Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 7.7 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Turkey

Let xx, yy, zz be real numbers satisfying y>2z>4xy > 2z > 4x and
2(x3+y3+z3)+15(xy2+yz2+zx2)>16(x2y+y2z+z2x)+2xyz. 2(x^3 + y^3 + z^3) + 15(xy^2 + yz^2 + zx^2) > 16(x^2y + y^2z + z^2x) + 2xyz.
Show that 4x+y>4z4x + y > 4z.

Solution

Define a=x2ya = x - 2y, b=y2zb = y - 2z, c=z2xc = z - 2x. Then b,c>0b, c > 0 and the problem statement is b>2cb > 2c. Now since
x=a+2b+4c7,y=b+2c+4a7,z=c+2a+4b7 x = -\frac{a + 2b + 4c}{7}, \quad y = -\frac{b + 2c + 4a}{7}, \quad z = -\frac{c + 2a + 4b}{7}
we get
S=16(x2y+y2z+z2x)+2xyz2(x3+y3+z3)15(xy2+yz2+zx2)=ab2+bc2+ca22abc=c(ab+b22c)2+b(bc)2+b2(4c2b2)4c<0 \begin{aligned} S &= 16(x^2y + y^2z + z^2x) + 2xyz - 2(x^3 + y^3 + z^3) \\ &\quad - 15(xy^2 + yz^2 + zx^2) = ab^2 + bc^2 + ca^2 - 2abc \\ &= c \left( a - b + \frac{b^2}{2c} \right)^2 + b(b-c)^2 + \frac{b^2(4c^2 - b^2)}{4c} < 0 \end{aligned}
Since b,c>0b, c > 0, we get that 4c2<b24c^2 < b^2 and hence b>2cb > 2c.

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