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Algebra Difficulty 5.1 AIME, harder Find the answer

2. Let x,y,zx, y, z be real numbers, not all zero. Then the maximum value of the function f(x,y,z)=xy+yzx2+y2+z2f(x, y, z)=\frac{x y+y z}{x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}} is \qquad

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

2. 22\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}.

Introduce positive parameters λ,μ\lambda, \mu.
Since λ2x2+y22λxy,μ2y2+z22μyz\lambda^{2} x^{2}+y^{2} \geqslant 2 \lambda x y, \mu^{2} y^{2}+z^{2} \geqslant 2 \mu y z. Therefore, xyλ2x2+12λy2,yzμ2y2+12μz2x y \leqslant \frac{\lambda}{2} \cdot x^{2}+\frac{1}{2 \lambda} \cdot y^{2}, y z \leqslant \frac{\mu}{2} \cdot y^{2}+\frac{1}{2 \mu} \cdot z^{2}.
Adding the two inequalities, we get
xy+yzλ2x2+(12λ+μ2)y2+12μz2x y+y z \leqslant \frac{\lambda}{2} \cdot x^{2}+\left(\frac{1}{2 \lambda}+\frac{\mu}{2}\right) y^{2}+\frac{1}{2 \mu} \cdot z^{2}.
Let λ2=12λ+μ2=12μ\frac{\lambda}{2}=\frac{1}{2 \lambda}+\frac{\mu}{2}=\frac{1}{2 \mu}, we get λ=2,μ=12\lambda=\sqrt{2}, \mu=\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}.
Thus, xy+yz22(x2+y2+z2)x y+y z \leqslant \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}\left(x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}\right).
Therefore, the maximum value of f(x,y,z)=xy+yzx2+y2+z2f(x, y, z)=\frac{x y+y z}{x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}} is 22\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.