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2021 Fall AMC 10B Problem 17

Problem 17 of 25IntermediateGeometry

Distinct lines \ell and mm lie in the xyxy-plane. They intersect at the origin. Point P(1,4)P(-1, 4) is reflected about line \ell to point P,P', and then PP' is reflected about line mm to point P.P''. The equation of line \ell is 5xy=0,5x - y = 0, and the coordinates of PP'' are (4,1).(4,1). What is the equation of line m?m?

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Solution

Two reflections across lines through the origin are equivalent to a rotation by twice the angle from the first reflecting line to the second. The point (1,4)(-1,4) is sent to (4,1),(4,1), which is a 9090^\circ clockwise rotation. Therefore line mm is 4545^\circ clockwise from line .\ell. The slope of \ell is 5.5. If θm=θ45,\theta_m=\theta_\ell-45^\circ, then tanθm=511+5=23.\tan\theta_m=\frac{5-1}{1+5}=\frac23. Thus line mm is y=23x,y=\frac23x, or 2x3y=0.2x-3y=0. Thus, the answer is D .

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Concepts: transformation · slope · trigonometric identity

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.