Computational Geometry

Sina Ghaseminejad
November 2018

1 Introduction
Geometry is an important part of Mathematics Olympiad and Competitions.
In many problems you need to compute some of the lengths or angles. Angle
chasing is simple enough for a lot of us. But sometimes finding the lengths, is
a boring and hard job to do; especially if you don’t like Algebraic calculations
in Geometry. Here I want to introduce you with basic computational geometry,
which is not really recommended for top notch students and readers. I hope
you like it.

2 Notation and Definition

In triangle ABC, we have:
• A, B, C, as the vertexes of the triangle
• a, b, c, as the sides BC, AC, AB, respectively
• M a, M b, M c, as the midpoints of sides a, b, c
• ma, mb, mc, as the medians from midpoints of a, b, c, respectively
• I as the Incenter of the triangle
• r as the Inraduis of the triangle
• R as the Circumradius of the triangle
• da, db, dc, as the bisectors of A, B, C
• Da, Db, Dc, are where the bisectors da, db, dc, meet a, b, c, respectively
• Ea, Eb, Ec are where the incircle touch a, b, c, respectively
• Ia, Ib, Ic, as the centers of the excircles (excenters) relative to the vertexes
A, B, C, respectively
• Xa, Xb, Xc are where the excircles touch a, b, c, respectively
• ra, rb, rc as inradii of excircles relative to vertexes A, B, C, respectively
• ha, hb, hc, as the altitudes of A, B, C, respectively
• Ha, Hb, Hc are where the altitudes ha, hb, hc, touch a, b, c, respectively
• T , T 0 , are where internal and exterior bisectors of A meet circumcircle of ABC
• S as the area of the triangle
• P as the semiperimeter of the triangle; In other words:
a+b+c
P =
2

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3 Useful Trigonometry Formulas

sin (A + B) = sin A. cos B + sin B. cos A

sin (A − B) = sin A. cos B − cos A. sin B

cos (A + B) = cos A. cos B − sin A. sin B
cos (A − B) = cos A. cos B + sin A. sin B
tan A + tan B
tan (A + B) =
1 − tan A. tan B
tan A − tan B
tan (A − B) =
1 + tan A. tan B

• Using these formulas, and some Algebraic calculations, you will have:

sin (2A) = 2. sin A. cos A

cos (2A) = cos2 A − sin2 B

cos (2A) = 2. cos2 A − 1 = 1 − 2. sin2 A
2. tan A
tan (2A) =
1 − tan2 A
r
A 1 − cos A
sin ( ) = ±
2 2
r
A 1 + cos A
cos ( ) = ±
2 2
A 1 − cos A sin A
tan ( ) = =
2 sin A 1 + cos A

• Factorization may help you during the calculations as well:

1
cos A. cos B = .(cos (A + B) + cos (A − B))
2
1
sin A. sin B = .(cos (A − B) − cos (A + B))
2
1
sin A. cos B = .(sin (A + B) + sin (A − B))
2

2
 A+B A−B
sin A + sin B = 2. sin ( ). cos ( )
2 2
A−B A+B
sin A − sin B = 2. sin ( ). cos ( )
2 2
A+B A−B
cos A − cos B = −2. sin ( ). sin ( )
2 2
A+B A−B
cos A + cos B = 2. sin ( ). sin ( )
2 2

4 Some Important Theorems

Here are some theorems which are the bases of computational geometry. They
are quite simple and can be proved easily by basic geometric knowledge.

4.1 Law of Sines

In the triangle ABC we have:
a b c
= = = 2.R
sin A sin B sin C

4.2 Law of Cosines

In the triangle ABC we have:
a2 = b2 + c2 − b.c. cos A
b2 = a2 + c2 − a.c. cos B
c2 = a2 + b2 − a.b. cos C

4.2.1 A Conclusion of Law of Cosines

We can calculate the cosine of an angle in a triangle directly using the Law of
Cosines:
b2 + c2 − a2
cos A =
2.b.c
a2 + c2 − b2
cos B =
2.a.c
a2 + b2 − c2
cos C =
2.a.b

• As an exercise, try to prove that the equations below are true:

r
A P.(P − a)
cos ( ) =
2 b.c
r
A (P − b).(P − c)
sin ( ) =
2 b.c

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4.3 Stewart’s Theorem
In the triangle ABC, if a line passing trough A meet BC at X, we have:

b2 .BX + c2 .CX = a.(BX.CX.(AX)2 )

4.4 Angle Bisector Theorem

In the triangle ABC, we have:

b CDa sin B
= =
c BDa sin C

4.5 Medians Theorem

In the triangle ABC, we have:

b sin B sin (BAM a)

= =
c sin C sin (CAM a)

4.6 The Lemma of Ratio

In the triangle ABC, if a line passing trough A meet BC at X, we have:

BX c. sin (BAX)
=
CX b. sin (CAX)

4.7 Area of the Triangle

The Area of a triangle can be calculated using these formulas which you can
prove with some calculations:

a.ha
S=
2
S = P.r
a.b.c
S=
4.R
b.c. sin A
S=
2
S = 2.R2 . sin A. sin B. sin C
p
S = P.(P − a).(P − b).(P − c)

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5 Geometric Calculations
5.1 Median
5.1.1 Length of ma
Using the Law of Cosines, we have:
a a a2 a2 + c2 − b2
ma2 = c2 + ( )2 − 2.c.( ). cos B = c2 + − a.c.( )
2 2 4 2.a.c
a2 a2 c2 b2
ma2 = c2 + − − +
4 2 2 2
2 2 2
c b a
ma2 = + −
2 2 4
r
2.a + 2.b − c2
2 2
⇒ ma =
4

5.2 Altitude
5.2.1 Length of ha
i) Using The Law of Sines, we have:
sin B sin 90
=
ha c
⇒ ha = c. sin B
ii) Using the formulas of the area, we will get:
a.ha b.c. sin A
=
2 2
b.c. sin A
→ ha =
a
By The Law of Sines we know that sina A = 2.R , using that, we get:
b.c
⇒ ha =
2.R

5.2.2 Length of BHa

In the triangle ABHa, we have:
sin (90 − B) sin B
=
BHa c
Since we know that sin (90 − B) = cos B we will get:
c.cosB = BHa
a2 + c2 − b2
BHa = c.( )
2.a.c
a2 + c2 − b2
⇒ BHa =
2.a

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5.2.3 Length of HbHc
With some angle chasing we will know that AHbHc = ABC and AHcHb =
ACB, this will lead us to the similarity AHbHc ∼ ABC; so:
HbHc AHb
= = cos A
a c
⇒ HbHc = a. cos A

5.3 Internal and Exterior Angle Bisectors

5.3.1 Length of da
Using the Stewart’s Theorem, we will have:
a2 .b.c a.c a.b
a.(da2 + ) + b2 .( ) + c2 .( )
(b + c)2 b+c b+c
→ da2 = b.c − BDa.CDa
a2 2.b2 .c2 (b2 + c2 − a2 ) + 2.b.c
da2 = b.c.(1 − ) = .( )
(b + c)2 (b + c)2 2.b.c
4.b2 .c2 A
da2 = . cos2 ( )
(b + c)2 2
2.b.c A
⇒ da = . cos ( )
b+c 2

5.3.2 d0 a and D0 a
In the triangle ABC, we define d0 a as the exterior angle bisector of the angle A,
and D0 a is where d0 a meets the extension of BC; by these definitions, we can
calculate the length of d0 a, just like da with the Stewart’s Theorem.
The results are quite similar:
→ d0 a2 = BD0 a.CD0 a − b.c
2.b.c A
⇒ d0 a = . sin ( )
|b − c| 2

5.3.3 Length of BDa

Using the Angle Bisector Theorem, we have:
BDa c
=
CDa b
BDa c
→ =
BDa + CDa b+c
BDa c
=
a b+c
a.c
⇒ BDa =
b+c

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5.3.4 Length of AI
i) Using the Angle Bisector Theorem in the triangle ABDa, we will get:

AI c
=
IDa BD
AI c b+c
= a.c =
IDa b+c a
AI b+c
=
AI + IDa a+b+c
AI b+c
→ =
ADa 2.P
b+c 2.b.c A b+c
AI = ADa. = . cos ( ).
2.P b+c 2 2.P
b.c A
⇒ AI = . cos ( )
P 2
ii) If we connect I to Ec, it’s obvious that IEc⊥AB and IEc = r; in the triangle
AIEc, we will get:
r
⇒ AI =
sin ( A2 )
iii) Having Ec and the incircle again, it’s easy to prove that AEc = P − a; in
the triangle AIEc, we will get:
P −a
⇒ AI =
cos ( A2 )

5.4 Mixtilinear Incircles

A Mixtilinear Incircle is a circle tangent to two of a triangle’s segments, and the
circumcircle of that triangle. There are three Mixtilinear Incircles in a triangle,
we show Mixtilinear Incircle opposite to vertex A (the circle that is tangent to
AB, AC and circumcircle of ABC) with Γa.
Γb and Γc are defined is the same way.
Let Γa touch AB and AC at E and F respectively; it can be proved that I lies
on EF (which is actually an special case of Sawayama Thebault’s Theorem).
Using that, since AI⊥EF we will have:
AI
AE = AF =
cos ( A2 )

Using the length of AI directly, we get:

b.c
⇒ AE = AF =
P

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• Lengths of BE and CF are easy to find as well:
b.c
BE = c −
P

c.(P − b)
⇒ BE =
P

b.c
CF = b −
P

b.(P − c)
⇒ CF =
P

5.5 T and T 0
We defined T and T 0 as the points where the internal and exterior bisectors of A
meet the circumcircle of the triangle ABC; or we can say that T is the midpoint
of arc BC not containing A, and T 0 is the midpoint of arc BC containing A.
Before starting, we need to prove a lemma:

Lemma. In the triangle ABC, P is a point on segment a and Q is a point

on arc BC, if we know that P AB = CAQ, we will have:

AP.AQ = b.c

P roof. Since we know that P AB = CAQ, it’s obvious that ABP = AQC = B,
so we get:
b AQ
ABP ∼ AQC → =
AP c
⇒ AP.AQ = b.c

5.5.1 Length of AT
An special case of the lemma we proved, is when A, P , Q are collinear; And
that is when P ≡ Da and Q ≡ T (This is actually proving ABDa ∼ AT C, but
the lemma might be used in other problems as well, so it was good for you to
see it as well).
Using the lemma, we get:
ADa.AT = b.c
2.b.c A
We know that ADa = b+c . cos ( 2 ), by putting that in our equation we have:

2.b.c A
AT. . cos ( ) = b.c
b+c 2
b+c
⇒ AT =
2. cos ( A2 )

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5.5.2 Length of AT 0
Here, we need to use D0 a again. it’s obvious that T 0 , A and D0 a are collinear;
with angle chasing we know that ABD0 a = AT 0 C and D0 aAB = CAT 0 , so:
c d0 a
ABD0 a ∼ AT 0 C → 0
=
AT b
Just like the length of AT , by putting d0 a = |b−c|
2.b.c
. sin ( A2 ) in the equation, we
get:
|b − c|
⇒ AT 0 =
2. sin ( A2 )

5.5.3 Length of BT, CT and IT

Reading the title, you might have guessed the point of this part: BT , CT and
IT are all equal. with some angle chasing, it’s simple to show that T BI =
T IB = A+B
2 and T CI = T IC = A+C 2 ; so BT = CT = IT (and it’s not hard to
prove they are all equal to T Ia as well)
Adding T M a to the structure, we will have:
A a
T B. cos ( ) =
2 2
a
⇒ TB = TC = TI =
2. cos ( A2 )

5.5.4 T and T’ images on AC

In this part, without loss of generality, we assume that AC > AB.
S and S 0 will be images of T and T 0 on the segment AC.
By the definition, T 0 S 0 ⊥AC and T S⊥AC, using The Law of Sines, we will have:
b+c
⇒ AS = CS 0 =
2
|b − c|
⇒ AS 0 = CS =
2

5.6 Excircles and Excenters

Just like Mixtilinear Incircles, there are three Excircles in a triangle. We define
the Excircle opposite to vertex A with ωa.
ωb and ωc are defined in the same way.
Before starting, we need to prove a lemma again:

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 Lemma. In the triangle ABC, we have:

AI.AIa = b.c
A
P roof. We know that BAIa = IAC = 2; with some angle chasing we can see
that ABIa = AIC = B + A+C2 . So:

c AI
ABIa ∼ AIC → =
AIa b
⇒ AI.AIa = b.c

5.6.1 Length of AIa

b.c A
i) Using the lemma that we proved, and having AI = P . cos ( 2 ), we get:

b.c A
AIa. . cos ( ) = b.c
P 2
With some calculations, we have:
b.c A
⇒ AIa = . cos ( )
P −a 2
ii) Let ωa touch AB at Zc.
It’s obvious that and IaZc⊥AZc and IaZc = ra; using that in the triangle
AZcIa, we get:
ra
⇒ AIa =
sin ( A2 )
iii) Having Zc again; it’s easy to prove that AZc = P ; using that in the triangle
AZcIa, we get:
P
⇒ AIa =
cos ( A2 )

5.6.2 Length of AIb

If we connect Ib to Xb, it’s obvious that IbXb⊥AC and IbXb = rb; using that,
we will have:
rb
AIb =
sin (90 − A2 )
rb
⇒ AIb =
cos ( A2 )

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5.6.3 Lengths of ra, rb and rc
S
Calculating the lengths of ra, rb and rc is quite like proving r = P; we use the
area of ABC to calculate it.
Consider ra; we know that:

S(ABC) = S(AIaB) + S(AIaC) − S(CIaB)

P.ra P.ra a.ra

→ S(ABC) = + −
2 2 2
With a little calculations, we get:

S(ABC) = (P − a).ra

S
⇒ ra =
P −a
S S
In the exact same way, we can prove that rb = P −b and rc = P −c .

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