If the inequality x2+2xy⩽a(x2+y2) holds for all positive numbers x and y, find the minimum value of the real number a.
Official solution
From the given condition, we have a⩾x2+y2x2+2xy.
Consider x2+y2=(1−m2)x2+m2x2+y2(m>0).
Applying the basic inequality, we have (1−m2)x2+m2x2+y2⩾(1−m2)x2+2mxy, with equality holding if and only if mx=y.
Thus, x2+y2x2+2xy⩽(1−m2)x2+2mxyx2+2xy.
When 1−m2=m, i.e., m=25−1, x2+y2x2+2xy attains its maximum value of 5−12=25+1.
Therefore, a⩾25+1, so the minimum value of a is 25+1.
This problem requires the application of the basic inequality to find the minimum value of a. Pay attention to the transformation and the conditions for equality to hold. This is a moderate-difficulty problem.
Source: NuminaMath-1.5,
licensed Apache-2.0.
Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added
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