetic to $\triangle I_aI_bI_c$ and has an area which is $\frac{r_2^2}{(r+r_2)^2}$ times the area of $\triangle I_aI_bI_c.$ We hence have: $$\frac{[\triangle A_1B_1C_1]}{[\triangle A_2B_2C_2]} = \frac{\frac{r_1^2}{(r+r_1)^2}}{\frac{r_2^2}{(r+r_2)^2}}, \qquad (1)$$ where $[\triangle]$ denotes the area of $\triangle.$ Now, we will prove the following important lemma. Lemma. If $X, Y, Z$ lie on sides $BC, CA, AB$ respectively so that the area of $\triangle XYZ$ is $k < 1$ times that of $\triangle ABC$, then the unique triangle $X'Y'Z'$ so that $X' \in YZ, Y' \in XZ, Z' \in XY,$ and $\triangle X'Y'Z'$ is homothetic to $\triangle ABC$ has an area which is $k^2$ times that of $\triangle ABC.$ Proof. Let $t < 1$ be a constant such that $\frac{Y'Z'}{BC} = \frac{X'Z'}{AC} = \frac{X'Y'}{AB}.$ Now, if we define constants $\alpha, \beta, \gamma$ such that $\frac{[\triangle Y'BC]}{[\triangle ABC]} = \alpha, \frac{[\triangle Z'CA]}{[\triangle ABC]} = \beta, \frac{[\triangle X'AB]}{[\triangle ABC]} = \gamma,$ then we have $\alpha + \beta + \gamma = 1-t.$ Then, it's clear that $[\triangle Y'Z'X] = t \alpha, [\triangle Z'X'Y] = t \beta, [\triangle X'Y'Z] = t \gamma \Rightarrow [\triangle XYZ] = t (\alpha + \beta + \gamma) + [\triangle X'Y'Z'].$ Since $[\triangle X'Y'Z'] = t^2,$ we've that $[\triangle XYZ] = t(1-t) + t^2 = t$. In other words, we have $t = k$, as desired. $\blacksquare$ Now, let $c_1, c_2<1$ be constants such that $[\triangle MNK]$ has an area which is $c_1$ times that of $[\triangle ABC],$ and $[\triangle PQR]$ has an area which is $c_2$ times that of $[\triangle ABC].$ Since $\frac{CP + CQ - PQ}{2}$ is the length of the tangent from $C$ to $\omega_c$, adding this with two similar equations gives us that $\frac{AB + BC + CA - PQ - QR - RP}{2}$ is the sum of the lengths from $A, B, C$ to their corresponding circles. Similarly, so is $\frac{AB + BC + CA - MN - NK - KM}{2}$, and so hence $\triangle PQR, \triangle MNK$ have equal perimeters. Since the area of a triangle is radius times semiperimeter, we have that $\frac{c_1}{c_2} = \frac{r_1}{r_2}.$ From the lemma, it then follows that $$\frac{[\triangle A_1B_1C_1]}{[\triangle A_2B_2C_2]} = \frac{r_1^2}{r_2^2}. \qquad (2)$$ Comparing with $(1)$ yields that $(r+r_1)^2 = (r+r_2)^2 \Rightarrow r_1 = r_2,$ as desired. $\square$