Angle Chasing & Circle Geometry (J)

Yifan Guo
December 2021

1 Introductory tips
Angle chasing : Set a particular angle to α and express other angles in terms of α.
Accurate, large, colourful diagrams : You can use the same colour to represent equal angles/lengths,
and use different colours to show different parts of a diagram.
Cyclic quads : If stuck, often helpful to try to spot cyclic quads.

Circles : Draw in the common chord for intersecting circles; draw in the common tangent at the
point of contact of tangent circles.
Use all info effectively If you are stuck, read the problem again to see which info hasn’t been used.

2 Basic angles between lines & in polygons

Vertically opposite angles are equal.
Parrallel lines : Corresponding angles are equal; alternate angles are equal; co-interior angles are sup-
plementary.

Interior & Exterior angle bisectors are perpendicular to each other.

Angle sum : Angles in a triangle sum to 180◦ ; angles in a n-gon sum to 180(n − 2)◦ .
Exterior angle sum : Exterior angles of a triangle sum to 360◦ ; exterior angles of a n-gon sum to 360◦ .
Exterior angle is equal to the sum of the opposite interior angles in a triangle.

Isosceles triangle : equal angles/lengths; the perpendicular bisector of the base is also an angle bisector.

EG-1: Find the sum of x, y, z and w.

EG-2: In 4ABC, AB = 20, AC = 21, and BC = 29. The points D and E lie on the line segment BC,
with BD = 8 and EC = 9. Calculate 6 DAE.

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3 Angles in circles
3.1 Angles subtended by arcs
ˆ The angle subtended by the diameter is 90◦ .

ˆ An inscribed angle at the circumference is half of the central angle subtended by the same arc.

ˆ Inscribed angles subtended by the same arc are equal.(Bow-tie Theorem)

More generally, the size of an angle is proportional to the length of the arc that it is subtended by.

3.2 Cyclic quadrilaterals

ˆ Bow-tie theorem.

ˆ Opposite angles are supplementary.

3.3 Tangent
ˆ Radius is perpendicular to the tangent.

ˆ Alternate segment theorem.

ˆ Ice cream cone theorem.

EG-3: The two circles have equal radii. Prove AX = AY .

EG-4: Prove the Pivot Theorem.

EG-5: A line is tangent to one circle at point A and to a second circle at point B. Furthermore, the two
circles are tangent to each other at point C. Prove that 6 ACB = 90◦ .

4 Useful cevians & points of a triangle

Let’s explore the following:

4.1 Medians & Centroid

ˆ Midpoint theorem.

ˆ The centroid of the orginal triangle is also the centroid of the smaller triangle formed by the midpoints
of the three sides.
ˆ The centriod divides each median in a ratio of 2:1.

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4.2 Altitudes & Orthocentre
ˆ 6 cyclic quads.
ˆ Each vertex of the original triangle is the orthocentre of the triangle formed by the two other vertices
and the orthocentre of the original triangle.
ˆ Angle chase: express all angles in terms of the three angles at the vertices.
ˆ The orthocentre of the original triangle is the incentre of the smaller triangle formed by the three
feet of altitudes.
ˆ The reflection of the orthocentre about each side lies on the circumcircle of the triangle.

4.3 Perpendicular bisectors & Circumcentre

ˆ 3 cyclic quads.
ˆ Angle chase: express all angles in terms of the three angles at the vertices.
ˆ The circumcentre of the orginal triangle is the orthocentre of the smaller triangle formed by the
midpoints of the three sides.

4.4 Angle bisectors & Incentre, excentre

ˆ 3 pairs of congruent triangles.
ˆ 3 cyclic quads.
ˆ The excentre IA is on the circumcircle of triangle BIC. (See EG-6 below).

EG-6: Let I be the incentre of a triangle ABC. Extend the angle bisector AI until it intersects with the
circumcircle of the triangle at D.
1. Show that BD = ID = CD.
2. Let Ia be the excentre of triangle ABC at A. Show that Ia D = BD and hence prove that BICIA is
a cyclic quadrilateral with the centre of the circle at D.
EG-7: Nine-point Circle - Prove that the midpoints of sides, feet of altitudes, midpoints of segments con-
necting the orthocentre to the three vertices are all concyclic.

EG-8: Let ABC be a triangle with circumcentre O, incentre I and orthocentre H. Prove that the reflection
of the line AO in the angle bisector AI is the altitude AH.

EG-9: Prove that both the internal and external angle bisectors at A intersect the perpendicular bisector
of BC on the circumcircle of triangle ABC.

5 More problems
1. Prove that alternate interior angles of a cyclic hexagon sum to 360◦ . Generalise this result to cyclic
2n-gons.
2. Let Γ1 and Γ2 be two circles tangent at point P such that Γ1 lies inside of Γ2 . A chord AB of Γ2 is
tangent to Γ1 at point Q. Prove that P Q bisects 6 AP B.
3. 4ABC is equilateral. Side BA is produced to a point Y . Through A a line AX is drawn parallel to
BC and X is selected so that 6 CY X = 60◦ , Prove that 4CY X is equilateral.
4. Let P be a point inside triangle ABC. The circumcircle of triangle ABP intersects the side BC at
D. The circumcircle of triangle CDP intersects the side AC at E. Prove that the circumcircle of
triangle AP E is tangent to line AB at point A. (A variation of the Pivot Theorem)
5. On side BC of 4ABC an arbitrary point D is selected. The tangent in D to the circumcircle of
4ABD meets AC at point B1 . Point C1 is defined similarly. Prove that B1 C1 k BC.

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 6. In parallelogram ABCD, the diagonal AC is longer than the other diagonal BD. Let P be a point
on AC such that BCDP is a cyclic quadrilateral. Prove that BD is a common tangent to the
circumcircles of triangles ADP and ABP .
7. Let ABC be a triangle with circumcentre O. The points D, E, F lie on sides BC, CA, AB re-
spectively, such that DE is perpendicular to CO and DF is perpendicular to BO. Let K be the
circumcentre of 4AF E. Prove that the lines DK and BC are perpendicular.
8. Let A be a point outside circle Γ. Let B and C be the points of contact of the tangents from A to Γ.
(a) Prove that the incentre I of triangle ABC lies on Γ.
(b) Prove that the excentre IA of triangle ABC lies on Γ.

9. Points A, B, C,D, E lie on a circle ω and point P lies outside the circle. The given points are such
that (i) lines P B and P D are tangent to ω, (ii) P , A, C are collinear, and (iii) DE is parallel to AC.
Prove that BE bisects AC.
10. [Simson line theorem] Prove that the projections of a point P onto the sides of a triangle ABC
are collinear if and only if P lies on the circumcircle of triangle ABC
11. Let ABC be a triangle in which 6 A = 60◦ . Let BE and CF be the angle bisectors with E on AC
and F on AB. Let M be the reflection of A in the line EF . Prove that M lies on BC.
12. [2008 AMO] Let ABCD be a convex quadrilateral. Suppose there is a point P on the segment AB
with 6 AP D = 6 BP C = 45◦ . If Q is the intersection of the line AB with the perpendicular bisector
of CD, prove that 6 CQD = 90◦ .
13. [2009 AMO] Let I be the incentre of 4ABC in which AC 6= BC. Let Γ be the circle passing through
A, I and B. Suppose Γ intersects the line AC at A and at X and intersects the line BC at B and
at Y . Show that AX = BY .

14. [2007 AMO, Q1, extension] Let X and Y be the midpoints of BC and AC of triangle ABC. Point
P is located on AC such that P X ⊥ BC. A circle passing through A, P and B intersects BC at Q.
(a) Prove that QY ⊥ AC.
(b) Prove that the intersection of P X and QY also lies on the circle passing through A, P and B.
15. [2007 APMO] Let ABC be an acute angled triangle with 6 BAC = 60◦ and AB > AC. Let I be the
incentre, and H the orthocentre of the 4ABC. Prove that 26 AHI = 36 ABC.
16. (ASC 2006, Q1) Let D be a point on side BC of triangle ABC. Let K and L be the circumcentres
of triangles ABD and ACD, respectively. Prove that triangles ABC and AKL are similar.
17. Let quadrilateral ABCD have an incircle which touches sides AB, BC, CD, DA at P, Q, R, S, respec-
tively. Prove that P R ⊥ QS if and only if ABCD is cyclic.
18. Let P QRS be a convex quadrilateral such that P Q = RS. Let T be the intersection of the diagonals
P R and QS. Let V be the second intersection point of the circumcircles of triangles P QT and SRT .
Prove that triangles P V Q and V RS are congruent.
19. Let I be the incentre of triangle ABC. Let D, E, F be the points points of contact of the incircle
with the sides BC, CA, AB, respectively. Let X be the intersection of the line BI with the line EF .
Prove that BX ⊥ CX.
20. (IMO 1985, Q5) A circle with centre O intersects sides AB and AC of triangle ABC at points K
and L respectively. Circles ABC and AKL meet for a second time at M . Prove 6 OM A = 90◦ .

* Many problems are borrowed from past lectures and online resources. If you have any questions, please
feel free to email me at yifan.guo@amt.edu.au. Have fun with the problems :)