IMO shortlist, 1998

G7. ABC is a triangle with \angle ACB = 2 \angle ABC. D is a point on the side BC such that DC = 2 BD. E is a point on the line AD such that D is the midpoint of AE. Show that \angle ECB + 180 = 2 ∠EBC.

 

Solution.  Put D in the center. We can rewrite everything in terms of a - the number corresponding to A and b - the number corresponding to B. Thus C is -2b, E is -a.
The relation between the angles at B and C is easily reduced to the following equation:
\frac{(a-b)^2}{|a-b|^2}\frac{a+2b}{|a+2b|}=\frac{b^3}{|b|^3}.
Squaring and representing modules with conjugates, we obtain
\frac{(a-b)^2}{(\bar a-\bar b)^2}\frac{a+2b}{\bar a+2\bar b}=\frac{b^3}{\bar b^3}.
Clearing the denominator and setting everything to the left we obtain
a^3\bar b^3-3a\bar b^3 b^3-\bar a^3b^3+3\bar a\bar b^2 b^3=0\ (*)
Similarly, the equality we want to proof is equivalent to
\left(\frac{\frac{-b}{|-b|}}{\frac{-a-b}{|-a-b|}}\right)^2=(-1) \left(\frac{\frac{-a+2b}{|-a+2b|}}{\frac{b}{|b|}}\right)
Both of the arguments of the complex numbers on both sides are between 180 and 360, so squaring is equivalent transformation here. As above we obtain
\frac{(a+b)^2}{(\bar a+\bar b)^2}\frac{a-2b}{\bar a-2\bar b}=\frac{b^3}{\bar b^3}.
Everything on the left and expand - we obtain
-a^3\bar b^3+3a\bar b^3 b^3+\bar a^3b^3-3\bar a\bar b^2 b^3=0.
But this is just the same as (*).

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