World of Mathematics

Viet Hoang Quoc June 10, 2012

Abstract
This article is dedicated to my dear family, my parents: Hung Hoang Manh, Chuan Nguyen Thi and my brother: Dung Hoang Manh. Without their tremendous encouragement and support, this article could not have been published.

Problem 1

(Uzbekistan NMO 2011 2-round). Let

f x; y

x; y

be real numbers. Find the minimum of

p
y x

@ A a j j C @ C PA C @ RA
x

I will try to present the problem in an algebraic way. However, the exists a solution using geometry that we should hopefully gure it out soon. Let &
Solution 1.
a b

a CP aR
x y

Thus, the function becomes Using AM-GM inequality of the form Therefore, we obtain

g a; b

@ A a j C Tj C
a b

C C ! j pP j
b

C @ A ! @ A a j C Tj C j p P j Hence, it suces to minimize the function of two variables @ A. Now let a C

g a; b h a; b a b a b h a; b t a b

Thus, h@a; bA a F @tA a jt Tj C p

jj
t

The function of 2 variables becomes the function of only one variable t. This is the exact idea we are looking for in minimizing or maximizing the expression of 2 or more variables. We temporarily called this method "Reducing variables". Now, we consider 3 cases

H
< t

F t

H
t

F t

 !T

F t

I  !T @ A a T pP a T I C pP  I T @ A a T C pP a T C I pP  p I @ A a T C pP a I C pP T ! Q P
t t t t t t > t t t

Therefore, it is clear that the minimum occurs i t a T or a C b a T. We combine with the use of AM-GM inequality above to conclude that g@a; bA attains the minimum at a a b a Q or x a y a Q.
1

(11626.Cezar Lupu, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA). Let x1 ; x2 and x3 be positive numbers such that x1 C x2 C x3 a x1 x2 x3 . Treating indices modulo 3, prove that
Problem 2
3 1

p
x

CI I CI

3 1

I I Cq k CI @ k C IA@
3 2 1
x

k+1

Q C IA P C IA

Solution 2.
3 1

p
x

3 1
x

I I Cq CI k @ k C IA@
3 2 1
x

k+1

Let

V b b b b b b b b b ` b b b b b b b b b X

aI aI aI

x1

x2

x3

Thus, it implies that ab C bc C ca a I. Note that a2 C I a a2 C ab C bc C ca a @a C bA@a C cA. We transform the left hand side inequality into

cyc

or Let

p @ C A@ C A cyc @ C A@ C A C cyc @ C A @ C A@ C A
a a ab a b a c a b a c a b a b a c

cyc

a b

@ C A @ C A@ C A
c a b a c

cyc

@ C AC
b c c

ab

cyc

@ C A@ C A
a c b c

V b b b b ` b b b b X

a p C
c a abc x

a p C
b a

a pC
a b

Therefore, the above inequality becomes

@ C C A
x y z

C C CP
y

C C C C C
y

xy

yz

zx

By squaring both sides, we obtain the left hand side as follows

vr a @ C C A @ C C C P A a @ C C A @ C C ACQ @ C C A
x y z

abc

abc x

Also, by doing exactly the same way, the right hand side looks like

r a @ C C C C C A a @ C C A C P@ C C A@ C C A C @ C C A a @ C C A@ C C A C @ C C A
x

xy

yz

zx

2 2 2

xy

yz

zx

xy

yz

zx

xy

yz

zx

Thus, it suces to show that

P @ C C A
abc x y z

@ C C A
xy yz zx

Again, by carefully expand the LHS and RHS, we have

vr a P a P

abc

2
abc

cyc

CP
b

yz

cyc

cyc

@ C ACP
c

bc

cyc

@ C A@ C A
a c a b

r a C C @ A a @ A CP
xy yz zx

xy

x yz

cyc

cyc

a
It is enough to show that
2
cyc
abc a

cyc

@ A @ C A@ C A C P
ab

cyc

a bc b

@ C A @ C A@ C A
c a c a b

@ C A CR
b c

cyc

a bc

@ A @ C A@ C A
2
a c a b

cyc

@ A C Q@ A C P
ab

abc

cyc

a bc b

@ C A @ C A@ C A
c a c a b

It is quite clear from Schur inequality that

abc

cyc

@CA
b c b

cyc

@ A C Q@ A
ab

abc

Hence, we need to show or

cyc

a bc

@ A @ C A@ C A P
2
a c a

cyc

a bc b

@ C A @ C A@ C A
c a c a b

P e a

bc

cyc

@ C A@ C A
a c a b

cyc

a b

@ C A @ C A@ C A
c a c a b a b

There are several ways to show the boxed inequality above. The rst way is to use sum of square method as shown

cyc

@ @ C A P A @ C A@ C A
a b c bc a c

a a a

h
cyc cyc

@ A @ C A@ C A C @ A @ C A@ C A
ab bc a c a b cb ab a c b c

b a

cyc

p C @ A2 p p
b a a

p p @ Ap C C C
c a c a b b


c

C C
b

Thus, we are done for the rst part.

3 1
x

I Cq I k CI @ k C IA@
3 2 1
x

k+1

Q C IA P
a b b c c a

The inequality is equivalent to or we reduce it to

cyc

@ C AC
b c

ab

cyc

Q @ C A@ C A P @ C A@ C A@ C A
a c b c

P P

ab

However, this inequality is true using the AM-GM mentioned above, that is

cyc

cyc

@ C A@ C A
a c b c c b c

cyc

@ C ACT
b c c a

abc

ab

@ C A@ C A
a

cyc cyc

ab

@P C C A
b

a
3

@ C ACT
b c

abc

Problem 3 (J218. Mathematical Reection). Prove that in any triangle with sides of lenghts a; b; c, circumradius R, and inradius r, the following inequality holds:

C C C C C
ab bc ca b c b c a c a

IC

R r

Proposed by Cezar Lupu, University of Pittsburgh, USA, and Virgil Nicula, Bucharest, Romania
Solution 3.

We might nd the following identities useful

A a; b

 a R where denotes the area of the triangle with sides  a CP C

R abc A r A a b c

and c.

 IT 2 a @ C C A@ C A@ C A@ C A
A a b c a b c b c a c a b

Therefore, the original inequality becomes

cyc
a

C
b

ab

P I C @ C A@ C A@ C A
abc c a b c b a c a b

By multiplying both sides by the postive term @a C b cA@b C c aA@c C a bA, we need to show that

cyc

ab a

@ C A@ C A @ C A@ C A@ C A C P
c b b c a a b c b c a c a b

abc

Note that Thus, it suces to show that

cyc

ab a

@ C A@ C A a
c b b c a bc

ab

@ A2
a b

cyc

cyc

ab a

@ C AC
b

cyc

ab a

@ A
b

We now turn our attention to the popular method "Sum of Square" that I shall demonstrate below. We have the following identities

 3 C 3 @ C A a @ A2 @ C A p p  2 @ C A P 2 a 2 @ p A2
a b ab a a b a b a b a b c bc a b c

Therefore, we need to show that

cyc

@ p A CP
b c

cyc

bc b

@A !
c

cyc

@ C A@ A
a b a b

or or or

cyc

@ p A
b c

CP
c

p p
bc a

@ C p A @ C A@ C p A ! H
b c

p
c

cyc

@ p A
b

p p p p  @ C A2 @ A2 ! H
b c b c

cyc

@ p A
b

@ A2 ! H
b c

The last inequality is true so we are done for now.

4

Problem 4

(O219. Mathematical Reection). Let

c a

a; b; c; d d

I C I C I C I !H
a b b c d b b c c d d a

be positive real numbers that satisfy

Prove that

@I A C @I A C @I A C @I A ! H

Solution 4.

Proposed by Gabriel Dospinescu, Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, France We rewrite the condition as follows
a

ICICICI! C C C
a c c b b c d a d b b c c d d

d b

The good news is that we can write the nal outcome in a nicer way
a

@I A C @I A C @I A C @I A ! H
a b c d ab bc cd da b d a c

is equivalent to
a

or

C C C ! C C C a @ C A@ C A
a

Now, the following trick comes to eect (just if you can see how). We will complete the proof if we can show that

a

I C I !I C C
c b d a

ac

C C C
c



bd

or Notice that Thus, the inequality becomes or

I I C C C
c b d

!ICICICI
a b c d

ac a

C C C C C C C @ C AC @ C AC @ C AC @ C A! P C C a P a C @ CA @ CA
c

ac b

bd a

bd b

ac

bd

ac

ac

ac a

ac a

ac b

The last inequality is true so our proof is completed. Problem 5 (S220.Mathematical Reection). Let a; b; c be nonnegative real numbers. Prove that
r
3
a

C C C ! P C P @C A @ CA C C @ A C @ A !H @ CA @C A
c

bd a

bd a

ac b

p C C I @ @ C A C @ C A C @ C AA ! C C P
b

ab a

bc b

ca c

ab

bc

ca

Solution 5.

Amazingly, after taking the Tth following true inequality 2

cyc

Proposed by Mircea Lascu and Marius Stanean, Zalau, Romania power from both sides and write them as Sum of Square, we obtain the
3
b

V @ A C S@ A @ A @ A ! H
ab a

Notice that the following inequality, regarded as one of the best estimations in the modern approach to higher order of the variables

@ A@ A@ A a
a b

cyc

@ C A P @ C C A P
b

abc a

cyc

a c

3 3

CP

cyc

abc

ab a

@ C A T@ A
b abc

Comment

The solution looks short but it did take me ages to do calculation on the draft paper. The moral lesson is that although these computations may seem rather tedious and lengthy, it does not matter anymore because you are doing Mathematics! Now, if we set one variable to be zero, we have the following nice inequality for 2 varables Let H < x; y; z <

Problem 6.

P@ C A @ C A ! P@ C A C I and denote a @I A , a @I A and a @I A. Prove that  I C I C I!Q @I A

a

ab a

ab

ab

Solution 6.

We may rewrite the left hand side as follows

@@I A@I A@I A C

x y x

xyz

A @I I A C @I I A C @I I A
z y x z y x z x

We may consider individual term of the above expression to have a better view

@I A@I A a I C I
x z z x

and
z

Thus, we collectively need to prove that

x z

@I A a I
xyz y xz

xy y

or

cyc

I C  I C
cyc
x


z

!T

cyc

I C I !T
x z z

cyc

However, this is simply AM-GM for 2 or (6?) positive numbers. The proof is completed.
Problem 7.

Let a; b and c be side-lengths of a triangle. Prove that

 a  a

C C C C C
b b b b c c c c c c a a

    a
a

<

I IT
c a c c

Solution 7.

Note that we have the following equality

a a

C C a @ A@ A@ A C C C @ C A@ C A@ C A
b b b b b b c c a a b b c a a b b c c a < a b b c c a

Thus, we need to show that

and ja cj < b, it suces to show that

ITj@ A@ A@ Aj @ C A@ C A@ C A Without loss of generality, we may assume that a mxf g. Moreover, using the triangle inequality j j
a a; b; c a b

< c

IT j j @ C A@ C A@ C A
bc b c < a b b c c a

We assume further that b ! c in order to break the absolute value sign. Thus, the inequality is equivalent to

IT @ A @ C A@ C A@ C A
bc b c < a b b c c a

At this stage, it is enough to use AM-GM for 2 numbers to nish o the problem as follows

V @P A@ A P @ C A
b c b c b b c

Therefore, it is nice if we can show

P @ C A @ C A@ C A
b b c < a b a c

Nevertheless, this inequality is true due to the above assumptions. Hence, we nish the proof here. and let m be an integer greater than 2. Dene Pk @xA a x a x b ; k ; ; ; m: expressions P1 @xA; Pm @xA do not have any real roots, then all the remaining polynomials also don't have real roots.
2

Problem 8

(Vietnam National Olympiad 2012 Problem 2). Let

h n i and h n i be two arithmetic sequences of numbers, C k C k a I P Prove that if the quadratic

a b

Solution 8.

We have

a a a a
ak bk

a1 b1

a1 a

C @ IA C @ IA R H H mR m
k k b1 < b

d1

d2

<

Therefore, we have the following conditions

V ` X
a1 <

b1

@ C @ IA A
a1 m d1 d1

<

R @ C @ IA A
b1 m d2 d2 k ; ;:::;m

Thus, we need to show that

@ C @ IA A
a1 k

<

R@ C @ IA A V P fI P
b1 k k

or

C P @ IA C @ IA @ IA@P C @ IA R A P R C @ IA
a1

a1 d1 k a1 d1

2 2 d1
d2

< <

2 d1

a1 d1

d2

d1

<

P P
It is enough to show that This is true since m ! k.
Problem 9
b1 m

a1 d1

d2

<

R C R@ IA R R I R @ IA I
b1 k d2 b1 b1 k

2 a1 2 a1 2

b1 k

a1

d1

From the condition above, we also derive the similar structure

a1 d1

d2 <

R @ IA I
b1 a1

d1

R @ IA I
a1

d1 <

R @ IA I
b1 k a1

d1

(Number theory). Let a; b be two positive integers. Show that if divisible by 3 then A must have at least one perfect square divisor.
Solution 9.

a @PHII C PHIP A@PHIP C PHII A is

a b a b

Since A is written in a product form and 3 is a prime, we have PHIIa C PHIPb is divisible by 3 or @PHIPa C PHIIbA is divisible by 3. Wlog, suppose that 3 is a factor PHIIa C PHIPb, we would like to show that @PHIPa C PHIIbA is also a multiple of 3. However, this job is done easily with a little help of modulo. It all boils down to ja bj is divisible by 3 and thus, we complete the proof here.
Problem 10

We will show that A is divisible by 9 as follows

(Italy ITAMO 2002). Prove that if

a Sn C Qn C I is a prime then 12 divides n.

7

Solution 10.

Firstly, we need to show that 4 divides n and then using this to show that 3 also divides n.

If 2 does not divide n then m is divisible by 3. Thus, 2 divides n and as a consequence, m a S2k1 C Q2k1 C I where n a Pk1 . We continue the problem in this fashion that if k1 a Pk2 C I then m is divisible by 5. Therefore, k1 a Pk2 . Now, n a Rk2 . If k2 a Qk3 I then m is divisible by 7. We are done for now.
Problem 11

(IMO Shortlist 2001). Let

a; b; c

be positive real numbers with a C b C c a abc C P. Show that

mxf
Solution 11.

a; b; c

g!I
Valentin Vornicu

Let
V b b b b ` b b b b X
x

a I
a

a I
b

a I
c

WLOG, suppose that a a mxfa; b; cg. This implies that x ! y ! z . Suppose further that x < H. Thus, From the given condition, we have
x

H
y z

> x

! !
y

C C CQ a a I a
xyz

@ C IA@ C IA@ C IA C P

xy yz x y x y z

I I I C C

zx

Using Cauchy-Schwarz inequality, we have

I I I W C C !
x y z x y

This gives or

@ C C A ! W
x y z a

This yields the contradiction since a; b; c > H. Thus, x ! H or a ! I.

Problem 12

C C CT H
b c

(Inequality from a contest). Let

x; y

! H , Prove that :

x y

2 2

@ C PA ! @ C A@ IA.
x

xy

Solution 12.
P

xy

Let

a C
x

and

xy

. The immediate result is that

!R D !P
P S

. WLOG, we may x

It suces to show that

P

@ P PA ! @ IA
S

S P

or
P

@ IA P 2 @ C IA ! H
P S P P P S P P S P

Now, we consider We have Therefore, f or

f S

@ Aa
P

p @ IA P 2 @ C IA for ! P
P P

R @ AaP CI !R C I ! S 5 PU p @ A is increasing for ! P . Now, it is enough to check that p @P A ! H

f
0

P >

R C P @I A ! P C P
P

This is left as an exercise for readers who are interested in completing the solution.
Problem 13.

For a; b; c > H, prove that

b

2
b

C C C C C C C C
c

b b

b b

C Q C C C
a

Magazine Gazeta Matematica B,11,year 1995,author:Ion Bursuc Renement For a; b; c > H , prove that

cyc
Solution 13.
a

C C T min @ A @ A @ A Q@ C C A C @ C A@ C A@ C A@ C C A C C
b

abc

For the renement one, we might expand everything out, therefore, we need to show that (with the assumption that @a bA2 a minf@a bA2 ; @b cA2 ; @c aA2 g)

cyc
a

@ C ACT @ A
b

abc a

cyc

a b

@ C A
4
c

or

T @ A
abc a b

ab a

@ A@ C A
b

Therefore, we give an estimation for the right hand side

cyc
ab a

@ A @ C A!@ A
b

4
2

cyc

ab a

@ C A !T @ A
b abc a b

Thus, the proof is complete.

Problem 14

(Korea National Olympiad 2012). Let

x

x; y; z

be positive real numbers. Prove that

yz z

P C P C P C @ Cp C A C @ Cp C A C @ Cp C A !I
2
xy y

zx

xz

2 z

xy

2 x

yz

Solution 14.

Firstly, we have the following estimation using Cauchy-Schwarz inequality for 3 positive real numbers
y

C Cp
z x

p
xz

@ C C A@P C A
x y z z y x

Thus, the following inequality holds

P C P C @ C p C A ! @ C C A@P C A
2
xy

xy

xz

2 z

It suces to show that

x

or or

@P C A C @P C A C @P C A ! C C CP CP CP
x y y y z z z x y z z x x y x y

P@ C C A
x y z


y

CP C CP C CP
x y z z z x x x y z z z x x


y

! P@ C C A
x y z

This is single-handedly the result from Cauchy-Schwarz inequality. Let a, b be real numbers such that sin3 a
a

CP C CP C CP !I
y

The following problems appear in the Mathematical Reection Magazine Issue 2 2012.
Problem 15.
3
a b

R os I . Prove that Q R Q sin os CI R T

a b

Proposed by Titu Andreescu, University of Texas at Dallas, USA

Solution 15.

We have the following identities for triple angle of os a and sin a

os@Q A a R os @ A Q os@ A sin@Q A a Q sin@ A R sin @ A

x

This is equivalent to

os @ A a os@Q A C Q os@ A R Q sin@ A sin@Q A sin Q A a R

3
x x x

Problem 16

(High-School Mathematics, China Tianjin).

a

For a3 C b3 a an C bn with n a H; I; P. Prove that Proof.

Case 1
n

Given that a3 C b3 a P. We need to show that a C b Notice that a C b ! H. Let This transformation leads to S 2 ! RP . We have
P

aH

P.
&
S P

a C a
a ab

or S 3

V aA

a Q P
S

10

Case 2 Case 3

aI aP
(Seninor high school for gifted students entrance exam 2012-2013, Ha Noi).
V ` X
a c a

Readers can verify these cases without any trouble.

Problem 17

Let a; b; c be positive real number such that

Find the minimum value of

Q

! CI C !
b b a b b

C @ IA a P @ C IA@ CCIA@ CIA C

ab c ab c a

Proof.
Quite neatly, Q can be rewritten as follows
Q

a @

f a; b; c

I Aa CI C CI C CI I
a b c a b

Step 1

f a; b; c

A! @
f c

b; b; c

A
f a; b; c

A @
f c

b; b; c

A a C I C I C a @ C IA@ C IA !H
a c b a c b a b c a c b

Step 2 Note 1.

f c

b; b; c

Notice that the equality occurs i a a I; b a P and c a Q.

V ` X

S A ! IP

Let x a c b. We observe the following properties (derived from original conditions)

x c

!I ! CI
x a b

Q
x x c c

We now deal with a function with only 2 variables, it is more compact to write that function in the following form
f c

b; b; c

A A a @ A a @ @ C IA@ @C C PA C IA IA@
g x; c c c x x c x x c c

for c ! Q andx ! I

Step 3

g c; x

@ A ! @ IA
g c;

The computation is a bit lengthy, however, the result is surprisingly elegant. We have
g x; c

A C @ A @I A a @ @ C IA@ @C C PA C IA @ P @IA@ IA PA IA@ C CP @ A I! a C I @ C IA@ C IA P IA@@ a @ C PA@ C IA@ C IA IA P@ !H

g ;c c c c x x c c c c x c x c c x x c c x c x c c x x

11

It suces to check that f @c; IA !

Hence, min Q a
Problem 18

(Mathlinks.ro).

S IP i a I a P and a Q.
a ;b c

S IP . Indeed, it is equivalent to @ IA@ C PA S a T@ C PA S @ C IA P @ C IA IP IP @ C IA C IP a IP @ C IA !H

c c c

c c

c c

c c

c c

For a; b > H such that a C Pb a I, prove that

p C I ! P I I P
a b a b

Proof. We homogenize the inequality so that we only need to show that

p C C ! P I P P
a b b a b b a b

However, AM-GM does a ne job here as follows

a b

I I P C C aP CPC C P I C a P C C P r I !P IP P p ! P I P
a b b a b a b b b a b

12