January 17, 2020

1 Cevians related properties:

1. Stewart’s theorem: The length of a cevian can be determined by Stewart’s
CD
theorem in the 4ABC ,let D ∈ BC such that BD = mn , then, cevian
length AD = d is given by the formula b m + c n = a(d2 + mn).
2 2

ac
2. Let bisector of the angle ∠A meet BC at D ,then, BD = b+c and CD =
ab
b+c √
2 bcs(s−a)
The length of the angle bisector is given by d = b+c or Ia2 =
2
a bc bc
bc − (b+c)2 = (b+c)2 ((b + c)2 − a2 )

3. The length of the median is given by 4m2a = 2b2 + 2c2 − a2 .

4. If from each vertex of a triangle two cevians are drawn so as to trisect
the angle (divide it into three equal angles), then the six cevians inter-
sect in pairs to form an equilateral triangle, called the Morley triangle
(equilateral).
5. Ceva’s theorem: Let cevians AD, BE and CF are concurrent at point O
then,
AF BD CE
F B · DC · EA = 1; (Ceva’s theorem)
AO AE AF
OD = EC + F B ;
OD OE OF
AD + BE + CF = 1
AO BO CO
AD + BE + CF = 2.

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2 Orthocenter, feet of the altitudes and the mid-
points related properties
1. O and H are isogonal conjugates. (Reflection about angle bisectors).
∠OAH =| ∠B − ∠C | (Brahmagupata’s theorem)

2. Reflections of the orthocenter over the sides and the midpoints of the sides
lie on (ABC).

3. The O is the orthocenter of the medial triangle. A consequence is that

AH = 2OM , where M is the midpoint of BC. Let P be reflection of O
in M . Then @AHP O forms a parallelogram. Hence reflection of A in N
(nine point center) coincides with the reflection P of O in M .

4. ◦(AH), ◦(AM ), ◦(ABC)and HM concur at a point. The midpoints of AH

and AM are collinear with O.
5. Let D be the feet of the altitude AD ,let ray DG ∩ #(ABC) = P and ray
AH ∩ #(ABC) = H1 , then
(i) AP CB is an isosceles trapezoid
(ii) P H1 is the diameter of #ABC

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 6. LetA1 C1 and B1 be the midpoints of AB and AC and the feet of A−, B-
and C- altitudes be D, E and F . Let P be the midpoint of AH. Then
C1 DA1 B1 is an isosceles trapezoid, P and A1 are the midpoints of the
arcs formed by E and F in the nine-point circle.

7. If DEF is the orthic triangle of 4ABC then H, A, B, C is the set of

in/excenters of 4DEF .

8. Let A0, B0 and C0 be the reflections of H over the sides BC, CA and AB
respectively. Then A is the midpoint of arc B0C0 and so on.
9. As @ABDE, @BCEF and @CAF D are cyclic AH · HD = BH · HE =
CH · HF
10. As @BDHF and @CEHD are cyclic AF · AB = AH · AD = AC · AE
conversely for any point P ∈ AD , AD · P D = BD · CD iff point P ≡ H
11. Let HD , HC , HB and HA be the orthocenters of the triangles ABC, ABD, ACD
and DBC of cyclic quadrilateral ABCD. Then quadrilaterals ABHC HD, BCHD HA , CDHA HB
and DAHB HC , are parallelograms. Moreover @HA HB HC HD ∼ = @ABCD.
GD , GC , GB and GA be the centroids of the triangles ABC, ABD, ACD
and DBC, then @GA GB GC GD ∼ @ABCD with ratio 1 : 2

12. ◦(ABC), ◦(ABH), ◦(AHC), ◦(HBC) are congruent circles.

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13. The line joining reflection of H in BC and any point P on arc AC meet
BCat R , then HR is parallel to the simson line of point P wrt ◦(ABC).
Simson line of a point P on (ABC) bisects P H.

14. The measure of the angle determine by the simson lines of two given points
on the circumcircle of the given triangle is equal to one half of the measure
of the arc determined by the two points.
15. The perpendicular to BC from a point P on an arc AC of ◦(ABC) meet
it at point Q , then the simson line of point P wrt ◦(ABC) is parallel to
line AQ.

16. The Simson line of a vertex of the triangle is the altitude of the triangle
dropped from that vertex, and the Simson line of the point diametrically
opposite to the vertex is the side of the triangle opposite to that vertex.
17. Only points on the circumcircle of the triangle lie on its own Simson line
with respect to the given triangle are vertices.
18. Let AA1 , BB1 and CC1 be three concurrent chords of circle concurrent at
H. Then H is the radical center of the circles with diameters as AA1 , BB1
and CC1 .
19. The ABCD be a quadrilateral with an inscribed circle, then, circles in-
scribed in triangles ABC and ADC are tangent to each other. The contact
points of incircles triangles ABC and ADC on sides of @ABCD forms a
cyclic quadrilateral.

3 In/ex-center related properties

Let the incircles touches the sides BC, CA, AB at X, Y, Z while the
excircle opposite to A touch sides BC, CA, AB at Xa , Ya , Za .
and the contact points of other two excircles are defined simi-
larly.Let Ia , Ib and Ic be the ex-centers, Ma , Mb and Mc be the

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 arc midpoints of the arcs of ◦(ABC) cut off by the sides contain-
ing exactly 2 vertices, Ma 0 , Mb 0 and Mc 0 be the antipodes of
Ma , Mb and Mc respectively.

1. The point of contact of a side of triangle with the incircle and excircle cor-
responding to this side, are two isotomic points. (It is they are equidistant
from the midpoint of sides.)
That is the pairs of points (X, Xa ) and (Xc , Xb ) are isotomic on BC.
2. a) XXa =| b − c |, Y Yb =| c − a |, ZZc =| a − b |
b) ZZa = Y Ya = a, ZZb = XXb = b and XXc = Y Yc = c
c) Yb Yc = Zb Zc = a , Ya Yc = Xa Xc = b and Xa Xb = Za Zb = c
d) Xb Xc = b + c Ya Yc = a + c and Za Zb = a + b
3. The midpoints of the arcs BC, CA and AB are equidistant from the in-
center, respective endpoints of the arcs and the respective ex-center, that
is midpoint of arc BC is the circum center of IBIA C.

4. The diameter of the incircle XX 0 , the A-median and the A-touch-chord

of the incircle are concurrent.

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 5. IA −B−IC , IB −A−IC , IA −C −IB , Angle at incenter ∠BIC = 90+ 21 ∠A
, ∠IBIA = ∠ICIA = 90
6. I is the orthocenter and hence ABC is the orthic triangle of IA IB IC and
hence the circumradius of IA IB IC is 2R that is circumcircle of ABCis the
nine point circle of IA IB IC . @IBIA C is cyclic with diameter IIA and its
center is IIA ∩ #ABC .
7. Ma , Mb and Mc are the points of intersection (and also midpoints) of
IIa , IIb , IIc with the ◦(ABC) and also circumcenters of @IBIa C ,@ICIb A
and @IAIc B respectively.Ma 0 , Mb 0 and Mc 0 are the midpoints of the sides
of 4Ia Ib Ic where Ma0 is diametrically opposite of Ma in circumcircle of
4ABC.
8. 4ABC is the orthic triangle of 4Ia Ib Ic , with ◦(ABC) being the nine-
point circle of 4Ia Ib Ic . Also, Ic Ib CB is cyclic with Ic Ib as the diameter.
The contact triangle is also homothetic with 4Ia Ib Ic .
9. (Miquel Point) Let P, Q, R be points on BC, CA, AB respectively. Then
1)◦(AQR), ◦(P BR), ◦(P QC) concur at a point M .
2) The centers of the circles form a triangle similar to 4ABC.
3) the lines from M to the 3 initial pointsP, Q, R on the sides are equian-
gular to the sides.
10. (Also Miquel Point) Let ABCD be a quadrilateral. AB ∩ CD = P ,
AD∩BC = Q, AC ∩BD = R. Then ◦(P AD), ◦(P BC), ◦(QAB), ◦(QCD)
concur at M which is called the Miquel point M . It is concyclic with the
centers of the circles. M is the center of spiral similarity sending AB to
CD and BC to DA. If ABCD is cyclic, then many beautiful properties
emerge. Let the center be O.
1. ◦(OBD) also pass through M .
2. M is the inverse of R in (O) and thus lies on P Q, and is the foot of

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 (O) on P Q.

11. Let ABC be a triangle whose incircle is tangent to BC at D. If DE is a

diameter of the incircle and ray AE meets BC at X, then BD = CX and
X is the tangency point of the A-excircle to BC.
Also suppose XY is a diameter of the A-excircle. Show that D lies on AY
.
If M is the midpoint of BC, prove thatAE k IM .
Let ABC be a triangle with incenter I and excenter IA , and let D and X
be the associated tangency points on BC. Then linesDIA and XI concur
at the midpoint of the altitude from A.

12. Let Ω be a circle with center O and a chord AB, and consider a circle ω

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 tangent internally to Ω at T and to AB at K. Let M be the midpoint of
arc AB not containing T , then
(i) the centers of ω and Ω are collinear with T,
(ii) 4T M B ∼ 4BM K.
(iii) the power of M wrt w is BM 2
(iv) the tangent from M to w will have length equal to BM = AM

13. (Curvilinear Incircle Chords). Let ABC be a triangle and D be a point

on AB. Suppose a circle ω is tangent to CD at L, AB at K, and also to
#(ABC). Then
(i) @CLIT is cyclic
(ii)the incenter Iof ABC lies on line LK.

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4 Homothety
1. There are exactly two centers of similitude that takes one circle to another
under homothety.
−1
2. HG 2 : Circumcenter →Nine point center
−1
HG 2 : 4ABC →Medial triangle.
1
3. HH2 : Circumcenter →Nine point center
1
HH2 : 4ABC → 4MAH MBH MCH
4. The point its image and the center of homothety are collinear
5. The center of compositions of homotheties are collinear with the centers
of homotheties.

5 Various ways of proving things

5.1 angle ∠C of 4ABC is acute
1. a2 + b2 > c2
2. c < a or c < b
3. A + B < 90

4. orthocenterH of 4ABC lies inside the triangle.

5. circumcenter O of 4ABC lies inside the triangle.

5.2 lines are parallel

1. BPT, Midpoint thm
2. Angle chasing
3. l k m and l k n then m k n

4. l ⊥ m and l ⊥ n then m k n
5. Inversion,
6. Homothety
7. sides of parallelogram

8. Known parallel lines such as Simson line parallel to AP 0

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5.3 lines are perpendicular
1. Congruent supplementary angles.

2. Converse of Pythagoras theorem

3. Use of equidistant points
4. Show that they are parallel to known perpendicular lines

5. Use rotation by 90 and show that one is image of other

5.4 lines are concurrent

1. A common way of proving concurrency is to consider the pairwise inter-
sections of the lines, and then show that they are the same. A common
way of proving collinearity is to show that the three points form an angle
of 180o . (Phantom Points)
2. You can often restate a concurrency question as a collinearity question,
and vice versa. For example, proving that AB,
T CD and EF are concurrent
is equivalent to proving that E, F and AB CD are collinear.
3. A special case of concurrency is parallel lines meeting at the point at
infinity. Make sure to be mindful of this case in your solutions of contest
problems.

4. Ceva: Let ABC be a triangle, with P ∈ BC, Q ∈ CA, and R ∈ AB. Then
AR BP CQ
AP, BQ, and CR concur if and only if : AB P C QA = 1

5. Trig Ceva: Let ABC be a triangle, with P ∈ BC, Q ∈ CA, and R ∈ AB.
sin∠CAP sin∠ABQ sin∠BCR =
Then AP, BQ, and CR concur if and only if : sin ∠P AB sin∠QBC sin∠RCA
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6. Jacobi’s Theorem:
Let ABC be a triangle and let X, Y, Z be points in its plane such that
∠ZAB = ∠Y AC, ∠ZBA = ∠XBC, and ∠XCB = ∠Y CA. Then the
lines AX, BY, CZ are concurrent.

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7. Most unusual way is taking help of well known concurrent lines .
8. Desargues’ Theorem T T
T triangles ABC and A0B0C0, let P = BC B0C0, Q = CA C0A0, R =
Given
AB A0B0. Then AA0, BB0, CC0 concur iff P, Q, R are collinear. In other
words, the lines joining the corresponding vertices are concurrent iff the
intersections of pairs of corresponding sides are collinear.

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5.5 Points are collinear
1. AB + BC = AC

2. slope,
3. simson line
4. Homothety

5. Create phantom points: This means creating a point which satisfies a

property that is to be proved and showing that it is unique and satisfies
the problem condition.
6. Three points are collinear if the value of area of triangle formed by the
three points is zero. Apply the coordinates of the given three points in
the area of triangle formula. If the result for area is zero, then the given
points are said to be collinear.(Useful in coordinate or complex bash)
7. Use vertically opposite or supplementary angles.
8. Menelaus:Let ABC be a triangle, and let D, E, and F line on the ex-
tended lines BC, CA, and AB. Then D, E, and F are collinear if and only
if: FAF BD CE
B DC EA = −1

9. Pascal Theorem: T
ω be a conic section,
Let T T and let A, B, C, D, E, F ∈ ω. Then AB DE,
BC EF , and CD F A are collinear.

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 10. Pappus’s Theorem
l1 and l2 be
Let T T E ∈ l1 , and let B, D, F ∈ l2 . Then
T lines, let A, C,
AB DE, BC EF , and CD F A are collinear.
11. Desargues’ Theorem

5.6 Tangency condition

To show that a circle and a line are tangent, the following can be used:

1. Using angles between tangent and secant

2. Show that radius at point of contact is perpendicular to the tangent
3. It intersect the circle in exactly one point.
4. Power of point of Point on the tangent segment is the square of the tangent
segment

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 5. Using coordinate geometry slope of a tangent to the curve y = f (x) at x0
is f 0 (x0 )
6. inversion
To show that 2 circles are tangent, the following can be used:

1. Show that they are homothetic at a point lying on one of the circles,
usually done by finding 2 triangles homothetic at a point on one of the
circles, having their circumcircles as the given circles.
2. Or draw a tangent to the circle at an intersection point (after showing
that they intersect!) and then show that it is tangent to the other circle
too.
3. Or show that the distance between the centers is either the sum or the
difference of their radii.
4. Another useful trick worth mentioning is point circles. They are especially
useful for radical axes, because the radical axis of 2 point circles is their
perpendicular bisector, and the radical axis of a point circle P and a non-
point circle is the P -midline of the triangle formed by P and the contact
points of the tangents from P to the circle.
5. To show two circles are orthogonal, show that the square of the distance
between their centers is sum of squares of their radii.

5.7 Points are concyclic

1. Opposite angles of a quadrilateral are supplementary

2. Equal angles are subtended by a chord

3. Vertices are equidistant from a common point(center)
4. Converse of Ptolemy’s Theorem

5. Power of a point
6. Yet another characterization is that a convex quadrilateral ABCD is cyclic
if and only if. tan α2 tan γ2 = tan β2 tan 2δ = 1.
Area: The area K of a cyclic quadrilateral with sides a, b, c, d is given by
Brahmagupta’s
p formula:
K = (s − a)(s − b)(s − c)(s − d) where s, the semi perimeter, is s =
1/2(a + b + c + d).
7. (Pitot theorem):
Let ABCD be a convex or a concave quadrilateral. Then there exists a
circle inscribed in the quadrilateral ABCD if and only if AB + CD =
BC + DA

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8. A quadrilateral ABCD has an inscribed circle touching it at E and F on
AE
AB and CD respectively. Prove that it is cyclic quadrilateral iff BE = DF
CF .

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