Triangle and Tangent Circles
Source: AIME I 2007 #9
March 15, 2007
trigonometrygeometryrectanglegeometric transformationhomothetyUSAMTSnumber theory
Problem Statement
In right triangle with right angle , and . Its legs and are extended beyond and . Points and lie in the exterior of the triangle and are the centers of two circles with equal radii. The circle with center is tangent to the hypotenuse and to the extension of leg CA, the circle with center is tangent to the hypotenuse and to the extension of leg CB, and the circles are externally tangent to each other. The length of the radius of either circle can be expressed as , where and are relatively prime positive integers. Find .