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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it

(1) Compare the size of log23\log_{2}3 and log34\log_{3}4, log34\log_{3}4 and log45\log_{4}5, and deduce a general conclusion. Prove your conclusion.
(2) Given aa, bb, xx, yRy \in R, prove that (a2+b2)(x2+y2)(ax+by)2(a^{2}+b^{2})(x^{2}+y^{2}) \geq (ax+by)^{2}, and use this conclusion to find the minimum value of (sin2x+cos2x)(1sin2x+4cos2x)(\sin^{2}x + \cos^{2}x)(\frac{1}{\sin^{2}x} + \frac{4}{\cos^{2}x}) where xRx \in R.

Solution

(1) For the first part of the problem, we will compare log23\log_{2}3 and log34\log_{3}4:

log23log34=log3log2log4log3=log23log2log4log2log3\log_{2}3 - \log_{3}4 = \frac{\log 3}{\log 2} - \frac{\log 4}{\log 3} = \frac{\log^{2}3 - \log 2 \log 4}{\log 2 \log 3}.

Applying the AM-GM inequality, we have:

log23log2log4>log23(log2+log42)2>log23(12log9)2=0\log^{2}3 - \log 2 \log 4 > \log^{2}3 - (\frac{\log 2 + \log 4}{2})^{2} > \log^{2}3 - (\frac{1}{2}\log 9)^{2} = 0.

So, log23>log34\log_{2}3 > \log_{3}4.

Similarly, we can prove that log34>log45\log_{3}4 > \log_{4}5.

The general conclusion is that logn(n+1)>logn+1(n+2)\log_{n}(n+1) > \log_{n+1}(n+2) where nN+n \in \mathbb{N^{+}}.

To prove this, we have:

logn+1(n+2)logn(n+1)=logn+1(n+2)logn+1n0\frac{\log_{n+1}(n+2)}{\log_{n}(n+1)} = \log_{n+1}(n+2)\log_{n+1}n 0, we can conclude that logn(n+1)>logn+1(n+2)\log_{n}(n+1) > \log_{n+1}(n+2) for all nN+n \in \mathbb{N^{+}}.

(2) For the second part of the problem, we first prove that (a2+b2)(x2+y2)(ax+by)2(a^{2}+b^{2})(x^{2}+y^{2}) \geq (ax+by)^{2}:

Expanding the equation, we get:

(a2+b2)(x2+y2)(ax+by)2=a2y22abxy+b2x2=(aybx)20(a^{2}+b^{2})(x^{2}+y^{2}) - (ax+by)^{2} = a^{2}y^{2} - 2abxy + b^{2}x^{2} = (ay - bx)^{2} \geq 0.

Since (aybx)20(ay - bx)^{2} \geq 0, we can conclude that (a2+b2)(x2+y2)(ax+by)2(a^{2}+b^{2})(x^{2}+y^{2}) \geq (ax+by)^{2}.

Now, let's apply this conclusion to find the minimum value of (sin2x+cos2x)(1sin2x+4cos2x)(\sin^{2}x+\cos^{2}x)(\frac{1}{\sin^{2}x}+\frac{4}{\cos^{2}x}):

Applying the proved inequality, we have:

(sin2x+cos2x)(1sin2x+4cos2x)9(\sin^{2}x+\cos^{2}x)(\frac{1}{\sin^{2}x}+\frac{4}{\cos^{2}x}) \geq 9.

\boxed{The minimum value of (\sin^{2}x+\cos^{2}x)(\frac{1}{\sin^{2}x}+\frac{4}{\cos^{2}x}) is 9.}

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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.