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Broken Hypotenuse (Posted on 2005-02-28) Difficulty: 3 of 5
Consider a right triangle with an inscribed circle. Let x and y be the lengths of the two line segments formed on the hypotenuse by the point of tangency with the circle. What interesting fact can you prove about x*y?

See The Solution Submitted by owl    
Rating: 3.8000 (5 votes)

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Solution A possible solution | Comment 2 of 12 |
Let A be the right angle, and O the center of the circle, of radius R.  Let the circle be tangent to AB at L; to AC at M; and to BC at N. Let BN=X and CN=Y; X+Y=BC=Z.

Since BO bisects angle B, BL=BN, so AB=X+R. For a similar reason, AC=Y+R. Since AB²+AC²=BC², we have (X+R)²+(Y+R)²=(X+Y)². Simplifying, RX+RY+R²=XY, so XY=R²+RZ.


  Posted by Old Original Oskar! on 2005-02-28 18:39:37
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