Equations of Sides of Equilateral Triangle
A circle of radius 1 is inscribed in an equilateral triangle . The points of contact of with the sides are , respectively. The line is given by the equation and the point is . Further, it is given that the origin and the centre of are on the same side of the line .
Equations of the sides , are
Options
Topics & Concepts
Step-by-Step Solution
To find the equations of the sides and of the equilateral triangle , we proceed through the following steps:
Step 1: Find the Centre of the Inscribed Circle
The line equation of side is:
The unit normal vector to the line directed outwards is:
The point of contact on side is given as and the radius of the circle is . The centre of the circle lies along the normal to the line passing through :
We are given that the origin and the centre lie on the same side of the line .
Substituting into the line equation:
Choosing the minus sign for :
Evaluating the line equation at :
Since this has the same sign as the origin, the centre of the circle is indeed:
Step 2: Determine the Slopes of the Sides and
The slope of side is:
Since is an equilateral triangle, each interior angle is . Hence, the angles of inclination of the other two sides and must differ from by :
Step 3: Find the Equations of the Tangents
The circle has centre and radius . Both sides and are tangent to this circle.
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For the side with slope :
The equation is horizontal:
The perpendicular distance from the centre to this line must be equal to the radius :
To form a valid triangle containing the inscribed circle with side (where ), the tangent is:
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For the side with slope :
The equation is of the form:
The perpendicular distance from to this line is:
This gives:
For , the line passes through the origin and intersects the other two sides to form the equilateral triangle surrounding the circle:
Thus, the equations of the sides and are:
Therefore, the correct option is D.