Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 6.0 AIME, harder Prove it Philippines

Problem:

Let aa, bb, cc, and dd be real numbers such that abcda \geq b \geq c \geq d and
a+b+c+d=13a2+b2+c2+d2=43 \begin{aligned} a+b+c+d & = 13 \\ a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2} & = 43 \end{aligned}
Show that ab3+cdab \geq 3 + cd.

Solution

Solution:

Since (ad)(bc)0(a-d)(b-c) \geq 0 and (ab)(cd)0(a-b)(c-d) \geq 0, then
ab+cdac+bdad+bc ab + cd \geq ac + bd \geq ad + bc
From Equations (4) and (5), we have
(ab+cd)+(ac+bd)+(ad+bc)=12[(a+b+c+d)2(a2+b2+c2+d2)]=12(13243)=63 \begin{gathered} (ab + cd) + (ac + bd) + (ad + bc) = \frac{1}{2}\left[(a+b+c+d)^{2} - \left(a^{2}+b^{2}+c^{2}+d^{2}\right)\right] = \\ \frac{1}{2}\left(13^{2} - 43\right) = 63 \end{gathered}
Thus, using Equation (6), we have ab+cd633=21ab + cd \geq \frac{63}{3} = 21. Since c+d=13(a+b)c + d = 13 - (a + b), then
(a+b)2+[13(a+b)]2=(a+b)2+(c+d)2=(a2+b2+c2+d2)+2(ab+cd)43+2(21)=85 \begin{aligned} (a+b)^{2} + [13 - (a+b)]^{2} & = (a+b)^{2} + (c+d)^{2} \\ & = \left(a^{2} + b^{2} + c^{2} + d^{2}\right) + 2(ab + cd) \\ & \geq 43 + 2(21) = 85 \end{aligned}
Thus, we have
(a+b)2+16926(a+b)+(a+b)285(a+b)213(a+b)+420(a+b6)(a+b7)0 \begin{aligned} (a+b)^{2} + 169 - 26(a+b) + (a+b)^{2} & \geq 85 \\ (a+b)^{2} - 13(a+b) + 42 & \geq 0 \\ (a+b-6)(a+b-7) & \geq 0 \end{aligned}
which means either a+b6a+b \leq 6 or a+b7a+b \geq 7. However, since 2(a+b)a+b+c+d=132(a+b) \geq a+b+c+d = 13, then a+b6.5a+b \geq 6.5. Thus, a+b7a+b \geq 7. From this, we have
(a+b)2+(cd)272+02a2+b2+c2+d2+2ab2cd4943+2(abcd)49abcd3ab3+cd \begin{aligned} (a+b)^{2} + (c-d)^{2} & \geq 7^{2} + 0^{2} \\ a^{2} + b^{2} + c^{2} + d^{2} + 2ab - 2cd & \geq 49 \\ 43 + 2(ab - cd) & \geq 49 \\ ab - cd & \geq 3 \\ ab & \geq 3 + cd \end{aligned}

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