Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / Saudi Arabian Mathematical Competitions /290 of 395

Saudi Arabian Mathematical Competitions

Algebra Difficulty 6.3 National Olympiad Prove it Saudi Arabia

Suppose that x,y,zx, y, z are non-zero real numbers such that
x=2−yz,y=2−zx,z=2−xy x = 2 - \frac{y}{z}, \quad y = 2 - \frac{z}{x}, \quad z = 2 - \frac{x}{y}
Find all possible values of T=x+y+zT = x + y + z.

Solution

From the given conditions, we have
xz=2z−y,xy=2x−z,yz=2y−x. xz = 2z - y, \quad xy = 2x - z, \quad yz = 2y - x.
Taking the sum of these equations, side by side, we have
xy+yz+zx=x+y+z=T. xy + yz + zx = x + y + z = T.
From xz=2z−yxz = 2z - y, we also can get 2z−x−y=xz−x→3z−T=x(z−1)2z - x - y = xz - x \rightarrow 3z - T = x(z - 1). Make the similar equations and multiply them, we get
xyz(x−1)(y−1)(z−1)=(3x−T)(3y−T)(3z−T). xyz(x - 1)(y - 1)(z - 1) = (3x - T)(3y - T)(3z - T).
Note that (x−1)(y−1)(z−1)=xyz−(xy+yz+zx)+(x+y+z)−1=xyz−1(x - 1)(y - 1)(z - 1) = xyz - (xy + yz + zx) + (x + y + z) - 1 = xyz - 1 and
(3x−T)(3y−T)(3z−T)=27xyz−9T(xy+yz+zx)+T2(3x+3y+3z)−T3=27xyz−9T2+2T3 \begin{aligned} (3x - T)(3y - T)(3z - T) &= 27xyz - 9T(xy + yz + zx) + T^2(3x + 3y + 3z) - T^3 \\ &= 27xyz - 9T^2 + 2T^3 \end{aligned}
Thus
xyz(xyz−1)=27xyz−9T2+2T3 or (xyz)2−28xyz=2T3−9T2. \begin{equation*} xyz(xyz - 1) = 27xyz - 9T^2 + 2T^3 \text{ or } (xyz)^2 - 28xyz = 2T^3 - 9T^2. \tag{1} \end{equation*}
By the similar transformation, xz=2z+y→xz+2x=2z+2x−y→x(z+2)=2T−3yxz = 2z + y \rightarrow xz + 2x = 2z + 2x - y \rightarrow x(z + 2) = 2T - 3y. Make the similar equations and multiply them, side by side, we get
(xyz)2+6(xyz)T+35xyz=18T2−4T3. (xyz)^2 + 6(xyz)T + 35xyz = 18T^2 - 4T^3.
On the other hand, xz=2z−y→xyz=2yz−y2xz = 2z - y \rightarrow xyz = 2yz - y^2. Make the similar equations and multiply them, side by side, we get
3xyz=2(xy+yz+zx)−(x2+y2+z2)=4(xy+yz+zx)−(x+y+z)2=4T−T23xyz = 2(xy + yz + zx) - (x^2 + y^2 + z^2) = 4(xy + yz + zx) - (x + y + z)^2 = 4T - T^2.
So we have xyz=4T−T23xyz = \frac{4T - T^2}{3}, then by substituting to equation (1), we get
(4T−T23)2−28(4T−T23)=2T3−9T2 \begin{equation*} \left(\frac{4T - T^2}{3}\right)^2 - 28\left(\frac{4T - T^2}{3}\right) = 2T^3 - 9T^2 \tag{2} \end{equation*}
Solving this equation, we have T∈{0,3,7,16}T \in \{0, 3, 7, 16\}.

1. If T=0T = 0, then xyz=0xyz = 0, a contradiction.
2. If T=16T = 16, then xyz=−64xyz = -64 and this pair (T,xyz)=(16,−64)(T, xyz) = (16, -64) does not satisfy equation (2).
3. If T=3T = 3, then xyz=1xyz = 1 and by Vieta's theorem, x,y,zx, y, z are real roots of t3−3t2+3t−1=0t^3 - 3t^2 + 3t - 1 = 0, which implies that x=y=z=1x = y = z = 1.
4. If T=7T = 7, we get xyz=−7xyz = -7 and x,y,zx, y, z are roots of t3−7t2+7t+7=0t^3 - 7t^2 + 7t + 7 = 0, this also have three distinct real roots.

Hence, all possible values of TT are 33 or 77.

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.