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Exercise 1264Geometry › Plane geometryL1Added 4 Nov 2026

Two circles, two secants and a pair of parallel lines

#directed angles#cyclic quadrilateral#parallel lines

Statement

Two circles Γ1\Gamma_1 and Γ2\Gamma_2 intersect at two points AA and BB. A line through AA meets Γ1\Gamma_1 again at PP and Γ2\Gamma_2 again at QQ. A line through BB meets Γ1\Gamma_1 again at P′P' and Γ2\Gamma_2 again at Q′Q'. Prove that PP′∥QQ′PP'\parallel QQ'.

Hint

Use directed angles modulo 180∘180^\circ. Four points W,X,Y,ZW,X,Y,Z are concyclic iff ∠(YW,YX)=∠(ZW,ZX)\angle(YW,YX)=\angle(ZW,ZX).

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Solution

Chase. A,B,P,P′A,B,P,P' are concyclic (on Γ1\Gamma_1), so
∠(P′P,P′B)=∠(AP,AB).\angle(P'P,P'B)=\angle(AP,AB).
P,A,QP,A,Q are collinear, so ∠(AP,AB)=∠(AQ,AB)\angle(AP,AB)=\angle(AQ,AB).
A,B,Q,Q′A,B,Q,Q' are concyclic (on Γ2\Gamma_2), so
∠(AQ,AB)=∠(Q′Q,Q′B).\angle(AQ,AB)=\angle(Q'Q,Q'B).
Altogether, ∠(P′P,P′B)=∠(Q′Q,Q′B)\angle(P'P,P'B)=\angle(Q'Q,Q'B). Since P′BP'B and Q′BQ'B are the same line ℓ\ell, ∠(PP′,ℓ)=∠(QQ′,ℓ)\angle(PP',\ell)=\angle(QQ',\ell), so PP′∥QQ′PP'\parallel QQ'. ■\blacksquare

Remark. If the second line is tangent, replace the inscribed angle by the tangent-chord angle.

Lesson. Directed angles mod 180∘180^\circ remove every "inside or outside?" worry.