Can You Solve the Triangle $PQR$ Equation from POTW #238?

  • MHB
  • Thread starter anemone
  • Start date
  • Tags
    2016
  • #1
anemone
Gold Member
MHB
POTW Director
3,882
115
Here is this week's POTW:

-----

In a triangle $PQR$ with its sides $p,\,q$ and $r$ where $2\angle P=3\angle Q$, prove that $(p^2-q^2)(p^2+pr-q^2)=q^2r^2$.

-----

Remember to read the http://www.mathhelpboards.com/showthread.php?772-Problem-of-the-Week-%28POTW%29-Procedure-and-Guidelines to find out how to http://www.mathhelpboards.com/forms.php?do=form&fid=2!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #2
Congratulations to kaliprasad for his correct solution!:)

Here's the suggested model solution:

By the Law of Sines, the targeted identity can be rewritten as follows:

\(\displaystyle \left(\sin^2P-\sin^2 Q\right)\left(\sin^2 P+\sin P \sin R -\sin^2 Q\right)=\sin^2 Q \sin^2 R\)(*)

Note that

\(\displaystyle \cos 2P - \cos 2Q =-2\sin(P+Q) \sin (P-Q)\)

\(\displaystyle 1-2\sin^2 P -\left(1-2\sin^2 Q\right)=-2\sin(P+Q) \sin (P-Q)\)

\(\displaystyle \sin^2 P -\sin^2 Q=\color{yellow}\bbox[5px,green]{\sin (P+Q)}\color{black} \sin (P-Q)\)

and also

\(\displaystyle \sin R = \sin (180^\circ-(P+Q))=\color{yellow}\bbox[5px,green]{\sin (P+Q)}\)

Therefore we have \(\displaystyle \sin^2 P -\sin^2 Q=\sin R \sin (P-Q)\)(**)

Replace (**) into (*) we get:

\(\displaystyle \sin R \sin (P-Q)\left(\sin R \sin (P-Q)+\sin^2 Q+\sin P \sin R -\sin^2 Q\right)=\sin^2 Q \sin^2 R\)

\(\displaystyle \sin^2 R \sin (P-Q)\left( \sin (P-Q)+\sin P \right)=\sin^2 Q \sin^2 R\)

\(\displaystyle \sin (P-Q)\left( \sin (P-Q)+\sin P \right)=\sin^2 Q \)

From the given condition that says $2\angle P=3\angle Q$, we can write $P=3x,\,Q=2x$ for some $x$ so that we are left to prove

\(\displaystyle \sin x(\sin x+\sin 3x)=\sin^2 2x\)

which is true since both sides are equal to $2\sin x \cos x \sin 2x$, this completes the proof.
 
Back
Top