Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it JBMO

Problem:
Let xx, yy, zz be non-negative real numbers satisfying x+y+z=xyzx + y + z = x y z. Prove that
2(x2+y2+z2)3(x+y+z) 2\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right) \geq 3(x + y + z)
and determine when equality occurs.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Solution:
Equality holds when x=y=z=0x = y = z = 0.
Apply AM-GM to x+y+z=xyzx + y + z = x y z,
xyz=x+y+z3xyz3(xyz)3(3xyz3)3x3y3z327xyzx2y2z227x2y2z233 \begin{aligned} & x y z = x + y + z \geq 3 \sqrt[3]{x y z} \Rightarrow (x y z)^{3} \geq (3 \sqrt[3]{x y z})^{3} \\ & \Rightarrow x^{3} y^{3} z^{3} \geq 27 x y z \\ & \Rightarrow x^{2} y^{2} z^{2} \geq 27 \\ & \Rightarrow \sqrt[3]{x^{2} y^{2} z^{2}} \geq 3 \end{aligned}
Also by AM-GM we have, x2+y2+z23x2y2z239x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2} \geq 3 \sqrt[3]{x^{2} y^{2} z^{2}} \geq 9.
Therefore we get x2+y2+z29x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2} \geq 9.
Now,
2(x2+y2+z2)3(x+y+z)2(x2+y2+z2)3(x+y+z)22(x2+y2+z2)32(x+y+z)4(x2+y2+z2)32(x+y+z)x2+y2+z2+(x2+y2+z2)32(x+y+z)3+x23+3+y23+3+z232(x+y+z)3+x23+3+y23+3+z232(x+y+z)23x23+23y23+23z232(x+y+z) \begin{gathered} 2\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right) \geq 3(x + y + z) \Leftrightarrow \frac{2\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right)}{3} \geq (x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow 2 \cdot \frac{2\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right)}{3} \geq 2 \cdot (x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow \frac{4\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right)}{3} \geq 2 \cdot (x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2} + \frac{\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right)}{3} \geq 2 \cdot (x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow 3 + \frac{x^{2}}{3} + 3 + \frac{y^{2}}{3} + 3 + \frac{z^{2}}{3} \geq 2(x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow 3 + \frac{x^{2}}{3} + 3 + \frac{y^{2}}{3} + 3 + \frac{z^{2}}{3} \geq 2(x + y + z) \\ \Leftrightarrow 2 \sqrt{3 \cdot \frac{x^{2}}{3}} + 2 \sqrt{3 \cdot \frac{y^{2}}{3}} + 2 \sqrt{3 \cdot \frac{z^{2}}{3}} \geq 2(x + y + z) \end{gathered}
Equality holds if 3=x23=y23=z233 = \frac{x^{2}}{3} = \frac{y^{2}}{3} = \frac{z^{2}}{3}, i.e. x=y=z=3x = y = z = 3, for which x+y+zxyzx + y + z \neq x y z.

Solution 2

Solution:
If one of the numbers is zero, then from x+y+z=xyzx + y + z = x y z all three numbers are zero and the equality trivially holds.
From AM-GM x2+y2+z23x2y2z23=3x+y+zxyz33x+y+zx+y+z3=9x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2} \geq 3 \sqrt[3]{x^{2} y^{2} z^{2}} = 3 \frac{x + y + z}{\sqrt[3]{x y z}} \geq 3 \frac{x + y + z}{\frac{x + y + z}{3}} = 9
From QM-AM x2+y2+z23(x+y+z3)2\frac{x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}}{3} \geq \left(\frac{x + y + z}{3}\right)^{2}
Multiplying (1) and (2) we get (x2+y2+z2)239(x+y+z)29=(x+y+z)2\frac{\left(x^{2} + y^{2} + z^{2}\right)^{2}}{3} \geq 9 \frac{(x + y + z)^{2}}{9} = (x + y + z)^{2}. By taking square root on both sides we deduce the stated inequality.
Equality holds only when x=y=z=3x = y = z = \sqrt{3} or x=y=z=0x = y = z = 0.

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