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The insphere of a tetrahedron $ABCD$ touches the faces $ABC, BCD, CDA, DAB$ at $D′, A′, B′, C′$ respectively. Denote by $SAB$ the area of the triangle $AC′B$. Define similarly $SAC, SBC, SAD, SBD, SCD$. Prove that there exists a triangle with sidelengths $SAB.SCD , SAC.SBD, SAD.SBC$.,there exists a triangle with its sidelengths like ,its first sidelength is SAC.SBD these multiplication of areas is one side of triangle .

A tetrahedron is a three-dimensional geometric shape that has four triangular faces, six edges, and four verticestetrahedron

Now regarding the construction of insphere , the incentre of a tetrahedron is defined as the intersection of the bisecting planes of dihedral angle for more information about it you can refer Prove that all three bisecting planes of the dihedral angles of a trihedral angle intersect along one straight line. For the clarification of the question someone may get confused in the similarly notation it is , for example we want $SAC$ someone might get confused in the areas of $ACB'$ or $ACD'$ but in fact they are equal due to properties of insphere of tetrahedron , help what I only tried and knew was trying to relate areas with the tan of dihedral angle , ( for construction of incenter of tetrahedron refer Construct incenter of tetrahedron) for geo gebra applet (https://www.geogebra.org/classic/emcgzjmd) in the corresponding figure auydsb

i was trying to relate the area with the inradius and tan of half of dihedral angle but it was of no use , moreover directly realting sides is very messy , another reason we cannot directly use dihedral angles is that , the sum of dihedral angles in a tetrahedron is not fixed ie , it varies,any help regarding the question is appreciated Thanking YOU!

  • Whoops! I mis-read your multiplication-periods as commas. Note that you can write a raised dot as \cdot in MathJax; eg, $SAB \cdot SCD$ appears as $SAB \cdot SCD$. – Blue Feb 23 '25 at 07:28
  • FYI: The barycentric coordinates of the incenter of tetrahedron $ABCD$ $|\triangle BCD|:|\triangle ACD|:|\triangle ABD|:|\triangle ABC|$; that is, we can write $$I = \frac{A,|\triangle BCD|+B,|\triangle ACD|+C,|\triangle ABD|+D,|\triangle ABC|}{|\triangle BCD|+|\triangle AD|+|\triangle ABD|+|\triangle ABC|}$$ (The reason is analogous to why the incenter of $\triangle ABC$ has barycentric coordinates $a:b:c$.) – Blue Feb 23 '25 at 07:29
  • @Blue Sorry if your barycentric coordinate answere clarifies the solution i cannot understand it ,we were told about barycentric coordinates in high school many many years back , the discipline i have studied in we have never used barycentric coordinates in stereometry and plane geometry also. – Tutor4872 Feb 23 '25 at 07:51

1 Answers1

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I'll switch to notation most familiar to me and consider tetrahedron $OABC$ with edge-lengths $$a:=|OA|\quad b:=|OB|\quad c:=|OC| \quad d:=|BC| \quad e:=|CA|\quad f:=|AB|$$ with dihedral angles $A:=\angle OA$, $B:=\angle OB$, $C:=\angle OC$, $D:=\angle AB$, $E:=\angle BC$, $F:=\angle CA$ along respective edges. (There should be no confusion in re-purpose $A$, $B$, $C$ here.) Also, face-areas $$W:=|\triangle ABC| \quad X:=|\triangle OBC|\quad Y:=|\triangle OCA|\quad Z:=|\triangle OAB|$$ Finally, the insphere meets faces $W$, $X$, $Y$, $Z$ at $O'$, $A'$, $B'$, $C'$.

With a bit of Mathematica-assisted coordinate bashing, I find $$\begin{align} S_{OA} =|\triangle OAC'|=|\triangle OAC'| &= \frac{YZ(1 + \cos A)}{W + X + Y + Z} \\[4pt] S_{BC} =|\triangle BCO'|=|\triangle BCA'| &= \frac{WX(1 + \cos D)}{W + X + Y + Z} \\[8pt] S_{OB} =|\triangle OBA'|=|\triangle OBA'| &= \frac{ZX(1 + \cos B)}{W + X + Y + Z} \\[4pt] S_{CA} =|\triangle CAO'|=|\triangle CAB'| &= \frac{WY(1 + \cos E)}{W + X + Y + Z} \\[8pt] S_{OC} =|\triangle OCB'|=|\triangle OCB'| &= \frac{XY(1 + \cos C)}{W + X + Y + Z} \\[4pt] S_{AB} =|\triangle ABO'|=|\triangle ABC'| &= \frac{WZ(1 + \cos F)}{W + X + Y + Z} \end{align} \tag1$$ (Note: The faces in the numerator bound the dihedral angle. Also, we could write $1+\cos\theta=2\cos^2\frac12\theta$; this may-or-may-not make the fractions neater to the reader, but it won't help with the ultimate task.)

The side-lengths of the ostensible triangle are in the proportion $$\begin{align} &S_{OA}S_{BC}:S_{OB}S_{CA}:S_{OC}S_{AB} \\[4pt] =\;&\underbrace{(1+\cos A)(1+\cos D)}_p: \underbrace{(1+\cos B)(1+\cos E)}_q: \underbrace{(1+\cos C)(1+\cos F)}_r \tag2 \end{align}$$ (ignoring a common scale factor of $\dfrac{WXYZ}{(W+X+Y+Z)^2}$).

So, the question becomes:

Do $p$, $q$, $r$ always form a triangle?

The answer is

No.

Take, for instance, consider these edge-lengths and face-angles about vertex $O$: $$a=b=c=1 \qquad \alpha := \angle BOC = 90^\circ \qquad \beta := \angle COA = 72^\circ \qquad \gamma := \angle AOB = 36^\circ \tag3$$ These give us face areas: $$X=\frac12b c \sin\alpha = \frac12 \qquad Y = \frac14\sqrt{\frac12(5+\sqrt5)} \qquad Z = \frac14\sqrt{\frac12(5-\sqrt{5})} \tag4$$ $$W=\sqrt{X^2+Y^2+Z^2-2YZ\cos A-2ZX\cos B-2XY\cos C} = \frac14 \sqrt{11 - 4 \sqrt5}$$

Also, using a Spherical Law of Cosines, they give us $\cos A$, $\cos B$, $\cos C$: $$\cos A = \frac{\cos\alpha-\cos\beta\cos\gamma}{\sin\beta\sin\gamma} = -\frac{1}{\sqrt5} \quad \cos B = \frac{\sqrt5 - 1}{\sqrt{2 (5 - \sqrt5)}} \quad \cos C = \frac{\sqrt5 + 1}{\sqrt{2 (5 + \sqrt5)}} \tag5 $$ Finally, a(nother) tetrahedral Law of Cosines gives us $D$, $E$, $F$ $$\begin{align} Y^2+Z^2-2Y Z \cos A &= W^2 + X^2 - 2 W X \cos D &&\to\quad \cos D = \frac{2 - \sqrt5}{\sqrt{11 - 4 \sqrt5}} \\[6pt] Z^2+X^2-2ZX \cos B &= W^2 + Y^2 - 2 W Y \cos E &&\to\quad \cos E = \frac{5 - \sqrt5}{\sqrt{70 - 18 \sqrt5}} \\[6pt] X^2+Y^2-2XY \cos C &= W^2 + Z^2 - 2 W Z \cos F &&\to\quad \cos F = \frac{9 - 3 \sqrt5}{\sqrt{150 - 62\sqrt5}} \end{align}\tag6$$

From these, we obtain $$p = 0.4617\ldots \qquad q = 2.2988\ldots \qquad r = 3.1088\ldots \tag7$$ Since $p+q<r$, these values fail the Triangle Inequality, so they do not form a triangle. $\square$


Addendum. While symbol-crunching, I found the following:

$$\begin{align} \frac{W(-p+q+r)}{\sin B\sin C} &\;=\; (W-X+Y+Z)\cot B_2\cot C_2 \;-\;(W+X+Y+Z)\cos\alpha \\[4pt] \frac{W(\phantom{-}p-q+r)}{\sin C\sin A} &\;=\; (W+X-Y+Z)\cot C_2\cot A_2 \;-\;(W+X+Y+Z)\cos\beta \\[4pt] \frac{W(\phantom{-}p+q-r)}{\sin A\sin B} &\;=\; (W+X+Y-Z)\cot A_2\cot B_2 \;-\;(W+X+Y+Z)\cos\gamma \end{align} \tag{A.1}$$ where $\theta_2:=\frac12\theta$ is a favorite bit of notational shorthand.

We then have that $p$, $q$, $r$ form a triangle when (and only when) the right-hand expressions are non-negative. Having these expressions in terms of elements surrounding vertex $O$ (with $W$ computable from such elements) may aid future investigations, as it can be common to parameterize a tetrahedron (as I did above) using $a$, $b$, $c$, $\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$.


Addendum 2. In a comment, OP effectively asks

Do $\sqrt{p}$, $\sqrt{q}$, $\sqrt{r}$ always form a triangle?

That answer is

Yes!

The quickest way to verify this is to note that Heron's formula for the (square of the) area $T$ of a triangle with sides $u$, $v$, $w$ ...

$$16 T^2 = (u+v+w)(-u+v+w)(u-v+w)(u+v-w) \tag{B.1} $$

... actually serves as a simultaneous checker of all three aspects of the Triangle Inequality for candidate (positive) sides $u$, $v$, $w$:

If (and only if) the right-hand side of (B.1) evaluates to a non-negative number, then (and only then) $u$, $v$, $w$ are sides of a valid triangle.

(Replace "non-negative" with "positive" for non-degenerate cases. Here, we'll allow them.)

The necessarily-positive $(u+v+w)$ factor in (B.1) is clearly irrelevant to the valid-triangle determination as it doesn't affect the sign, but notice the result of expanding the four-factor expression: $$16T^2 = -u^4-v^4-w^4+2v^2w^2+2w^2u^2+2u^2v^2 \tag{B.2}$$

All those even exponents are nicely-suited to circumstances like ours, since they'll eliminate the pesky square roots in $u=\sqrt{p}$, $v=\sqrt{q}$, $w=\sqrt{r}$. So, "all we have to do" is check whether this expression is non-negative:

$$-p^2-q^2-r^2+2qr+2rp+2pq \tag{B.3}$$

substituting-in the cosine expressions from $(2)$. My approach is to use what I'll call the "pseudoface enhancement" of the Tetrahedral Law of Cosines (as in this answer to OP's earlier question), assigning $H^2$, $J^2$, $K^2$ (squares of the tetrahedron's "pseudoface" areas) to the three aspects of $(6)$ above. This allows me to write $$\begin{align} \cos A = \frac{-H^2+Y^2+Z^2}{2YZ} &\qquad \cos D = \frac{-H^2+W^2+X^2}{2WX} \\[4pt] \cos B = \frac{-J^2+Z^2+X^2}{2ZX} &\qquad \cos E = \frac{-J^2+W^2+Y^2}{2WY} \\[4pt] \cos C = \frac{-K^2+X^2+Y^2}{2XY} &\qquad \cos F = \frac{-K^2+W^2+Z^2}{2WZ} \\[4pt] W^2+X^2+Y^2+Z^2 &= H^2+J^2+K^2 \end{align} \tag{B.4}$$ Making the cosine substitutions and moving things around a bit, I find that (B.3) takes the form $$\frac{(W + X + Y + Z)^2}{4 W^2 X^2 Y^2 Z^2}\;\left( \begin{array}{c} H^2 J^2 K^2 - 2 (W X - Y Z) (W Y - Z X) (W Z - X Y) \\ - H^2 (W X - Y Z)^2 - J^2 (W Y - Z X)^2 - K^2 (W Z - X Y)^2 \end{array}\right) \tag{B.5}$$ with that scary factor being nothing more than $81V^4$, where $V$ is the volume of the tetrahedron. Clearly, then, this expression is non-negative, guaranteeing that $\sqrt{p}$, $\sqrt{q}$, $\sqrt{r}$ do indeed always form a triangle! $\square$


Addendum 3. As requested by OP, here's some background to the coordinate-bashing that led to relations $(1)$.

I typically coordinatize a tetrahedron $OABC$ as $$O=(0,0,0)\quad A=(a,0,0)\quad B=(b\cos\gamma,b\sin\gamma,0) \tag{C.1}$$ $$C = (c\cos\beta,c\sin\beta\cos A,c\sin\beta\sin A)$$ I calculated the incenter, $I$, via its barycentric coordinates (which I think of simply as the weights in a weighted average of Cartesian coordinates): $$I = \frac{W O + X A+Y B+Z C}{W+X+Y+Z} \tag{C.2}$$

The Cartesian coordinates of the projection, $C'$ of $I$ onto face $OAB$ (aka, the $xy$-plane) are then simply $C'=(I_x,I_y,0)$. Other projections are messy, but it helps to express $C'$ in weighted-average form relative to $OAB$: $$\begin{align} C'&=\frac{uO+vA+wC}{u+v+w} \\[4pt] u=W(1+\cos F) \quad v&=X(1+\cos B) \quad w=Y(1+\cos A) \\[4pt] u+v+w &= W+X+Y+Z \end{align} \tag{C.3}$$

Observe how $u$ associates vertex $O$ of $OAB$ (aka, face $Z$) with face $W$ (with is opposite $O$) and dihedral angle $F$ (which is bounded by faces $W$ and $Z$; likewise, for $v$ and $w$. (That $u+v+w=W+X+Y+Z$ follows from the fact that $Z=W\cos F+X\cos B+Y\cos A$. (Why?)) Consequently, it's "obvious" that we can write rather compactly: $$\begin{align} A' &= \frac{uO+vB+wC}{W+X+Y+Z} \\[4pt] u=W(1+\cos D)\quad v&=Y(1+\cos C) \quad w = Z(1+\cos B) \\[8pt] B' &= \frac{uO+vC+wA}{W+X+Y+Z} \\[4pt] u=W(1+\cos E)\quad v&=Z(1+\cos A) \quad w = X(1+\cos C) \\[8pt] O' &= \frac{uA+vB+wC}{W+X+Y+Z} \\[4pt] u=X(1+\cos D)\quad v&=Y(1+\cos E) \quad w = Z(1+\cos F) \\[8pt] \end{align}\tag{C.4}$$

From there, it's straightforward (especially with a tool like Mathematica), to use vector methods to calculate, the various area formulas in $(1)$. For instance, $$\begin{align} S_{OA}^2 :=|\triangle OAB'|^2 &=\frac14\left|\overrightarrow{B'O}\times\overrightarrow{B'A}\right|^2 \\[4pt] &= \frac{ Z^2 a^2 c^2 \sin^2\beta (1 + \cos A)^2}{4 (W+X+Y+Z)^2} \\[4pt] &= \frac{ Y^2Z^2 (1 + \cos A)^2}{(W+X+Y+Z)^2} \\[4pt] \end{align} \tag{C.5}$$ Throughout these and other calculations, I'm aided by many(!!!) years of experience interpreting tetrahedral expressions in general, and sussing-out convenient "hedronometric" forms (favoring face-areas and dihedral angles) in particular.

My familiarity with these forms leads me to readily recognize that, for instance, the "scary factor" in (B.5) is proportional to $V^4$. (Indeed, this is Theorem 5 of my note "Heron-like Hedronometric Results for Tetrahedral Volume" (PDF link via daylateanddollarshort.com).) But the sufficiently-motivated reader can verify the equality directly by converting the various areas into expressions using side-lengths (see this old answer for how to convert $H^2$, $J^2$, $K^2$), and comparing it to the result of the Cayley-Menger determinant.

Blue
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  • Can we prove that root SOASBC ,root SOBSCA ,root SOCSAB form the sides of a triangle – Tutor4872 Feb 24 '25 at 12:43
  • @Tutor4872: "Can we prove that root SOASBC ,root SOBSCA ,root SOCSAB form the sides of a triangle" ... Yes! See my Addendum 2. – Blue Feb 24 '25 at 14:07
  • Can you give a sketch of proof for the claim you said you got using mathematica associated coordinate bashing and can you give some reference to the thing you wrote $81V^4$ – Tutor4872 Feb 25 '25 at 12:38
  • @Tutor4872: "Can you give a sketch of proof ..." ... See Addendum 3. I hope it helps. (The moderators are likely getting antsy about how long this answer has become, so I won't be expanding it further. If you have more questions, feel free to contact me directly.) – Blue Feb 25 '25 at 15:07
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    Thank you For this much help – Tutor4872 Feb 25 '25 at 15:18