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Algebra Difficulty 6.4 National olympiad Prove it Ireland

Suppose that aa, bb, cc are positive real numbers and a+b+c=3a + b + c = 3. Prove that
a+bc+2+b+ca+2+c+ab+22 \frac{a+b}{c+2} + \frac{b+c}{a+2} + \frac{c+a}{b+2} \ge 2
and determine when equality holds.

Solution

Solution 1. Adding 33 to each side, we have to show
5a+bc+2+1+b+ca+2+1+c+ab+2+1=(a+b+c+2)(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2)=5(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2) \begin{aligned} 5 &\le \frac{a+b}{c+2} + 1 + \frac{b+c}{a+2} + 1 + \frac{c+a}{b+2} + 1 \\ &= (a+b+c+2) \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right) \\ &= 5 \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right) \end{aligned}
Dividing by 55, this is equivalent to
1a+2+1b+2+1c+21(4) \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \ge 1 \quad (4)
Alternatively, we may substitute a+b=3c=5(c+2)a + b = 3 - c = 5 - (c + 2) in the first numerator and so on, which again leads us to (4). Now Jensen's inequality applied to the convex function f(x)=1x+2f(x) = \frac{1}{x+2} at the points aa, bb, cc implies:
13(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2)113(a+b+c)+2=13. \frac{1}{3} \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right) \ge \frac{1}{\frac{1}{3}(a+b+c)+2} = \frac{1}{3}.
Equality holds (in general) when a=b=ca = b = c and in this specific case when a=b=c=1a = b = c = 1 since we are given a+b+c=3a + b + c = 3.

Rather than invoking Jensen's inequality, (4) can be proved by appeal to the AM-HM inequality, the AM-GM inequality or the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. The AM-HM inequality application is immediate after multiplication by (a+2)+(b+2)+(c+2)=9(a+2) + (b+2) + (c+2) = 9. The use of AM-GM requires two steps:
13(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2)1(a+2)(b+2)(c+2)33a+2+b+2+c+2=13. \begin{aligned} \frac{1}{3} \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right) &\ge \frac{1}{\sqrt[3]{(a+2)(b+2)(c+2)}} \\ &\ge \frac{3}{a+2+b+2+c+2} = \frac{1}{3}. \end{aligned}
The Cauchy-Schwarz approach applies the inequality to the vectors
(a+2,b+2,c+2)and(1a+2,1b+2,1c+2) \left(\sqrt{a+2}, \sqrt{b+2}, \sqrt{c+2}\right) \quad \text{and} \quad \left(\frac{1}{\sqrt{a+2}}, \frac{1}{\sqrt{b+2}}, \frac{1}{\sqrt{c+2}}\right)
whence
9((a+2)+(b+2)+(c+2))(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2)=9(1a+2+1b+2+1c+2). \begin{aligned} 9 &\le ((a+2) + (b+2) + (c+2)) \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right) \\ &= 9 \left( \frac{1}{a+2} + \frac{1}{b+2} + \frac{1}{c+2} \right). \end{aligned}

a+b5ab+3aa+2+3bb+22. \frac{a+b}{5-a-b} + \frac{3-a}{a+2} + \frac{3-b}{b+2} \geq 2.
Cross-multiplying and moving all terms to the left (noting all the denominators are positive) gives: 5a2b+5ab2+5a2+5b210ab15a15b+2005a^2b + 5ab^2 + 5a^2 + 5b^2 - 10ab - 15a - 15b + 20 \geq 0. The left hand side can be rearranged as 5b(a1)2+5a(b1)2+5(a+b2)25b(a-1)^2 + 5a(b-1)^2 + 5(a+b-2)^2. This is non-negative, and zero iff a=b=1a = b = 1.

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