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Algebra Difficulty 7.3 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it

Let P(X)=anXn+an1Xn1++a1X+a0P(X) = a_n X^n + a_{n-1} X^{n-1} + \cdots + a_1 X + a_0 be a polynomial with real coefficients such that 0aia00 \leqslant a_i \leqslant a_0 for i=1,2,,ni = 1, 2, \ldots, n. Prove that, if P(X)2=b2n X2n +b2n1X2n1++bn+1Xn+1++b1X+b0P(X)^2 = b_{2n} X^{2n} + b_{2n-1} X^{2n-1} + \cdots + b_{n+1} X^{n+1} + \cdots + b_1 X + b_0, then 4bn+1P(1)24 b_{n+1} \leqslant P(1)^2.

Solution

1. **Express P(1) P(1) and P(1)2 P(1)^2 :**
P(1)=i=0nai P(1) = \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i
P(1)2=(i=0nai)2 P(1)^2 = \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \right)^2

2. **Expand P(1)2 P(1)^2 using the binomial theorem:**
P(1)2=(i=0nai)2=i=0nai2+20i<jnaiaj P(1)^2 = \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \right)^2 = \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i^2 + 2 \sum_{0 \leq i < j \leq n} a_i a_j

3. **Express P(X)2 P(X)^2 in terms of its coefficients:**
P(X)2=b2nX2n+b2n1X2n1++bn+1Xn+1++b1X+b0 P(X)^2 = b_{2n} X^{2n} + b_{2n-1} X^{2n-1} + \cdots + b_{n+1} X^{n+1} + \cdots + b_1 X + b_0

4. **Identify the coefficient bn+1 b_{n+1} in P(X)2 P(X)^2 :**
The coefficient bn+1 b_{n+1} is the sum of products of coefficients ai a_i and aj a_j such that i+j=n+1 i + j = n+1 :
bn+1=i=0naian+1i b_{n+1} = \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i a_{n+1-i}

5. **Relate bn+1 b_{n+1} to P(1)2 P(1)^2 :**
Since 0aia0 0 \leq a_i \leq a_0 for all i i , we have:
bn+1=i=0naian+1ii=0naia0=a0i=0nai b_{n+1} = \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i a_{n+1-i} \leq \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i a_0 = a_0 \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i

6. **Use the inequality to bound 4bn+1 4b_{n+1} :**
4bn+14a0i=0nai 4b_{n+1} \leq 4 a_0 \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i

7. **Compare with P(1)2 P(1)^2 :**
P(1)2=(i=0nai)2 P(1)^2 = \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \right)^2
Since a0i=0nai a_0 \leq \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i , we have:
4a0i=0nai4(i=0nai)2 4 a_0 \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \leq 4 \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \right)^2

8. Conclude the inequality:
4bn+14(i=0nai)2=P(1)2 4b_{n+1} \leq 4 \left( \sum_{i=0}^{n} a_i \right)^2 = P(1)^2

\blacksquare

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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.