Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Ireland

Prove that the sequence
xn=9n1(n+9)n,n=2,3,4, x_n = \sqrt[n]{9^{n-1}(n+9)}, \quad n = 2, 3, 4, \dots
is strictly decreasing, and bounded below by 99.

Solution

To prove
xn+1=9n(n+10)n+1<9n1(n+9)n=xnfor all n2 x_{n+1} = \sqrt[n+1]{9^n(n+10)} < \sqrt[n]{9^{n-1}(n+9)} = x_n \quad \text{for all } n \ge 2
is equivalent to showing
(9n(n+10))n<(9n1(n+9))n+1for n=2,3, (9^n(n+10))^n < (9^{n-1}(n+9))^{n+1} \quad \text{for } n=2,3,\dots
Simplifying this, the claim is that
9(n+10)n<(n+9)n+1,n=2,3, 9(n + 10)^n < (n + 9)^{n+1}, \quad n = 2, 3, \dots
But, by the AM-GM inequality,
9(n+10)nn+19+n(n+10)n+1=n+9 \sqrt[n+1]{9(n+10)^n} \le \frac{9+n(n+10)}{n+1} = n+9
Hence, 9(n+10)n(n+9)n+19(n+10)^n \le (n+9)^{n+1} for all n2n \ge 2, and so, in the first place, the sequence is decreasing. Moreover, since 9n+109 \ne n+10 for any n0n \ge 0, the AM-GM inequality is strict. Hence, the sequence is strictly decreasing.

Next,
xn=9n1(n+9)n>9,n=2,3, x_n = \sqrt[n]{9^{n-1}(n+9)} > 9, \quad n = 2, 3, \dots
so xnx_n is bounded below by 99. The result follows.

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