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Algebra Difficulty 5.6 AIME, harder Prove it Belarus

Prove that
xyzt(x+y)(z+t)(x+z)2(y+t)24(x+y+z+t)2 \frac{xyzt}{(x+y)(z+t)} \le \frac{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2}{4(x+y+z+t)^2}
for all positive numbers xx, yy, zz, tt.

Solution

The required inequality
xyzt(x+y)(z+t)(x+z)2(y+t)24(x+y+z+t)2 \frac{xyzt}{(x+y)(z+t)} \le \frac{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2}{4(x+y+z+t)^2}
is equivalent to the inequality
(x+y)(z+t)xyzt4(x+y+z+t)2(x+z)2(y+t)2 \frac{(x+y)(z+t)}{xyzt} \ge \frac{4(x+y+z+t)^2}{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2}
(1)
Note that
2(x+y+z+t)(x+z)(y+t)=2x+z+2y+t \frac{2(x+y+z+t)}{(x+z)(y+t)} = \frac{2}{x+z} + \frac{2}{y+t}
By A.M. - G.M. inequality,
2x+z1xz,2y+t1yt \frac{2}{x+z} \le \frac{1}{\sqrt{xz}}, \quad \frac{2}{y+t} \le \frac{1}{\sqrt{yt}}
hence
4(x+y+z+t)2(x+z)2(y+t)2(1xz+1yt)2 \frac{4(x+y+z+t)^2}{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2} \le \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{xz}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{yt}} \right)^2
Further,
(x+y)(z+t)xyzt=xz+xt+yz+ytxyzt \frac{(x+y)(z+t)}{xyzt} = \frac{xz+xt+yz+yt}{xyzt}
=xzxyzt+xtxyzt+yzxyzt+ytxyzt = \frac{xz}{xyzt} + \frac{xt}{xyzt} + \frac{yz}{xyzt} + \frac{yt}{xyzt}
=1yt+1yz+1xt+1xz = \frac{1}{yt} + \frac{1}{yz} + \frac{1}{xt} + \frac{1}{xz}
But we can also write
(x+y)(z+t)xyzt=xz+xt+yz+ytxyzt=xz+yt+xt+yzxyzt \frac{(x+y)(z+t)}{xyzt} = \frac{xz+xt+yz+yt}{xyzt} = \frac{xz+yt+xt+yz}{xyzt}
=xz+ytxyzt+xt+yzxyzt = \frac{xz+yt}{xyzt} + \frac{xt+yz}{xyzt}
=xzxyzt+ytxyzt+xtxyzt+yzxyzt = \frac{xz}{xyzt} + \frac{yt}{xyzt} + \frac{xt}{xyzt} + \frac{yz}{xyzt}
=1yt+1xz+1xt+1yz = \frac{1}{yt} + \frac{1}{xz} + \frac{1}{xt} + \frac{1}{yz}
But the key step is to use the AM-GM inequality:
(x+y)(z+t)xyzt(1xz+1yt)2 \frac{(x+y)(z+t)}{xyzt} \ge \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{xz}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{yt}} \right)^2
From the previous step,
4(x+y+z+t)2(x+z)2(y+t)2(1xz+1yt)2 \frac{4(x+y+z+t)^2}{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2} \le \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{xz}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{yt}} \right)^2
Therefore,
(x+y)(z+t)xyzt(1xz+1yt)24(x+y+z+t)2(x+z)2(y+t)2 \frac{(x+y)(z+t)}{xyzt} \ge \left( \frac{1}{\sqrt{xz}} + \frac{1}{\sqrt{yt}} \right)^2 \ge \frac{4(x+y+z+t)^2}{(x+z)^2(y+t)^2}
which proves the required inequality.

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