Find all real a, b, c, such that a2+b2+c2=26,a+b=5andb+c≥7.
Solution
We show that the only solution is a=1, b=4 and c=3. Let s=b+c≥7. Substituting a=5−b and c=s−b the first condition gives (5−b)2+b2+(s−b)2=26, thus 3b2−2(s+5)b+s2−1=0. The equation has a real solution iff the discriminant 4(s+5)2−12(s2−1)≥0. This yields s2−5s−14≤0, or (s+2)(s−7)≤0. Since s≥7, there must be s=7. If we substitute to the previous equation we get 3b2−24b+48=0; with the only solution b=4. Then a=1 and c=3.
Looking for a route rather than 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.