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Radical Axis
Radical Axis
The theory of radical axis is a priceless geometric tool that can solve formidable
geometric problems fairly readily. Problems involving it can be found on many major
math olympiad competitions, including the prestigious USAMO. Therefore, any aspiring
math olympian should peruse this material carefully, as it may contain the keys to one's
future success.
Not all theorems will be fully proven in this text. The objective of this document is to
introduce you to some key concepts, and then give you a chance to derive some of the
beautiful results on his or her own. In that way, you will understand and retain the
information in here much more solidly. Finally, your newfound knowledge will be tested
on a few challenging problems that are exemplary examples on how radical axis theory
can be used and why it pertains to that situation. I hope after you read this text, you will
become a better math student, armed with another tool to solve difficult problems. But,
anyway, good luck.
Definitions
The power of point
thereafter be dubbed
(with radius
, is defined to equal
and center
, which shall
Note that the power of a point is negative if the point is inside the circle.
The radical axis of two circles
the power of
with respect to
, then a point
such that
are the
Results
Theorem 1: (Power of a Point) If a line drawn through point P intersects circle
points A and B, then
at
a. The radical axis is a line perpendicular to the line connecting the circles' centers (line
).
b. If the two circles intersect at two common points, their radical axis is the line through
these two points.
c. If they intersect at one point, their radical axis is the common internal tangent.
d. If the circles do not intersect, and if one does not fully contain the other, their radical
axis is the perpendicular to
that
Theorem 3: (Radical Axis Concurrence Theorem) The three pairwise radical axes of
three circles concur at a point, called the radical center.
Proofs
Theorem 1 is trivial Power of a Point, and thus is left to the reader as an exercise. (Hint:
Draw a line through P and the center.)
Theorem 2 shall be proved here. Assume the circles are
and
and radii
and
and
with centers
circles here.)
First, we tackle part (b). Suppose the circles intersect at points
on
. Then by Theorem 1 the powers of P with respect to both circles are equal
to
on
and
Now, we prove the inverse of the statement just proved; because the inverse is
equivalent to the converse, the if and only if would then be proven. Suppose that P does
not lie on
and
. In particular, line
and
, respectively. (If
is tangent to
intersects circles
and
is not equal to
is not congruent
to
. Then
The proof of the lemma is an easy application of the Pythagorean Theorem and will again
be left to the reader as an exercise.
Lemma 2: There is an unique point P on line
such that
and
Lemma 1 shows that every point on the plane can be equivalently mapped to a line
on
. Lemma 2 shows that only one point in this mapping satisfies the given
condition. Combining these two lemmas shows that the radical axis is a line
perpendicular to , completing part (a).
Parts (c) and (d) will be left to the reader as an exercise. (Also, try proving part (b)
solely using the lemmas.)
Now, try to prove Theorem 3 on your own! (Hint: Let P be the intersection of two of the
radical axises.)
Exercises
If you haven't already done so, prove the theorems and lemmas outlined in the proofs
section. If you have done so, prove them again. (Repetition is the best way to master a
new concept.)
Note: No solutions will be provided to the following problems. If you are stuck, ask on
the forum.
Problem 1. Two circles P and Q intersect at X and Y. Point A is located on
such that
if and only
Problem 7. Solve 1995 IMO Problem 1 in two different ways. Compare your solutions
with the solutions provided.