Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 228 of 400 #1228 of 1964

Problem 1228

National olympiad, first round
Combinatorics Difficulty 6.4 Find the answer

Determine all triplets (a,b,c)(a,b,c) of real numbers such that sets {a24c,b22a,c22b}\{a^2-4c, b^2-2a, c^2-2b \} and {ac,b4c,a+b}\{a-c,b-4c,a+b\} are equal and 2a+2b+6=5c2a+2b+6=5c. In every set all elements are pairwise distinct

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

Official solution

1. We are given the equations:
2a+2b+6=5c 2a + 2b + 6 = 5c
and
{a24c,b22a,c22b}={ac,b4c,a+b} \{a^2 - 4c, b^2 - 2a, c^2 - 2b\} = \{a - c, b - 4c, a + b\}
where the elements in each set are distinct.

2. According to the set equality, we have:
(a24c)+(b22a)+(c22b)=(ac)+(b4c)+(a+b) (a^2 - 4c) + (b^2 - 2a) + (c^2 - 2b) = (a - c) + (b - 4c) + (a + b)
Simplifying the right-hand side:
(ac)+(b4c)+(a+b)=ac+b4c+a+b=2a+2b5c (a - c) + (b - 4c) + (a + b) = a - c + b - 4c + a + b = 2a + 2b - 5c
Therefore, we have:
a2+b2+c22a2b4c=2a+2b5c a^2 + b^2 + c^2 - 2a - 2b - 4c = 2a + 2b - 5c

3. Combining this with the given equation 2a+2b+6=5c2a + 2b + 6 = 5c, we substitute 5c=2a+2b+65c = 2a + 2b + 6 into the equation:
a2+b2+c22a2b4c=6 a^2 + b^2 + c^2 - 2a - 2b - 4c = -6
Rearranging terms, we get:
a2+b2+c22a2b4c+6=0 a^2 + b^2 + c^2 - 2a - 2b - 4c + 6 = 0
This can be rewritten as:
(a1)2+(b1)2+(c2)2=0 (a - 1)^2 + (b - 1)^2 + (c - 2)^2 = 0

4. Since the sum of squares is zero, each square must individually be zero:
(a1)2=0    a=1 (a - 1)^2 = 0 \implies a = 1
(b1)2=0    b=1 (b - 1)^2 = 0 \implies b = 1
(c2)2=0    c=2 (c - 2)^2 = 0 \implies c = 2

5. We now verify that the triplet (a,b,c)=(1,1,2)(a, b, c) = (1, 1, 2) satisfies the original conditions:
- For the equation 2a+2b+6=5c2a + 2b + 6 = 5c:
2(1)+2(1)+6=5(2)    2+2+6=10    10=10 2(1) + 2(1) + 6 = 5(2) \implies 2 + 2 + 6 = 10 \implies 10 = 10
This is true.
- For the set equality:
{a24c,b22a,c22b}={124(2),122(1),222(1)}={7,1,2} \{a^2 - 4c, b^2 - 2a, c^2 - 2b\} = \{1^2 - 4(2), 1^2 - 2(1), 2^2 - 2(1)\} = \{-7, -1, 2\}
{ac,b4c,a+b}={12,14(2),1+1}={1,7,2} \{a - c, b - 4c, a + b\} = \{1 - 2, 1 - 4(2), 1 + 1\} = \{-1, -7, 2\}
Both sets are {7,1,2}\{-7, -1, 2\}, which are equal.

The final answer is (1,1,2) \boxed{ (1, 1, 2) } .

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