Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 362 of 400 #1362 of 1964

Problem 1362

National olympiad, first round
Algebra Difficulty 6.8 Find the answer

Let f:(0,+)Rf : (0,+\infty) \to \mathbb{R} a convex function and α,β,γ>0\alpha, \beta, \gamma > 0. Then 16α06αf(x)dx + 16β06βf(x)dx + 16γ06γf(x)dx\frac{1}{6\alpha}\int \limits_0^{6\alpha}f(x)dx\ +\ \frac{1}{6\beta}\int \limits_0^{6\beta}f(x)dx\ +\ \frac{1}{6\gamma}\int \limits_0^{6\gamma}f(x)dx 13α+2β+γ03α+2β+γf(x)dx + 1α+3β+2γ0α+3β+2γf(x)dx \geq \frac{1}{3\alpha +2\beta +\gamma}\int \limits_0^{3\alpha +2\beta +\gamma}f(x)dx\ +\ \frac{1}{\alpha +3\beta +2\gamma}\int \limits_0^{\alpha +3\beta +2\gamma}f(x)dx\ + 12α+β+3γ02α+β+3γf(x)dx+\ \frac{1}{2\alpha +\beta +3\gamma}\int \limits_0^{2\alpha +\beta +3\gamma}f(x)dx

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Official solution

1. Understanding the Problem:
We are given a convex function f:(0,+)R f : (0, +\infty) \to \mathbb{R} and positive constants α,β,γ\alpha, \beta, \gamma. We need to prove the inequality involving integrals of f f over different intervals.

2. Convex Function Property:
Recall that a function f f is convex if for any x1,x2(0,+) x_1, x_2 \in (0, +\infty) and λ[0,1] \lambda \in [0, 1] :
f(λx1+(1λ)x2)λf(x1)+(1λ)f(x2). f(\lambda x_1 + (1-\lambda) x_2) \leq \lambda f(x_1) + (1-\lambda) f(x_2).
This property will be useful in our proof.

3. Averaging Property of Integrals:
For a convex function f f , the average value of f f over an interval is less than or equal to the value of f f at the midpoint of the interval. Formally, for any interval [a,b][a, b]:
1baabf(x)dxf(a+b2). \frac{1}{b-a} \int_a^b f(x) \, dx \leq f\left(\frac{a+b}{2}\right).

4. Applying the Convexity:
We need to show:
16α06αf(x)dx+16β06βf(x)dx+16γ06γf(x)dx13α+2β+γ03α+2β+γf(x)dx+1α+3β+2γ0α+3β+2γf(x)dx+12α+β+3γ02α+β+3γf(x)dx. \frac{1}{6\alpha}\int_0^{6\alpha} f(x) \, dx + \frac{1}{6\beta}\int_0^{6\beta} f(x) \, dx + \frac{1}{6\gamma}\int_0^{6\gamma} f(x) \, dx \geq \frac{1}{3\alpha + 2\beta + \gamma}\int_0^{3\alpha + 2\beta + \gamma} f(x) \, dx + \frac{1}{\alpha + 3\beta + 2\gamma}\int_0^{\alpha + 3\beta + 2\gamma} f(x) \, dx + \frac{1}{2\alpha + \beta + 3\gamma}\int_0^{2\alpha + \beta + 3\gamma} f(x) \, dx.

5. Using Jensen's Inequality:
Jensen's inequality for integrals states that for a convex function f f and a probability measure μ \mu :
f(xdμ(x))f(x)dμ(x). f\left(\int x \, d\mu(x)\right) \leq \int f(x) \, d\mu(x).
Applying this to our problem, we consider the weighted averages of the integrals.

6. Combining the Integrals:
We need to show that the weighted average of the integrals on the left-hand side is greater than or equal to the weighted average of the integrals on the right-hand side. This follows from the convexity of f f and the fact that the intervals on the left-hand side are larger, thus the average value of f f over these intervals is greater.

7. Conclusion:
By the properties of convex functions and Jensen's inequality, the given inequality holds.

\blacksquare

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