Problem:
Circles P and Q have radii 1 and 4, respectively, and are externally tangent at point A. Point B is on P and point C is on Q so that line BC is a common external tangent of the two circles. A line β through A intersects P again at D and intersects Q again at E. Points B and C lie on the same side of β, and the areas of β³DBA and β³ACE are equal. This common area is nmβ, where m and n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m+n.
Solution:
Let P and Q be the centers of the circles P and Q, respectively. Let F be on CQβ so that CBPF is a rectangle. Note that in right β³PFQ,PQ=1+4=5 and QF=4β1=3, so BC=PF=4.
Let G and H be on β so that BG and CH are altitudes of β³ABD and β³ACE, respectively, as shown, and let β intersect line BC at I. Because the sectors of the two circles cut off by β are similar with a 1:4 ratio, it follows that AE=4AD. Because β³ABD and β³ACE have the same areas, it follows that BG=4CH. Because β³IGB is similar to β³IHC, it follows that 4IC=IB=IC+4 and IC=34β.
Calculate AI by letting J be the projection of A onto line BC. Because PA=51βPQ, it follows that AJ=54βPB+51βQC=58β and BJ=51βBC=54β. Then
AI=AJ2+IJ2β=(58β)2+(1568β)2β=34β13β
Now calculate the area of β³DBA by finding BG and AD. For the former, by similarity β³BGIβΌβ³AJI, it follows that BIBGβ=AIAJβ, giving BG=6532β13β. For the latter, the Power of a Point Theorem gives IAβ ID=IB2, so ID=3964β13β and AD=IDβIA=134β13β. So the area of β³DBA is