Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /3 of 16

, 2023

Algebra Difficulty 7.8 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Turkey

Find the smallest value of
xy3z2+4zx8yz4xy xy^3z^2 + \frac{4z}{x} - 8yz - \frac{4}{xy}
where xx, yy, zz are positive real numbers satisfying at least one of the following inequalities:
2xy>1 and yz>1. 2xy > 1 \text{ and } yz > 1.

Solution

4. For any x>0x > 0, we have
P(x)=xnQ(1/x)Q(x)=P(1/x)xnxnQ(1/x)=P(x) P(x) = x^n Q(1/x) \ge Q(x) = P(1/x) x^n \ge x^n Q(1/x) = P(x)
hence we have equalities in each step so P(x)=Q(x)P(x) = Q(x) for all positive values of xx, hence for all xx.

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.