Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /6 of 30

Algebra Difficulty 4.7 AIME Prove it Ireland

Suppose x,y,zx, y, z are positive numbers such that
1=2xyz+xy+yz+zx. 1 = 2xyz + xy + yz + zx.
Prove that there are positive numbers a,b,ca, b, c such that
x=ab+c,y=bc+a,z=ca+b. x = \frac{a}{b+c}, \quad y = \frac{b}{c+a}, \quad z = \frac{c}{a+b}.

Solution

Since
det(1xxy1yzz1)=12xyzxyyzzx, \det \begin{pmatrix} 1 & -x & -x \\ -y & 1 & -y \\ -z & -z & 1 \end{pmatrix} = 1 - 2xyz - xy - yz - zx,
the determinant of the system of equations
axbxc=0,yab+yc=0,za+zbc=0,(2) a - xb - xc = 0, \quad ya - b + yc = 0, \quad za + zb - c = 0, \quad (2)
in the variables a,b,ca, b, c, is equal to zero by hypothesis. Hence, there are numbers a,b,ca, b, c, not all of which are zero, that satisfy the system (2), in which case
a=(b+c)x,b=(c+a)y,c=(a+b)z. a = (b+c)x, \quad b = (c+a)y, \quad c = (a+b)z.
Since x,y,zx, y, z are positive, none of a,b,ca, b, c is equal to zero and so a(b+c),b(c+a)a(b+c), b(c+a) and c(a+b)c(a+b) are also positive, whence a,b,ca, b, c have the same sign. The result follows.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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