Let a tetrahedron ABCD be inscribed in a sphere S. Find the locus of points P inside the sphere S for which the equality APPA1+BPPB1+CPPC1+DPPD1=4 holds, where A1,B1,C1, and D1 are the intersection points of S with the lines AP,BP,CP, and DP, respectively.
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Tags: 3D geometry, tetrahedron, sphere, Locus, Locus problems, IMO Shortlist, geometry
24.09.2010 00:19
Let the circumsphere S have center O and radius R. Then we have PAPA1+PBPB1+PCPC1+PDPD1=PA2+PB2+PC2+PD2p(P,S)=4 ⟹PA2+PB2+PC2+PD2=4(R2−PO2) (1) Let G be the centroid of ABCD and a,b,c,d,e,f denote its edges. By Leibniz theorem for P,G and O,G we get PA2+PB2+PC2+PD2=4PG2+14(a2+b2+c2+d2+e2+f2) (2) OA2+OB2+OC2+OD2=4OG2+14(a2+b2+c2+d2+e2+f2) (3) From (2) and (3) we get PA2+PB2+PC2+PD2=4(PG2+R2−OG2) (4) Combining (1) and (4) yields: 4(PG2+R2−OG2)=4(R2−PO2) ⟹PG2+PO2=OG2⟹∠OPG=90∘ Therefore, locus of P is the spherical surface with diameter ¯OG.
22.12.2023 09:26
Rewrite the equality as ∑cycAP2=−4Pow(P,S)=4(R2−OP2).By Leibniz's theorem, we find that ∑cycAP2=4R2+4(PG2−OG2),where G is the centroid of ABCD. Thus, OG2+OP2=PG2. Since the prior steps are reversible, the desired locus is the set of points on the sphere with diameter ¯PG.
20.06.2024 05:17
By squaring the numerators, the condition translates to AP2+BP2+CP2+DP2=4(PowS(P))=4(R2−OP2). Also let s be the sum of the squares of the sides of ABCD, divided by 4. So then from Leibniz's theorem we get that AP2+BP2+⋯=4PG2+s and similarly 4R2−4OG2=s, So then it follows that 4PG2+4R2=4R2+4OG2−4OP2, so PG2+PO2=OG2⟹∠GPO=90∘ by Pythagorean. So then the locus of points P is the surface of the sphere with diameter OG2.