Cut the knot: learn to enjoy mathematics
A math books store at a unique math study site. Learn to enjoy mathematics.
Google
Web CTK
Best sites for teachers
Sites for teachers
Sites for parents
Terms of use
Awards
Interactive Activities

CTK Exchange
CTK Insights - a blog

Games & Puzzles
What Is What
Arithmetic/Algebra
Geometry
Probability
Outline Mathematics
Make an Identity
Book Reviews
Eye Opener
Analog Gadgets
Inventor's Paradox
Did you know?...
Proofs
Math as Language
Things Impossible
Visual Illusions
My Logo
Math Poll
Cut The Knot!
MSET99 Talk
Other Math sites
Front Page
Movie shortcuts
Personal info
Reciprocal links
Privacy Policy

Guest book
News sites

Recommend this site

Best sites for teachers
Sites for teachers
Sites for parents

Education & Parenting

Manifesto: what CTK is about Search CTK Buying a book is a commitment to learning Table of content Things you can find on CTK Chronology of updates Email to Cut The Knot Recommend this page

Squares in Arbelos

Arbelos is a shape made famous by Archimedes with its inclusion in his Book of Lemmas. Three lemmas from the surviving 15 deal with arbelos. Arbelos is bounded by three touching semicircles two of whose diameters combine into a diameter of the third. Lemma 6 describes the properties of an Apollonian circle tangent to the three arcs of an arbelos.

Curiously, a feature of the diagram that is a consequence of well known properties has not, to the best of my knowledge, been mentioned explicitly.

 

This applet requires Sun's Java VM 2 which your browser may perceive as a popup. Which it is not. If you want to see the applet work, visit Sun's website at http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp, download and install Java VM and enjoy the applet.


Buy this applet

It was observed by Greg Markowsky (2007) that, enmeshed in the diagram, one may discern two squares: NPHG and CKDI. Prove that, indeed, the two quadrilaterals are squares.

Proof

Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the proof of Lemma 6 is it obvious that the two quadrilaterals in question are rectangles. What needs to be shown is that each has equal sides.

 

This applet requires Sun's Java VM 2 which your browser may perceive as a popup. Which it is not. If you want to see the applet work, visit Sun's website at http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp, download and install Java VM and enjoy the applet.


Buy this applet

For the rectangle NPHG, as was observed by Mariano Perez de la Cruz, the result follows from a more general property known yet to Pappus: for a sequence of circles tangent to its neighbors and to two tangent semicircles with common center line, hn = 2nRn, where, for the circle #n in the sequence, Rn is the radius and hn is the distance from its center to the common base center line. In our diagram GH serves as the diameter of the circle #1 in such a sequence, with hn = 2Rn, GH = 2Rn, and GN = hn.

For the rectangle CKDI, the proof is more involved. To start off, note a sequence of intersecting circumcircles of cyclic quadrilaterals: BKMP, KHFM, EFHG, EGIL, ANLI. Apply the Intersecting Secants Theorem to point C and the circles

(1) CP·BC = CM·CK = CF·CH = CE·CG = CL·CI = CN·AC.

Next, let's recollect another result from the proof of Lemma 6

(2) AN / NP = NP / BP.

We are going to use this shortly. But before we do, consider two pairs of similar triangles: ANL, HGL and BPM, GHM, from which we derive

(3) AN / GH = LN / GL, and
BP / GH = MP / HM.

Since GH = NP, and using (2), we see that

(4) HM / MP = NP / BP = AN / NP = LN / GL,

from which

(5) HM / MP + 1 = LN / GL + 1, or
HP / MP = GN / GL

implying MP = GL and subsequently HM = LN.

Generally, the circle with diameter LM cuts each of the sides of square NPHG in two points. C is one such point on side NP. The eight points are split into two groups of vertices of two squares as in one of the proofs of the Pythagorean theorem, Proof 4 or Proof 9, with all cutoff triangles equal. In particular, ΔCLN = ΔCMP

(6) CL = CM.

But from (1), CM·CK = CL·CI making CK = CI, which proves that CKDI is also a square.

The diagram has many other interesting properties. For example,

  CP / CN = AC / BC

follows from (1). But, as was observed by Greg Markowsky, there are more proportions:

  AC / BC = LN / GL = CP / CN = HM / MP = AD / BD = AI / CI = CK / BK.

There are also more circles and more incidences:

 

This applet requires Sun's Java VM 2 which your browser may perceive as a popup. Which it is not. If you want to see the applet work, visit Sun's website at http://www.java.com/en/download/index.jsp, download and install Java VM and enjoy the applet.


Copyright © 1996-2008 Alexander Bogomolny

28695413Page copy protected against web site content infringement by Copyscape


Search:
Keywords:


Latest on CTK Exchange
Math
Posted by Laura
2 messages
06:56 AM, Apr-15-08

Divisibility rules - Jargon buste ...
Posted by Carolyn
2 messages
08:35 AM, Apr-04-08

drawing puzzle
Posted by martin gran
31 messages
06:53 PM, May-09-08

Distance to the horizon
Posted by Monty
3 messages
04:38 PM, May-08-08

Mistake on the page (an aside, Be ...
Posted by Max
4 messages
10:28 AM, Feb-28-08

Deriving functions based on diffe ...
Posted by ke_45
1 messages
12:47 PM, May-10-08

A typo in
Posted by alexwajn
1 messages
11:36 PM, Apr-19-08