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Algebra Difficulty 6.1 National Olympiad Prove it Ireland

Suppose, for some pair of real numbers x,yx, y, the real numbers a,b,ca, b, c satisfy the five equations
a+b+c=1bcx2ya=0a2+b2+c2=3cax2yb=0abx2yc=0. \begin{aligned} a+b+c &= 1 & bc-x-2ya &= 0 \\ a^2+b^2+c^2 &= 3 & ca-x-2yb &= 0 \\ ab-x-2yc &= 0. \end{aligned}
Prove that abcabc is either 1-1 or 527\frac{5}{27}.

Solution

Label the given equations as follows:
a+b+c=1(10) a + b + c = 1 \tag{10}
a2+b2+c2=3(11) a^2 + b^2 + c^2 = 3 \tag{11}
bcx2ya=0(12) bc - x - 2ya = 0 \tag{12}
cax2yb=0(13) ca - x - 2yb = 0 \tag{13}
abx2yc=0.(14) ab - x - 2yc = 0. \tag{14}

Solution 1. Eliminate xx by subtracting (13) from (12), and (14) from (13) to get c(ba)=2y(ab)c(b-a) = 2y(a-b) and a(cb)=2y(bc)a(c-b) = 2y(b-c). From these it follows that
c(ba)(bc)=2y(ab)(bc)=a(cb)(ab), c(b-a)(b-c) = 2y(a-b)(b-c) = a(c-b)(a-b),
i.e.,
0=a(cb)(ab)c(ba)(bc)=(ab)(bc)(ca). 0 = a(c-b)(a-b) - c(b-a)(b-c) = (a-b)(b-c)(c-a).

So, one of ab,bc,caa-b, b-c, c-a must be zero. Wlog, suppose that a=ba=b. Then, by (10) and (11),
2a+c=1and2a2+c2=3. 2a + c = 1 \quad \text{and} \quad 2a^2 + c^2 = 3.
Hence 3=2a2+(12a)2=6a24a+13 = 2a^2 + (1-2a)^2 = 6a^2 - 4a + 1 and so 0=(a1)(3a+1)0 = (a-1)(3a+1). If a=1a=1, we have a=b=1a=b=1 and c=12a=1c = 1 - 2a = -1 which gives abc=1abc = -1. If a=1/3a = -1/3, we have a=b=1/3a = b = -1/3, c=12a=5/3c = 1 - 2a = 5/3 and so abc=5/27abc = 5/27.

Solution 2. From (10) and (11) we obtain
2=(a+b+c)2(a2+b2+c2)=2(ab+bc+ca), i.e. -2 = (a + b + c)^2 - (a^2 + b^2 + c^2) = 2(ab + bc + ca), \text{ i.e.}
ab+bc+ca=1.(15) ab + bc + ca = -1. \tag{15}

Adding (12), (13) and (14) together, and using (10) and (15) we get
3x+2y=1.(16) 3x + 2y = -1. \tag{16}

Multiplying (12), (13) and (14) by a,b,ca, b, c, respectively, then adding these together and using (10) and (11) gives us
x+6y=3abc.(17) x + 6y = 3abc. \tag{17}

1=(ab+bc+ca)2using (15)=(ab)2+(bc)2+(ca)2+2abc(a+b+c)=(x+2ya)2+(x+2yb)2+(x+2yc)2+2abcby (12), (13), (14)=3x2+4xy+12y2+2abcusing (10), (11)=x(3x+2y)+2y(x+6y)+2abc=x+6yabc+2abcusing (16), (17)=6y3abc+6yabc+2abcusing (17) again=6y(abc+1)abc. \begin{align*} 1 &= (ab + bc + ca)^2 && \text{using (15)} \\ &= (ab)^2 + (bc)^2 + (ca)^2 + 2abc(a + b + c) \\ &= (x + 2ya)^2 + (x + 2yb)^2 + (x + 2yc)^2 + 2abc && \text{by (12), (13), (14)} \\ &= 3x^2 + 4xy + 12y^2 + 2abc && \text{using (10), (11)} \\ &= x(3x + 2y) + 2y(x + 6y) + 2abc \\ &= -x + 6yabc + 2abc && \text{using (16), (17)} \\ &= 6y - 3abc + 6yabc + 2abc && \text{using (17) again} \\ &= 6y(abc + 1) - abc. \end{align*}

0=6y(abc+1)abc1=(6y1)(abc+1). 0 = 6y(abc + 1) - abc - 1 = (6y - 1)(abc + 1).
Therefore, either abc=1abc = -1, or y=1/6y = 1/6. In the latter case, equation (16)
gives x=4/9x = -4/9 and then (17) implies abc=5/27abc = 5/27.

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