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Geometry Difficulty 6.0 National olympiad Prove it China

Assume that positive numbers aa, bb, cc, xx, yy, zz satisfy cy+bz=acy + bz = a; az+cx=baz + cx = b and bx+ay=cbx + ay = c. Find the minimum value of the function f(x,y,z)=x21+x+y21+y+z21+zf(x, y, z) = \frac{x^2}{1+x} + \frac{y^2}{1+y} + \frac{z^2}{1+z}.

Solution

By assumption, b(az+cxb)+c(bx+ayc)a(cy+bza)=0b(az + cx - b) + c(bx + ay - c) - a(cy + bz - a) = 0, i.e. 2bcx+a2b2c2=02bcx + a^2 - b^2 - c^2 = 0, we get x=b2+c2a22bcx = \frac{b^2 + c^2 - a^2}{2bc}. For the similar reason, y=a2+c2b22acy = \frac{a^2 + c^2 - b^2}{2ac} and z=a2+b2c22abz = \frac{a^2 + b^2 - c^2}{2ab}.

Since aa, bb, cc, xx, yy, zz are positive, by the above three expressions, we know b2+c2>a2b^2 + c^2 > a^2, a2+c2>b2a^2 + c^2 > b^2 and a2+b2>c2a^2 + b^2 > c^2. Thus there is an acute triangle ABCABC with the lengths of its sides aa, bb, cc. So x=cosAx = \cos A, y=cosBy = \cos B and z=cosCz = \cos C. The problem is now changed to finding the minimum value of the function
f(cosA,cosB,cosC)=cos2A1+cosA+cos2B1+cosB+cos2C1+cosC f(\cos A, \cos B, \cos C) = \frac{\cos^2 A}{1+\cos A} + \frac{\cos^2 B}{1+\cos B} + \frac{\cos^2 C}{1+\cos C}
Set u=cotAu = \cot A, v=cotBv = \cot B, w=cotCw = \cot C, then u,v,wR+u, v, w \in \mathbb{R}^+, uv+vw+wu=1uv + vw + wu = 1, u2+1=(u+v)(u+w)u^2 + 1 = (u+v)(u+w), v2+1=(u+v)(v+w)v^2 + 1 = (u+v)(v+w) and w2+1=(u+w)(v+w)w^2 + 1 = (u+w)(v+w).
We getcos2A1+cosA=u2u2+11+uu2+1=u2u2+1(u2+1+u)=u2(u2+1u)u2+1=u2u3u2+1 \begin{aligned} \text{We get}\quad \frac{\cos^2 A}{1+\cos A} &= \frac{\frac{u^2}{u^2+1}}{1+\frac{u}{\sqrt{u^2+1}}} = \frac{u^2}{\sqrt{u^2+1}(\sqrt{u^2+1}+u)} \\ &= \frac{u^2(\sqrt{u^2+1}-u)}{\sqrt{u^2+1}} = u^2 - \frac{u^3}{\sqrt{u^2+1}} \end{aligned}
=u2u3(u+v)(u+w)u2u32(1u+v+1u+w). \begin{aligned} &= u^2 - \frac{u^3}{\sqrt{(u+v)(u+w)}} \\ &\ge u^2 - \frac{u^3}{2} \left( \frac{1}{u+v} + \frac{1}{u+w} \right). \end{aligned}
By a similar argument, cos2B1+cosBv2v32(1u+v+1v+w)\frac{\cos^2 B}{1 + \cos B} \ge v^2 - \frac{v^3}{2} \left( \frac{1}{u+v} + \frac{1}{v+w} \right)
and
cos2C1+cosCw2w32(1u+w+1v+w).\frac{\cos^2 C}{1 + \cos C} \ge w^2 - \frac{w^3}{2} \left( \frac{1}{u+w} + \frac{1}{v+w} \right).
Hence f u 2 + v 2 + w 2 - 1 2 ( u 3 + v 3 u+v + w 3 + v 3 w+v + u 3 + w 3 u+w ) = u 2 + v 2 + w 2 - 1 2 [ (u 2 - uv + v 2) + (v 2 - vw + w 2) + (u 2 - uw 2 + w 2) ] = 1 2 (uv + vw + uw) = 1 2 ,\text{Hence f u 2 + v 2 + w 2 - 1 2 ( u 3 + v 3 u+v + w 3 + v 3 w+v + u 3 + w 3 u+w ) = u 2 + v 2 + w 2 - 1 2 [ (u 2 - uv + v 2) + (v 2 - vw + w 2) + (u 2 - uw 2 + w 2) ] = 1 2 (uv + vw + uw) = 1 2 ,}
the equality sign is valid if and only if u=v=wu = v = w, i.e. a=b=ca = b = c, x=y=z=12x = y = z = \frac{1}{2},
so [f(x,y,z)]min=12[f(x, y, z)]_{\min} = \frac{1}{2}.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.