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Radius and Altitudes (Posted on 2020-05-08) Difficulty: 3 of 5
Prove the following theorem:
The radius r of the circle inscribed in any triangle, say ABC ,
equals 1/3 of the harmonic average of the 3 altitudes,
i.e.
1/r = 1/h(A)+1/h(B)+1/h(C)

No Solution Yet Submitted by Ady TZIDON    
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Solution with explanation | Comment 2 of 3 |
Draw lines connecting vertices A, B, C to O, the centre of the incircle. This divides triangle ABC into three triangles: AOB, BOC, COA, with areas given by:

2 K(AOB) = r AB
2 K(BOC) = r BC
2 K(COA) = r CA

where r is the radius of the incircle. So 

(Eq 1) 
2 K(ABC) = 2 K(AOB) + 2 K(BOC) + 2 K(COA) = r (AB + BC + CA)

We also have 

2 K(ABC) = h_A BC = h_B CA = h_C AB

where h_X is the altitude originating from vertex X= A, B, or C. So

BC = 2 K(ABC)/h_A,  CA = 2 K(ABC)/h_B,   AB = 2 K(ABC) /h_C

Substituting into Eq 1:

r ( 2 K(ABC)/h_C +  2 K(ABC)/h_B +  2 K(ABC)/h_A ) = 2 K(ABC)

and

1/r = 1/h_A + 1/h_B + 1/h_C

   

 


Edited on May 9, 2020, 8:49 pm
  Posted by FrankM on 2020-05-09 20:47:46

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