Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 176 of 300 #1576 of 1964

Problem 1576

National Olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Algebra Difficulty 7.4 Prove it

For two arbitrary reals x,yx, y which are larger than 00 and less than 1.1. Prove thatx2x+y+y21−x+(1−x−y)21−y≥12.\frac{x^2}{x+y}+\frac{y^2}{1-x}+\frac{(1-x-y)^2}{1-y}\geq\frac{1}{2}.

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.

Next problem →

Official solution

1. Substitution and Simplification:
Let z=1−x−y z = 1 - x - y . Then, we have x+y+z=1 x + y + z = 1 . We need to prove:
x2x+y+y21−x+(1−x−y)21−y≥12. \frac{x^2}{x+y} + \frac{y^2}{1-x} + \frac{(1-x-y)^2}{1-y} \geq \frac{1}{2}.
Substituting z z into the expression, we get:
x21−z+y21−y+z21−z. \frac{x^2}{1-z} + \frac{y^2}{1-y} + \frac{z^2}{1-z}.

2. Rearrangement Inequality:
Suppose z z is negative. Then ∣z∣=∣1−x−y∣<x,y |z| = |1 - x - y| < x, y since 1−x,1−y>0 1 - x, 1 - y > 0 . Thus, z2<x2,y2 z^2 < x^2, y^2 . Without loss of generality, assume z<x<y z < x < y . If z z is positive, the same argument holds since x,y,z x, y, z are symmetric.

3. Applying Rearrangement Inequality:
By the rearrangement inequality, the sum is less than or equal to:
x21−x+y21−y+z21−z. \frac{x^2}{1-x} + \frac{y^2}{1-y} + \frac{z^2}{1-z}.

4. Derivative and Jensen's Inequality:
Consider the function f(t)=t21−t f(t) = \frac{t^2}{1-t} . The derivative is:
f′(t)=ddt(t21−t)=2t(1−t)+t2(1−t)2=t(2−t)(1−t)2. f'(t) = \frac{d}{dt} \left( \frac{t^2}{1-t} \right) = \frac{2t(1-t) + t^2}{(1-t)^2} = \frac{t(2-t)}{(1-t)^2}.
This derivative is strictly increasing in the interval (0,1) (0, 1) .

5. Applying Jensen's Inequality:
By Jensen's inequality for the convex function f(t) f(t) over the interval (0,1) (0, 1) , we have:
f(x)+f(y)+f(z)≥3f(x+y+z3). f(x) + f(y) + f(z) \geq 3f\left( \frac{x+y+z}{3} \right).
Since x+y+z=1 x + y + z = 1 , we get:
f(13)=(13)21−13=1923=16. f\left( \frac{1}{3} \right) = \frac{\left( \frac{1}{3} \right)^2}{1 - \frac{1}{3}} = \frac{\frac{1}{9}}{\frac{2}{3}} = \frac{1}{6}.
Therefore:
x21−x+y21−y+z21−z≥3⋅16=12. \frac{x^2}{1-x} + \frac{y^2}{1-y} + \frac{z^2}{1-z} \geq 3 \cdot \frac{1}{6} = \frac{1}{2}.

6. Conclusion:
Thus, we have shown that:
x2x+y+y21−x+(1−x−y)21−y≥12. \frac{x^2}{x+y} + \frac{y^2}{1-x} + \frac{(1-x-y)^2}{1-y} \geq \frac{1}{2}.
The equality holds when x=y=z=13 x = y = z = \frac{1}{3} .

■\blacksquare

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.