Problem Books in Mathematics

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Peter Winkler
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Dartmouth College
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/714

Hayk Sedrakyan Nairi Sedrakyan
•

Algebraic Inequalities

123
Hayk Sedrakyan Nairi Sedrakyan
University Pierre and Marie Curie Yerevan, Armenia
Paris, France

ISSN 0941-3502 ISSN 2197-8506 (electronic)

Problem Books in Mathematics
ISBN 978-3-319-77835-8 ISBN 978-3-319-77836-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77836-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018934928

Mathematics Subject Classification (2010): 97U40, 00A07, 26D05

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To Margarita,
a wonderful wife and a loving mother
To Ani,
a wonderful daughter and a loving sister
Preface

In mathematics one often deals with inequalities. This book is designed to teach the
reader new and classical techniques for proving algebraic inequalities. Moreover,
each chapter of the book provides a technique for proving a certain type of
inequality.
The book includes techniques of using the relationship between the arithmetic,
geometric, harmonic, and quadratic means, the principle of mathematical induction,
the change of variable(s) method, techniques using the Cauchy–Bunyakovsky–
Schwarz inequality, Jensen’s inequality, and Chebyshev’s properties of functions,
among others. The main idea behind of the proof techniques discussed in this book
is making the complicated simple, so that even a beginner can understand com-
plicated inequalities, their proofs and applications. This approach makes it possible
not only to prove a large variety of inequalities, but also to solve problems related to
inequalities. To explain each technique of proof, we provide examples and prob-
lems with complete proofs or hints. At the end of each chapter there are problems
for independent study. In Chapter 14 (Miscellaneous Inequalities) are included
inequalities whose proofs employ various techniques not covered in the preceding
chapters. In some cases, the proofs of Chapter 14 use several proof techniques from
the preceding chapters simultaneously. One hundred selected inequalities and their
hints are also provided in the end of Chapter 14, and interested readers are
encouraged to choose and provide any methods of proofs they prefer. In each
chapter we have tried to include inequalities belonging to the same topic and to
present them in order of increasing difficulty, using principles similar to those in
[11]. This allows the reader to try to prove these inequalities step by step and to
refer to the provided proofs only when difficulties arise. We recommend to use the
proofs provided in the book, paying more attention to the choice of the mathe-
matical proof technique.
Most of the inequalities in this book were created by the authors. Nevertheless,
some of the inequalities were proposed in different mathematical olympiads in
different countries or have been published elsewhere (including author-created
inequalities). However, the provided solutions are different from the original ones.
Most such inequalities are included in the books [2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9], and since the

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viii Preface

name of the author of individual inequalities is unknown to us, we cite these books
as the main references. However, for well-known inequalities we have tried to
provide the name of the authors. This book was published in Seoul in Korean [13,
14] and is based on [16], which was later published in Moscow in Russian [15]. The
historical origins provided at the beginning of some chapters are mostly based on
[10] or our personal knowledge.
It was considered appropriate to give the proofs of each chapter at the end of the
same chapter.

Paris, France Hayk Sedrakyan

Yerevan, Armenia Nairi Sedrakyan
Contents

1 Basic Inequalities and Their Applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Sturm’s Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3 The HM-GM-AM-QM Inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
4 The Cauchy–Bunyakovsky–Schwarz Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
5 Change of Variables Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
6 Using Symmetry and Homogeneity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
7 The Principle of Mathematical Induction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
8 A Useful Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
9 Using Derivatives and Integrals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
10 Using Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
11 Jensen’s Inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
12 Inequalities of Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
13 Algebraic Inequalities in Number Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
14 Miscellaneous Inequalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Appendix—Power Sums Triangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

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About the Authors

Hayk Sedrakyan is an IMO medal winner, a professor of mathematics in Paris,

France, and a professional math olympiad coach in the greater Boston area,
Massachusetts, USA. He received his doctorate in mathematics at the Université Pierre
et Marie Curie, Paris, France. Hayk is a Doctor of Mathematical Sciences in USA,
France, Armenia. He has been awarded master’s degrees in mathematics from
Germany, Austria, and Armenia and completed part of his doctoral studies in Italy.
Hayk has authored several books on the topic of problem-solving and olympiad-style
mathematics published in USA and South Korea.

Nairi Sedrakyan has long been involved in national and international mathematical
olympiads, having served as an International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) problem
selection committee member and the president of Armenian Mathematics Olympiads.
He is the author of one of the hardest problems ever proposed in the history of
International Mathematical Olympiads (the fifth problem of the 37th IMO). He has
been the leader of the Armenian IMO Team, jury member of the IMO, jury member
and problem selection committee member of the Zhautykov International Mathematical
Olympiad (ZIMO), jury member and problem selection committee member of the
International Olympiad of Metropolises, and the president of the International
Mathematical Olympiad Tournament of the Towns in Armenia. He is also the author of
a large number of problems proposed in these olympiads and has authored several
books on the topic of problem-solving and olympiad-style mathematics published in
United States, Russia, Armenia, and South Korea. The students of Nairi Sedrakyan
have obtained 20 medals (1 gold medal, 4 silver medals, 15 bronze medals) in IMO.
For his outstanding teaching, Nairi Sedrakyan received the title of best teacher of the
Republic of Armenia and was awarded special recognition by the prime minister.

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Overview

This book is designed to teach the reader new and classical mathematical proof
techniques for proving inequalities, in particular, to prove algebraic inequalities.
These proof techniques and methods are applied to prove inequalities of various
types. The main idea behind this book and the proof techniques discussed is making
the complicated simple, so that even a beginner can understand complicated
inequalities, their proofs and applications. The book Algebraic Inequalities is also
devoted to the topic of inequalities and can be considered a continuation of the
book Geometric Inequalities: Methods of proving [12].
It can serve teachers, high-school students, and mathematical competitors.

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