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Algebra Difficulty 5.2 AIME, harder Prove it Ireland

Let a,b,c>0a, b, c > 0. Prove that
2(1+a)2+2(1+b)2+2(1+c)211+ab+11+bc+11+ca \frac{2}{(1+a)^2} + \frac{2}{(1+b)^2} + \frac{2}{(1+c)^2} \ge \frac{1}{1+ab} + \frac{1}{1+bc} + \frac{1}{1+ca}
with equality if and only if a=b=c=1a = b = c = 1.

Solution

We first prove that if a,b>0a, b > 0, then
1(1+a)2+1(1+b)211+ab \frac{1}{(1+a)^2} + \frac{1}{(1+b)^2} \ge \frac{1}{1+ab}
with equality if and only if a=b=1a = b = 1. To prove this we multiply through by (1+a)2(1+b)2(1+ab)(1+a)^2(1+b)^2(1+ab) and simplify to obtain the equivalent inequality a3b+ab3a2b22ab+10a^3b+ab^3-a^2b^2-2ab+1 \ge 0. This can be written as ab(ab)2+(ab1)20ab(a-b)^2+(ab-1)^2 \ge 0, which is clearly true. Equality occurs if and only if a=ba = b and ab=1ab = 1, that is a=b=1a = b = 1.

Similarly
1(1+b)2+1(1+c)211+bcwith equality if and only if b=c=1, \frac{1}{(1+b)^2} + \frac{1}{(1+c)^2} \ge \frac{1}{1+bc} \quad \text{with equality if and only if } b = c = 1,
1(1+c)2+1(1+a)211+cawith equality if and only if c=a=1. \frac{1}{(1+c)^2} + \frac{1}{(1+a)^2} \ge \frac{1}{1+ca} \quad \text{with equality if and only if } c = a = 1.
Adding the three inequalities gives the desired result.

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