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Baltic Way 1992 · Problem 20

Geometry

Let a≤b≤ca \leq b \leq c be the sides of a right triangle, and let 2p2 p be its perimeter. Show that

p(p−c)=(p−a)(p−b)=Sp(p-c)=(p-a)(p-b)=S

where SS is the area of the triangle.

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Review

Topics

Angles and distances

Solutions

Solution

Solution:

By straightforward computation, we find:

p(p−c)=14((a+b)2−c2)=ab2=S,(p−a)(p−b)=14(c2−(a−b)2)=ab2=S.\begin{aligned} & p(p-c) = \frac{1}{4}\left((a+b)^2 - c^2\right) = \frac{ab}{2} = S, \\ & (p-a)(p-b) = \frac{1}{4}\left(c^2 - (a-b)^2\right) = \frac{ab}{2} = S. \end{aligned}

Contest context

Results from Baltic Way 1992

8 teams

Mean score
5.0 / 5
Scores of 4 or 5
8 / 8
Estonia
5 / 5

Score distribution

00
10
20
30
40
58
All team scores
TeamScore
Denmark5 / 5
St. Petersburg5 / 5
Poland5 / 5
Latvia5 / 5
Iceland5 / 5
Lithuania5 / 5
Estonia5 / 5
Sweden5 / 5