Prove that in any convex polygon with $4n+2$ sides ($n\geq 1$) there exist two consecutive sides which form a triangle of area at most $\frac 1{6n}$ of the area of the polygon.
Problem
Source: Romanian IMO TST 2005 - day 2, problem 1
Tags: geometry, geometry proposed
01.04.2005 21:13
Hmm... I can't prove it for $n=1$ (Kuba said me that it is the hardest thing in this problem ) All over cases can be derived from $n=1$. Let's show it. Suppose the contrary, i.e. there are no triangle of area $\leq 1/6n$. Consider $4n+2$-gon with $n\geq 2$ and cut a 6-gon from it by mean of a diagonal ($AB$ on figure). Let's prove that the triangle of area $<1/6n$ can't adjoin the diagonal $AB$. Otherwise if $ABC$ is a such triangle then draw a line throw $A$ parallel to $BC$. We will necessary have $D$ and $E$ lies in the other halfplane than $BC$. So $4n+2$ is not convex.Therefore we can divide $4n+2$-gon into $n$ 6-gons by mean of diagonals and no triangle which adjoins these diagonals will have area $<1/6n$.
Attachments:

02.04.2005 03:05
Myth wrote: Hmm... I can't prove it for n=1 (Kuba said me that it is the hardest thing in this problem )
Nice problem, by the way!
02.04.2005 18:08
Nice idea, Myth! I can prove the n=1 case: In hexagon ABCDEF, $P=AD\cap CF$, $Q=CF\cap EB$, $R=EB\cap AD$. The six triangles APB, BPC, CQD, DQE, ERF, FRA cover less than the whole hexagon (if the three diagonals are not concurrent) or the whole triangle (if they are). In either case, one of those six triangles will have area $\le \frac{1}{6}(\text{area})$, so say it is APB. Then one of AFB and ACB has area at most the area of APB, so we're done.
02.04.2005 18:16
Sorry, I don't see it. Indeed, the case described by Fedor is clear. But common case... I am missing something.
21.04.2005 22:12
I really don't understand what Myth did, especially the part: Myth wrote: We will necessary have $D$ and $E$ lies in the other halfplane than $BC$. And also, how exactly is the case $n>1$ derived from $n=1$?
21.04.2005 22:25
If $E$ lies in the same halfplane, then $S_{EBC}\leq S_{ABC}\leq \frac{1}{6n}$, so we find a small requared triangle $EBC$. Contradiction. The general cases can be done in the following way: cut the polygon into $n$ hexagons by mean of diagonals. One of this hexagon have area $\leq 1/n$ and we can cut a tringle of area $\leq 1/6$ from it, therefore this triangle is at most $\frac{1}{6n}$ of the area of the initial polygon. And we prooved that this triangle can't be "inner" triangle, so it is a required triangle.
21.04.2005 23:02
okay. now i understand the general case. Myth wrote: If $E$ lies in the same halfplane, then $S_{EBC}\leq S_{ABC}\leq \frac{1}{6n}$, so we find a small requared triangle $EBC$. Contradiction. i still don't understand the first part. Why $S_{EBC}\leq S_{ABC}\leq \frac{1}{6n}$ yields a contradiction?
21.04.2005 23:04
Because we supposed the contrary, i.e. there is no such triangle.
23.04.2005 00:15
Case n=1 is also here