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Geometry Difficulty 7.6 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it United States

Find all integers n3n \ge 3 such that among any nn positive real numbers a1,a2,,ana_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n with
max(a1,a2,,an)nmin(a1,a2,,an), \max(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n) \le n \cdot \min(a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n),
there exist three that are the side lengths of an acute triangle.

Solution

Solution. The answer is n13n \ge 13. First, we show that any n13n \ge 13 satisfies the desired condition. Suppose for the sake of contradiction that a1a2ana_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_n are integers such that max(a1,a2,,an)nmin(a1,a2,,an)\max(a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n) \le n \cdot \min(a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n) and no three are the side lengths of an acute triangle. We conclude that
ai+22ai2+ai+12(2) a_{i+2}^2 \ge a_i^2 + a_{i+1}^2 \qquad (2)
for all in2i \le n-2. Letting {Fn}\{F_n\} be the Fibonacci numbers, defined by F1=F2=1F_1 = F_2 = 1 and Fn+1=Fn+Fn1F_{n+1} = F_n + F_{n-1} for n2n \ge 2, repeated application of (2) and the ordering of the {ai}\{a_i\} implies that
ai2Fia12(3) a_i^2 \ge F_i \cdot a_1^2 \qquad (3)
for all ini \le n. Noting that F12=122F_{12} = 12^2, an easy induction shows that Fn>n2F_n > n^2 for n>12n > 12. Hence, if n13n \ge 13, (3) implies an2>n2a12a_n^2 > n^2 \cdot a_1^2, a contradiction. This shows that any n13n \ge 13 satisfies the condition of the problem.

On the other hand, for any n<13n < 13, we may take ai=Fia_i = \sqrt{F_i} for 1in1 \le i \le n, so that
max(a1,a2,,an)nmin(a1,a2,,an) \max(a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n) \le n \cdot \min(a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n)
holds because Fnn2F_n \le n^2 for n12n \le 12. Further, for i<ji < j, we have Fi+FjFj+1F_i + F_j \le F_{j+1}, which shows that for i<j<ki < j < k, we have ak2ai2+aj2a_k^2 \ge a_i^2 + a_j^2. Hence, {ai,aj,ak}\{a_i, a_j, a_k\} are not the side lengths of an acute triangle. Therefore, all n<13n < 13 do not satisfy the conditions of the problem, and the answer is n13n \ge 13.

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