Suppose that a, b, c>0 and a2+b2+c2=3. Prove that (2a+3)2a+(2b+3)2b+(2c+3)2c≤253.
Solution
Solution 1. Observe that (2a+3)2a=4a2+12a+9a=4(a−1)2+20a+5a≤20a+5a=201⋅4a+14a=201−201⋅4a+11.
So, the LHS of the original inequality does not exceed 203−201(4a+11+4b+11+4c+11). It now is sufficient to prove 4a+11+4b+11+4c+11≥53, because then (2a+3)2a+(2b+3)2b+(2c+3)2c≤203−201⋅53=253. By the AM-HM or the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, 4a+11+4b+11+4c+11≥4a+4b+4c+39. Using a2+b2+c2=3, the QM-AM inequality implies 3a+b+c≤3a2+b2+c2=1, hence 4a+4b+4c+3≤15 and we obtain 4a+11+4b+11+4c+11≥159=53, as required.
Solution 2. Note that the function f(x)=−x/(2x+3)2 is convex on the interval [0,3], since f′′(x)=(2x+3)48(3−x)≥0 for such x. Hence, we can use Jensen's inequality, (f(a)+f(b)+f(c))/3≥f((a+b+c)/3), and obtain 31((2a+3)2a+(2b+3)2b+(2c+3)2c)≤(2t+3)2t, where t=3a+b+c. The QM-AM inequality implies t≤3a2+b2+c2=1. Using this and (2t+3)2≥(2t+3)2−(2t−2)2=20t+5=5(4t+1), we get (2t+3)2t≤5(4t+1)t=201(1−4t+11)≤201(1−51)=251 which gives the desired inequality.
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