Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Junior Turkish Mathematical Olympiad /2 of 19

Junior Turkish Mathematical Olympiad

Algebra Difficulty 3.3 AMC 10/12 Prove it Turkey

Prove that
a2b2(a2+b2−2)≥(a+b)(ab−1) a^2 b^2 (a^2 + b^2 - 2) \geq (a + b)(ab - 1)
for all positive real numbers aa and bb.

Solution

Let p=abp = ab and s=a+bs = a + b. We want to show that p2(s2−2p−2)≥s(p−1)p^2(s^2 - 2p - 2) \ge s(p-1), or equivalently, p2s2−(p−1)s−2p2(p+1)≥0p^2s^2 - (p-1)s - 2p^2(p+1) \ge 0 when s2≥4p>0s^2 \ge 4p > 0.
If 0<p≤10 < p \le 1, then p2s−(p−1)≥p2⋅2p+(1−p)>0p^2s - (p-1) \ge p^2 \cdot 2\sqrt{p} + (1-p) > 0, and if p≥1p \ge 1, then p2s−(p−1)≥(p2⋅2p−p)+1>0p^2s - (p-1) \ge (p^2 \cdot 2\sqrt{p} - p) + 1 > 0. Therefore,
p2s2−(p−1)s−2p2(p+1)=s(p2s−(p−1))−2p2(p+1)≥2p(p2⋅2p−p+1)−2p2(p+1)=2p3−2pp−2p2+2p=2p(p−1)(pp−1)≥0. \begin{align*} p^2 s^2 - (p-1)s - 2p^2(p+1) &= s(p^2s - (p-1)) - 2p^2(p+1) \\ &\ge 2\sqrt{p}(p^2 \cdot 2\sqrt{p} - p + 1) - 2p^2(p+1) \\ &= 2p^3 - 2p\sqrt{p} - 2p^2 + 2\sqrt{p} \\ &= 2\sqrt{p}(p-1)(p\sqrt{p} - 1) \\ &\ge 0. \end{align*}

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.