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Algebra Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Prove it Ireland

Suppose aa, bb, and cc are positive real numbers. Prove that,
24abca3+b3+c3(a+b+c)389(a+b+c)3, 24abc \leq |a^3 + b^3 + c^3 - (a+b+c)^3| \leq \frac{8}{9}(a+b+c)^3,
and that for both inequalities, equality occurs if and only if a=b=ca = b = c.

Solution

We factorise a3+b3+c3(a+b+c)3a^3 + b^3 + c^3 - (a+b+c)^3 as follows:
a3+b3+c3((a+b)3+3(a+b)2c+3(a+b)c2+c3)=a3+b3(a3+b3+3a2b+3ab2+b3+3(a+b)2c+3(a+b)c2)=3(a+b)(ab+(a+b)c+c2)=3(a+b)(b+c)(c+a). \begin{aligned} & a^3 + b^3 + c^3 - ((a+b)^3 + 3(a+b)^2c + 3(a+b)c^2 + c^3) \\ &= a^3 + b^3 - (a^3 + b^3 + 3a^2b + 3ab^2 + b^3 + 3(a+b)^2c + 3(a+b)c^2) \\ &= -3(a+b)(ab + (a+b)c + c^2) \\ &= -3(a+b)(b+c)(c+a). \end{aligned}
Hence a3+b3+c3(a+b+c)3=3(a+b)(b+c)(c+a)|a^3+b^3+c^3-(a+b+c)^3| = 3(a+b)(b+c)(c+a). Now, by the AM-GM inequality,
(a+b)(b+c)(c+a)((a+b)+(b+c)+(c+a)3)3=827(a+b+c)3, (a+b)(b+c)(c+a) \le \left( \frac{(a+b) + (b+c) + (c+a)}{3} \right)^3 = \frac{8}{27}(a+b+c)^3,
with equality iff a+b=b+c=c+aa+b=b+c=c+a, equivalently a=b=ca=b=c. It follows that
a3+b3+c3(a+b+c)389(a+b+c)3, |a^3 + b^3 + c^3 - (a + b + c)^3| \le \frac{8}{9}(a + b + c)^3,
with equality iff a=b=ca = b = c.
But, if x,y>0x, y > 0, then x+y2xyx + y \ge 2\sqrt{xy}, with equality iff x=yx = y. Hence
(a+b)(b+c)(c+a)8abbcca, (a+b)(b+c)(c+a) \ge 8\sqrt{ab}\sqrt{bc}\sqrt{ca},
and the inequality is strict unless a=b=ca = b = c. It follows that
a3+b3+c3(a+b+c)324abc, |a^3 + b^3 + c^3 - (a + b + c)^3| \ge 24abc,
with equality iff a=b=ca = b = c.

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