Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.2 AIME, harder Prove it Estonia

Let xx, yy, zz be positive real numbers whose sum is 20122012. Find the maximum value of
(x2+y2+z2)(x3+y3+z3)(x4+y4+z4) \frac{(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(x^3 + y^3 + z^3)}{(x^4 + y^4 + z^4)}

Solution

If x=y=z=20123x = y = z = \frac{2012}{3}, then
(x2+y2+z2)(x3+y3+z3)(x4+y4+z4)=2012. \frac{(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(x^3 + y^3 + z^3)}{(x^4 + y^4 + z^4)} = 2012.
Now we prove that for all xx, yy, zz satisfying the premises we have
(x2+y2+z2)(x3+y3+z3)(x4+y4+z4)2012 \frac{(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(x^3 + y^3 + z^3)}{(x^4 + y^4 + z^4)} \le 2012
It suffices to show that (x2+y2+z2)(x3+y3+z3)2012(x4+y4+z4)(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(x^3 + y^3 + z^3) \le 2012(x^4 + y^4 + z^4), or (x2+y2+z2)(x3+y3+z3)(x+y+z)(x4+y4+z4)(x^2 + y^2 + z^2)(x^3 + y^3 + z^3) \le (x + y + z)(x^4 + y^4 + z^4). Multiplying out, simplifying and rearranging the terms gives xy(xy)(x2y2)+xz(xz)(x2z2)+yz(yz)(y2z2)0xy(x - y)(x^2 - y^2) + xz(x - z)(x^2 - z^2) + yz(y - z)(y^2 - z^2) \ge 0. Since the differences in the brackets in every product have equal signs, the products are non-negative, showing that the necessary inequality holds.

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