Question 9:
A point on the hypotenuse of a right-angled triangle is at distances an and b from the two legs (perpendicular sides). Show that the minimum length of the hypotenuse is:
Solution
Let ABC be a right–angled triangle with right angle at C.
Let P be a point on hypotenuse AB such that:
Key Idea
The distance from a point to a side equals (area / corresponding side).
Using this property for triangle ABC:
Also using point distances to sides:
Let
From above:
From Pythagoras:
We want the minimum of subject to , where
Using AM ≥ GM:
Substituting:
But we need minimum in terms of and separately.
So express the distances more precisely:
Consider dividing AB at point P into segments
Then areas from distances:
Using similar triangles:
Hence,
Substitute in area equality:
For minimum , apply Weighted AM–GM:
Finally solving yields: