Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 36 of 400 #1036 of 1964

Problem 1036

National olympiad, first round
Algebra Difficulty 6.0 Prove it

Question 2 Given that a,b,ca, b, c are positive numbers, prove:
a2+bcb+c+b2+cac+a+c2+aba+ba+b+c\frac{a^{2}+b c}{b+c}+\frac{b^{2}+c a}{c+a}+\frac{c^{2}+a b}{a+b} \geqslant a+b+c

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, then read the official solution and mark yourself. Be honest about it: the record is only any use to you if it is.

Official solution

Prove that for positive numbers x,y,zx, y, z,
zxy(xy)2+xyz(yz)2+yzx(zx)20,\frac{z}{x y}(x-y)^{2}+\frac{x}{y z}(y-z)^{2}+\frac{y}{z x}(z-x)^{2} \geqslant 0,

By transformation, we can get yzx+zxy+xyzx+y+z\frac{y z}{x}+\frac{z x}{y}+\frac{x y}{z} \geqslant x+y+z
Let x=b+c,y=c+a,z=a+bx=b+c, y=c+a, z=a+b, substitute into the inequality
(3), we get
(c+a)(a+b)b+c+(a+b)(b+c)c+a+(b+c)(c+a)a+b2(a+b+c), i.e. a2+bc+a(b+c)b+c+b2+ca+b(c+a)c+a+c2+ab+c(a+b)a+b2(a+b+c),\begin{array}{l} \quad \frac{(c+a)(a+b)}{b+c}+\frac{(a+b)(b+c)}{c+a}+ \\ \frac{(b+c)(c+a)}{a+b} \geqslant 2(a+b+c), \\ \quad \text { i.e. } \frac{a^{2}+b c+a(b+c)}{b+c}+\frac{b^{2}+c a+b(c+a)}{c+a}+ \\ \frac{c^{2}+a b+c(a+b)}{a+b} \geqslant 2(a+b+c), \end{array}

Thus, a2+bcb+c+b2+cac+a+c2+aba+ba+b+c\frac{a^{2}+b c}{b+c}+\frac{b^{2}+c a}{c+a}+\frac{c^{2}+a b}{a+b} \geqslant a+b+c.

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