Property of Angle Bisectors II: What is this about?
A Mathematical Droodle
Explanation
Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny
Angle bisectors divide the opposite side in the ratio of the adjacent sides. More accurately, if, in ABC, AD is an angle bisector of angle A, then
(The proof below was suggested by Prof. W. McWorter.)
Proof
Let E on AD (or its extension) be such that
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ACB = ABE.
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Then triangles ACD and ABE are similar. In particular,
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AEB = ADC.
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From where (and if necessary passing to the supplementary angles)
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BED = BDE.
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Which implies that DBE is isosceles:
On the other hand, similarity of triangles ACD and ABE implies
which combined with (*) gives the desired proportion. (The proof is different from a more standard one.)
This property of angle bisectors is one way to show that the three angle bisectors in a triangle meet in a point. The result is an immediate consequence of Ceva's theorem.
Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny
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