Projective Geometry

Michael Kural
July 4, 2015

1
1.1

Reference Sheet
Projective Plane

We first define the projective plane. Its nearly the same as the normal euclidean
plane, but its much nicer to work with because it accommodates stupid special cases.
From the perspective of concision and laziness, you should pretty much always use
the projective plane.
Definition 1.1. We define the projective plane RP 2 as follows: to the ordinary
Euclidean plane R2 , append a line at infinity, which we imagine to encircle the
plane in a type of infinite loop. The line consists of points at infinity, each of which
corresponds to a direction or slope (possibly infinite!) in the plane. Each point lies
on all lines with this slope, and the points at infinity all lie on the line at infinity.
Note then that our original visualization was slightly misleading: the line at
infinity isnt a full loop, because we imagine a Euclidean line to stretch infinitely far
in both directions, but then meet again at a single point: so the line at infinity is
more like half of this loop.
We can also define the real projective plane algebraically as
R3 (0, 0, 0)
modded out by the equivalence relation
v kv, k R.
This is more symmetric, and gives rise to the former definition if we do casework on
whether or not the last entry is 0. We can also define it as the sphere modded out
by the equivalence relation associating a point with its antipode. However, this is
a talk on olympiad geometry, so we will focus on the first definition, which is more
helpful in this context.
Now, the good thing is that the projective plane gives us a context in which to
develop the rest of olympiad projective geometry without having to worry about
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Projective Geometry

special cases. For example, theorems sometimes conclude that three lines are either
concurrent or parallel, while a proof might handle an isosceles case separately from
the general case. In the first example, we interpret parallelism to be the same as
concurrency (because the lines concur at a point at infinity). In the second, we can
simply deal with points defined at infinity in the same way we would normal points.
Another plus is that we can rigorously use points at infinity in nice ways (as will be
shown) without having to make some kind of limiting argument each time.

1.2

Cross Ratio and Harmonic Divisions

Definition 1.2. The cross ratio of four collinear points A, B, C, D, denoted (A, B; C, D),
is the directed ratio
AC BD
(A, B; C, D) =
BC AD
Definition 1.3. Four collinear points A, B, C, D constitute a harmonic division
(alternatively, they are harmonic) if their cross ratio equals 1.
(A, B; C, D) = 1

AC
AD
=
BC
BD

Lemma 1. Suppose A, B, C, D are four points on a line `1 , and P is a point not on

this line, while `2 is another line in the plane. Suppose P A, P B, P C, P D intersect
`1 at A0 , B 0 , C 0 , D0 . Then (A, B; C, D) = (A0 , B 0 ; C 0 , D0 ). In particular, if the first
quadruple is harmonic, then so is the second.
Note, then, that four lines through a given point can be characterized as harmonic independently of the new line they intersect.
Definition 1.4. If four lines P A, P B, P C, P D pass through P and form a harmonic
division with each line they intersect, the four lines are called a harmonic pencil,
denoted P (A, B; C, D) or (P A, P B; P C, P D).
Lemma 2. In triangle A, B, C, suppose that AD, BE, CF are concurrent cevians
(with D, E, F on lines BC, CA, AB, respectively), and D0 , E, F are collinear with
D0 on BC. Then (D0 , D; B, C) is harmonic.
Example 1.1. If ABC is a triangle, and D, D0 are the feet of the external and
internal bisectors, then (D0 , D; B, C) is harmonic.
Example 1.2. If ABC is a triangle, and M is the midpoint of BC, while ` is the
line through A parallel to BC, then (AB, AC; AM, `) is harmonic. In other words,
if P is the point at infinity in the direction of line BC, then (B, C; M, P ) is
harmonic.
Here is an alternative characterization.

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Projective Geometry

Lemma 3. The division (A, B; C, D) is harmonic if and only if the circles with
diameter AB and CD are orthogonal.
Now a harmonic pencil depends only on the (directed) angles between its four
lines, so in particular, we have the following:
Lemma 4. If A, B, C, D are concyclic and P varies on their circumcircle, then
P (A, B; C, D) is harmonic for one choice of P if and only if it is harmonic for all
choices of P . This is also true if and only if
AC
AD
=
BC
BD
(and A 6= B, C 6= D).
Definition 1.5. If a quadrilateral satisfies the above equivalent properties, then it
is called a harmonic quadrilateral.
Lemma 5. If A, B, C, D lie on a circle, then ABCD (in some order) is a harmonic
quadrilateral if and only if the tangent from AB, the tangent from C, and the tangent
from D concur.
Corollary. If CD intersects AB at Q, then (A, B; P, Q) is harmonic.

1.3

Duality

Definition 1.6. The inverse of a point P 6= O about a circle (O, r) is the unique
point P 0 on OP with OP OP 0 = r2 (using directed lengths).
We can also define inversion about a circle with imaginary radius, which takes a
point P to a point P 0 such that OP OP 0 = r2 , a negative real number, in directed
lengths. This is equivalent to an inversion composed with a reflection about O.
Definition 1.7. The polar of a point P about a circle (O, r) is the line through the
inverse of P perpendicular to OP .
Definition 1.8. The pole of a line ` is the point such that ` is its polar.
Theorem 1 (La Hires Theorem). A lies on the polar of B if and only if B lies on
the the polar of A.
Lemma 6. If P A, P B are tangent to a circle at A, B, then AB is the polar of P
with respect to that circle.

Michael Kural

1.4

Projective Geometry

Miscellaneous Theorems

Theorem 2 (Pascals Theorem). Six points A, B, C, D, E, F in a plane lie on a

conic if and only if AB DE, BC EF, and CD F A are collinear.
Remark. The most common case for which Pascal is used is when the conic is a
circle (so the 6 points are concyclic). When the conic degerates to a pair of lines,
we recover Pappus Theorem.
Remark. Although the points should be distinct for the theorem to make sense, in
practice we can apply Pascals theorem on a degenerate hexagon by considering the
line AA to be the tangent line from A to the common conic. (This is more rigorous
if you consider the limit of Pascals theorem as one point approaches a second.)
Theorem 3 (Pappus). Suppose points A1 , A2 , A3 are collinear and B1 , B2 , B3 are
collinear. Then A1 B2 A2 B1 , A1 B3 A3 B1 , and A2 B3 A3 B2 are collinear.
Theorem 4 (Brianchon). Suppose ABCDEF is a circumscribed hexagon. Then
AD, BE, and CF concur.
Definition 1.9. Two triangles A1 A2 A3 and B1 B2 B3 are perspective from a point
if A1 B1 , A2 B2 , and A3 B3 concur.
Definition 1.10. Two triangles A1 A2 A3 and B1 B2 B3 are perspective from a line if
A1 A2 B1 B2 , A2 A3 B2 B3 , and A3 A1 B3 B1 are collinear.
Theorem 5 (Desargues Theorem). Two triangles are perspective from a point if
and only if they are perspective from a line. In this case, we say the two triangles
are simply perspective.
Definition 1.11. The exsimilicenter of two circles 1 and 2 is the point P such
that there exists a positive homothety centered at P mapping 1 to 2 . The insimilicenter is definited similarly, but for a negative homothety. Generally, the exsimilicenter is the intersection of the two external tangents, while the insimilicenter of
the intersection of the two internal tangents (if such tangents exist).
Theorem 6 (Monges Theorem). Given three circles in the plane, their three pairwise exsimilicenters are collinear. Additionally, an exsimilicenter and two insimilicenters are collinear.
Theorem 7 (Brokards Theorem). Suppose ABCD is a cyclic quadrilateral. Let
P = AB CD, Q = BC AD, and AC BD. Then P QR is self-polar; that is, QR
is the polar of P , P R is the polar of Q, and P Q is the polar of R.
Definition 1.12. An involution (also known as an involutive homography) on a line
` is transformation on that line, which is an inversion about some point P on ` with
positive or negative radius (see the definition of inversion above).
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Theorem 8 (Desargues Involution Theorem). Let A, B, C, D be four fixed points,

and ` a fixed line. If varying conic through A, B, C, D intersects ` at two points
P, Q, then a fixed involution maps each P to Q. In particular, a pair of lines
is a conic, so if AB, CD, AC, BD, AD, BC intersect ` at X, X 0 , Y, Y 0 , Z, Z 0 , then
{X, X 0 }, {Y, Y 0 }, {Z, Z 0 } are corresponding pairs in a common involution.

Problems

These are arranged roughly in order of difficulty.

1. Prove that four points in the complex plane are concyclic if and only if their
cross ratio is real (cross ratio is defined using differences of complex numbers
in this case).
2. Let ABC be a triangle, with A-altitude AD, and let X be an arbitrary point
on AD. Let BX meet AC at P and CX meet AB at Q. Show that AD bisects
P DQ.
3. (USAJMO 2011) Points A, B, C, D, E lie on a circle and point P lies outside
the circle. The given points are such that (i) lines P B and P D are tangent to
, (ii) P, A, C are collinear, and (iii) DE k AC. Prove that BE bisects AC.
4. (Lemoine Line) Let ABC be a triangle, and let D be the point on BC such that
AD is tangent to its circumcircle. Define E, F similarly. Show that D, E, F
are collinear.
5. (IMO 2003) Let ABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral. Let P , Q, R be the feet of
the perpendiculars from D to the lines BC, CA, AB, respectively. Show that
P Q = QR if and only if the bisectors of ABC and ADC are concurrent
with AC.
6. You are given a line segment in the plane. The line which contains the segment
is cut off by a lake. You cannot draw lines through the lake, but you want to
draw the portion of the line containing the segment which emerges from the
other side of the lake. How can you construct this using only a ruler?
7. (PUMaC 2012) Let ABC be a triangle with incenter I, and let D be the foot
of the angle bisector from A to BC. Let be the cirumcircle of triangle BIC,
and let P Q be a chord of passing through D. Prove that AD bisects P AQ.
8. (PUMaC 2013) Let be the incircle of 4ABC (i.e. the circle inscribed in
4ABC) and I be the center of . Let D, E and F be the feet of the perpendiculars from I to BC, CA, and AB respectively. Let D0 be the point
on such that DD0 is a diameter of . Suppose the tangent to through D
intersects the line EF at P . Suppose the tangent to through D0 intersects
the line EF at Q. Prove that P IQ + DAD0 = 180 .
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Projective Geometry

9. Let ABCD be a cyclic quadrilateral, and let M, N be the midpoints of AC, BD.
Suppose BD is the bisector of AN C; prove that AC is also the bisector of
BM D.
10. (IMO Shortlist 1998) Let I be the incenter of triangle ABC. Let K, L and
M be the points of tangency of the incircle of ABC with AB, BC and CA,
respectively. The line t passes through B and is parallel to KL. The lines
M K and M L intersect t at the points R and S. Prove that RIS is acute.
11. (IMO Shortlist 1998) Let ABC be a triangle such that A = 90 and B <
C. The tangent at A to the circumcircle of triangle ABC meets the line
BC at D. Let E be the reflection of A in the line BC, let X be the foot of
the perpendicular from A to BE, and let Y be the midpoint of the segment
AX. Let the line BY intersect the circle again at Z.
Prove that the line BD is tangent to the circumcircle of triangle ADZ.
12. (IMO Shortlist 2004) Let be a circle and let d be a line such that and d
have no common points. Further, let AB be a diameter of the circle ; assume
that this diameter AB is perpendicular to the line d, and the point B is nearer
to the line d than the point A. Let C be an arbitrary point on the circle ,
different from the points A and B. Let D be the point of intersection of the
lines AC and d. One of the two tangents from the point D to the circle
touches this circle at a point E; hereby, we assume that the points B and E
lie in the same halfplane with respect to the line AC. Denote by F the point
of intersection of the lines BE and d. Let the line AF intersect the circle at
a point G, different from A.
Prove that the reflection of the point G in the line AB lies on the line CF .
13. (IMO Shortlist 2014) Let and O be the circumcircle and the circumcentre of
an acute-angled triangle ABC with AB > BC. The angle bisector of ABC
intersects at M 6= B. Let be the circle with diameter BM . The angle
bisectors of AOB and BOC intersect at points P and Q, respectively.
The point R is chosen on the line P Q so that BR = M R. Prove that BR k AC.
(Here we always assume that an angle bisector is a ray.)
14. (Vietnam 2009) Let A, B be two fixed points and C is a variable point on
the plane such that ACB = (constant) (0 180 ). Let D, E, F
be the projections of the incenter I of triangle ABC to its sides AB, CA,
BC, respectively. Denoted by M , N the intersections of AI, BI with EF ,
respectively. Prove that the length of the segment M N is constant and the
circumcircle of triangle DM N always passes through a fixed point.
15. (IMO Shortlist 2004) Given a cyclic quadrilateral ABCD, let M be the midpoint of the side CD, and let N be a point on the circumcircle of triangle
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Projective Geometry

ABM . Assume that the point N is different from the point M and satisfies
AN
AM
BN = BM . Prove that the points E, F , N are collinear, where E = AC BD
and F = BC DA.
16. (IMO Shortlist 2000) Let O be the circumcenter and H the orthocenter of an
acute triangle ABC. Show that there exist points D, E, and F on sides BC,
CA, and AB respectively such that
OD + DH = OE + EH = OF + F H
and the lines AD, BE, and CF are concurrent.
17. (IMO 2012) Let ABC be a triangle with BCA = 90 , and let D be the foot
of the altitude from C. Let X be a point in the interior of the segment CD.
Let K be the point on the segment AX such that BK = BC. Similarly, let L
be the point on the segment BX such that AL = AC. Let M be the point of
intersection of AL and BK.
18. (IMO Shortlist 2002) The incircle of the acute-angled triangle ABC is tangent to its side BC at a point K. Let AD be an altitude of triangle ABC, and
let M be the midpoint of the segment AD. If N is the common point of the
circle and the line KM (distinct from K), then prove that the incircle
and the circumcircle of triangle BCN are tangent to each other at the point
N.
19. (IMO Shortlist 2009) Given a cyclic quadrilateral ABCD, let the diagonals
AC and BD meet at E and the lines AD and BC meet at F . The midpoints
of AB and CD are G and H, respectively. Show that EF is tangent at E to
the circle through the points E, G and H.
20. (Romania TST 2007) Let ABC be a triangle, let E, F be the tangency points of
the incircle (I) to the sides AC, respectively AB, and let M be the midpoint
of the side BC. Let N = AM EF , let (M ) be the circle of diameter BC,
and let X, Y be the other (than B, C) intersection points of BI, respectively
CI, with . Prove that
NX
AC
=
.
NY
AB
21. (IMO Shortlist 2010) Three circular arcs 1 , 2 , and 3 connect the points A
and C. These arcs lie in the same half-plane defined by line AC in such a
way that arc 2 lies between the arcs 1 and 3 . Point B lies on the segment
AC. Let h1 , h2 , and h3 be three rays starting at B, lying in the same halfplane, h2 being between h1 and h3 . For i, j = 1, 2, 3, denote by Vij the point
\
of intersection of hi and j . Denote by V\
ij Vkj Vkl Vil the curved quadrilateral,
whose sides are the segments Vij Vil , Vkj Vkl and arcs Vij Vkj and Vil Vkl . We
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Projective Geometry

say that this quadrilateral is circumscribed if there exists a circle touching

these two segments and two arcs. Prove that if the curved quadrilaterals
\ \ \ \ \
V\
11 V21 V22 V12 , V12 V22 V23 V13 , V21 V31 V32 V22 are circumscribed, then the curved
\
quadrilateral V\
22 V32 V33 V23 is circumscribed, too.
22. (RMM 2011) A triangle ABC is inscribed in a circle . A variable line `
chosen parallel to BC meets segments AB, AC at points D, E respectively,
and meets at points K, L (where D lies between K and E). Circle 1 is
tangent to the segments KD and BD and also tangent to , while circle 2
is tangent to the segments LE and CE and also tangent to . Determine the
locus, as ` varies, of the meeting point of the common inner tangents to 1
and 2 .
23. (RMM 2012) Let ABC be a triangle and let I and O denote its incentre and
circumcentre respectively. Let A be the circle through B and C which is
tangent to the incircle of the triangle ABC; the circles B and C are defined
similarly. The circles B and C meet at a point A0 distinct from A; the points
B 0 and C 0 are defined similarly. Prove that the lines AA0 , BB 0 and CC 0 are
concurrent at a point on the line IO.
24. (a) (Gergonnes Solution to the Apollonius Problem) If three circles 1 , 2 ,
and 3 are given in the plane in sufficiently general position, prove that
the following construction yields circle (actually one of 8 such circles)
which is tangent to all three of the given circles:
Let ` be the Monge Dalembert line of the three circles (the common line
of the three exsimilicenters, or one exsimilicenter and two insimilicenters
depending on which we are trying to construct). Let P1 , P2 , P3 be
the poles of ` with respect to 1 , 2 , 3 . Let R be the radical center
of 1 , 2 , 3 . Then RP1 , RP2 , RP3 intersect 1 , 2 , 3 at pairs {A1 , B1 },
{A2 , B2 }, {A3 , B3 } such that the circumcircles of A1 A2 A3 and B1 B2 B3
are both choices for the construction of .
(b) (RMM 2013) Let ABCD be a quadrilateral inscribed in a circle . The
lines AB and CD meet at P , the lines AD and BC meet at Q, and the
diagonals AC and BD meet at R. Let M be the midpoint of the segment
P Q, and let K be the common point of the segment M R and the circle
. Prove that the circumcircle of the triangle KP Q and are tangent
to one another.
25. (Iran TST 2009) In triangle ABC, D, E and F are the points of tangency of
incircle with the center of I to BC, CA and AB respectively. Let M be the
foot of the perpendicular from D to EF . P is on DM such that DP = M P .
If H is the orthocenter of BIC, prove that P H bisects EF .

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Projective Geometry

26. (USA TST 2015, simplified) Suppose ABC is a triangle, and D, E, F lie on
its circumcircle with AD k BC, BE k CA, CF k AB. Let P be a point on
the Euler line of triangle ABC, and let the cevians AP, BP, CP meet the
circumcircle at X, Y, Z. Prove that DX, EY, CZ concur.
27. (USA TSTST 2014) Consider a convex pentagon circumscribed about a circle.
We name the lines that connect vertices of the pentagon with the opposite
points of tangency with the circle gergonnians.
(a) Prove that if four gergonnians are conncurrent, the all five of them are
concurrent.
(b) Prove that if there is a triple of gergonnians that are concurrent, then
there is another triple of gergonnians that are concurrent.
28. (Iran TST 2010) Circles W1 , W2 intersect at P, K. XY is common tangent
of two circles which is nearer to P and X is on W1 and Y is on W2 . XP
intersects W2 for the second time in C and Y P intersects W1 in B. Let A be
intersection point of BX and CY . Prove that if Q is the second intersection
point of circumcircles of ABC and AXY .
29. (IMO Shortlist 2012) Let ABC be a triangle with circumcircle and ` a line
without common points with . Denote by P the foot of the perpendicular
from the center of to `. The side-lines BC, CA, AB intersect ` at the points
X, Y, Z different from P . Prove that the circumcircles of the triangles AXP ,
BY P and CZP have a common point different from P or are mutually tangent
at P .
30. Compute the fundamental group of RP 2 .