ASSIGNMENT A

STPM 2022

GROUP 1
INTRODUCTION
Objectives:
Study the relationship between arithmetic mean and geometric mean of a set of n
positive numbers.
• Explain the basic idea about arithmetic and geometric sequences.
• Explain what is arithmetic mean and geometric mean
• Explain about AM – GM inequality

METHODOLOGY
1. Observe the relationship between AM and GM with two, three and
four set of numbers [n=2, 3 or 4]
2. Generalized further to more set of numbers [n>4]
3. Based on the conclusion made from 1 and 2, applying AM-GM
inequality to solve given problems given in task 2, 3 and 4.
Task 1:
Using the definition of AM and GM, complete the following table. From the data above, what are your
observations? You can add more set of numbers to calculate the AM and GM so that you are convinced with
your observations Set of numbers AM GM AM > GM / AM < GM /
AM = GM
1.5 + 24 1 Bigger
(1.5,24) = 12.75 1.5 × 24 2 =6
2
3+7 1 Bigger
(3,7) =5 3×7 2 = 4.58
2
3 + 17 1 Bigger
(3,17) = 10 3 × 17 2 = 7.14
2
4+6 1 Bigger
(4,6) =5 4×6 2 = 4.90
2
5+5 1 Equal
(5,5) =5 52 2 =5
2
11 + 37 1 Bigger
(11,37) = 24 11 × 37 2 = 20.17
2
15 + 23 1 Bigger
(15,23) = 19 15 × 23 2 = 18.57
2
4 + 8 + 16 1 Bigger
(4,8,16) = 9.33 4 × 8 × 16 3 =8
3
8+8+8 1 Equal
(8,8,8) =8 83 3 =8
3
1+2+3+4 1 Bigger
(1,2,3,4) = 2.5 1×2×3×4 4 = 2.21
4
13 + 25 + 37 + 61 1 Bigger
(13,25,37,61) = 34 13 × 25 × 37 × 61 4 = 29.27
4
19 + 19 + 19 + 19 1 Equal
(19,19,19,19) = 19 194 4 = 19
4
1+3+5+7+9 1 Bigger
(1,3,5,7,9) =5 1×3×5×7×9 5 = 3.94
5
4+4+4+4+4 1 Equal
(4,4,4,4,4) =4 4×4×4×4×4 5 =4
5
1 1 1 1 1 1 Bigger
1 1 1 1 1 + + + + +1 1 1 1 1 1 6
, , , , ,1 6 5 4 3 2 = 2.45 = 0.33
6 5 4 3 2 × × × × ×1
6 6 5 4 3 2
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Equal
1 1 1 1 1 1 + + + + + 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 1
, , , , , 6 6 6 6 6 6 = =
6 6 6 6 6 6 6 × × × × × 6
6 6 6 6 6 6 6
From the data, what are your observations?
Let n=numbers of terms
n AM GM AM-GM
2 12.75 6 6.75 >0
From observation, we can draw a conclusion:
5 4.58 0.42 >0
10 7.14 2.86 >0 Case 1:
5 4.90 0.10 >0 when 𝑥1 = 𝑥2 = ⋯ = 𝑥𝑛 , 𝐴𝑀 − 𝐺𝑀 = 0 ⇒ 𝐴𝑀 = 𝐺𝑀 −− −①
5 5 0 =0 Case 2:
24 20.17 3.83 >0
when 𝑥1 ≠ 𝑥2 ≠ ⋯ ≠ 𝑥𝑛 , 𝐴𝑀 − 𝐺𝑀 > 0 ⇒ 𝐴𝑀 > 𝐺𝑀 −− −②
19 18.57 0.43 >0
3 9.33 8 1.33 >0
8 8 0 =0 Consider both ① and ②: we get 𝐴𝑀 ≥ 𝐺𝑀
4 2.5 2.21 0.29 >0
34 29.27 4.73 >0
In general, for n positive real number 𝑥1 , , 𝑥2 , 𝑥3 … , 𝑥𝑛 , we have
19 19 0 =0
𝑥1 + 𝑥2 + 𝑥3 + ⋯ + 𝑥𝑛 1
5 5 3.94 1.06 >0 ≥ 𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑥3 … 𝑥𝑛 𝑛
𝑛
4 4 0 =0
6 2.45 0.33 2.12 >0
1 1 0 =0
6 6
Task 2:
𝑎+𝑏
Given that a and b are positive numbers, then ≥ 𝑎𝑏
2
Equality holds when 𝑎 = 𝑏
(a) Prove the theorem using each of the four approaches given
below.

(i) Use the fact that 𝑎 − 𝑏 2

is non-negative (ii) Write 𝑎 + 𝑏 − 2 𝑎𝑏 in a quadratic form
𝟐
𝒂−𝒃 ≥𝟎 𝟐
𝒂 + 𝒃 − 𝟐 𝒂𝒃 = 𝒂− 𝒃
𝒂𝟐 − 𝟐𝒂𝒃 + 𝒃𝟐 ≥ 𝟎
𝟐
𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 ≥ 𝟐𝒂𝒃 𝒂− 𝒃 ≥𝟎
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝒂+𝒃 − 𝟐𝒂𝒃 ≥ 𝟐𝒂𝒃 𝒂 + 𝒃 −𝟐 𝒂 𝒃≥𝟎
𝒂+𝒃 𝟐 ≥ 𝟒𝒂𝒃
𝒂 + 𝒃 ≥ 𝟐 𝒂𝒃
𝒂 + 𝒃 ≥ 𝟐 𝒂𝒃
𝒂+𝒃
∴ ≥ 𝒂𝒃 [𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏]
𝒂+𝒃 𝟐
∴ ≥ 𝒂𝒃 [𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒏]
𝟐
(iii) Consider the two touching circles with centres O and C, and (iv) Consider the following triangle inscribed in a semicircle with centre O and
diameters a and b such that a > b shown below. Determine the length of
diameter a + b, and using properties of similar triangles ∆BAD and ∆BDC.
OC, OB and BC in terms of a and b.

𝒂 𝒃 𝒂+𝒃
𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝑪 = + =
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝒂 𝒃 𝒂−𝒃 Express the radius OA and BD in terms of a and b
𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑶𝑩 = − =
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑪 = 𝑶𝑪 𝟐 − 𝑶𝑩 𝟐 𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑨𝑪 𝒂 + 𝒃
𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒖𝒔 𝑶𝑨 = =
𝟐 𝟐
𝟐 𝟐
𝒂+𝒃 𝒂−𝒃
= −
𝟐 𝟐 𝑳𝒆𝒕 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑫 = 𝒉
𝒂 𝒉
𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 + 𝟐𝒂𝒃 − 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 − 𝟐𝒂𝒃 =
= 𝒉 𝒃
𝟒
𝒉𝟐 = 𝒂𝒃
𝟒𝒂𝒃 ∴ ℎ = 𝑎𝑏
=
𝟒 𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝑫 = 𝒂𝒃
= 𝒂𝒃
(b) Provide two alternative methods of proving the theorem.

Second :
First :
Task 3:
In this task, students are asked to use the AM-GM inequality to verify the following
algebraic expressions. Given four positive numbers a, b, c and d, prove

𝑎 𝑐 𝑏 𝑑 1 1
𝑎 + + ≥4 𝑏 𝑎+𝑏 + ≥4
𝑏 𝑑 𝑎 𝑐 𝑎 𝑏
𝒂 𝒄
𝒂 𝒄 +
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒃 𝒅≥ 𝒂×𝒄 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝒂 + 𝒃 :
𝒂+𝒃
≥ 𝒂×𝒃
𝒃 𝒅 𝟐 𝒃 𝒅 𝟐
𝒂 + 𝒃 ≥ 𝟐 𝒂𝒃 −− −①
𝒂 𝒄 𝒂𝒄
+ ≥𝟐 −− −①
𝒃 𝒅 𝒃𝒅 𝟏 𝟏
𝟏 𝟏 + 𝟏 𝟏
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒂 𝒃≥ ×
𝒃 𝒅 𝒂 𝒃 𝟐 𝒂 𝒃
𝒃 𝒅 + 𝒃 𝒅
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒂 𝒄≥ ×
𝒂 𝒄 𝟐 𝒂 𝒄 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
+ ≥𝟐 −− −②
𝒂 𝒄 𝒂𝒄
𝒃 𝒅 𝒃𝒅
+ ≥𝟐 −− −② 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝒂 𝒄 𝒂𝒄 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐲 ① 𝐚𝐧𝐝 ②: 𝒂 + 𝒃 + ≥ 𝟐 𝒂𝒃 𝟐
𝒂 𝒃 𝒂𝒃

𝒂 𝒄 𝒃 𝒅 𝒂𝒄 𝒃𝒅 𝟏 𝟏
𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐲 ① 𝐚𝐧𝐝 ②: + + ≥ 𝟐 𝟐 𝒂+𝒃 +
𝒂 𝒃
≥𝟒
𝒃 𝒅 𝒂 𝒄 𝒃𝒅 𝒂𝒄

𝒂 𝒄 𝒃 𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒄𝒅
+ + ≥𝟒
𝒃 𝒅 𝒂 𝒄 𝒂𝒃𝒄𝒅
𝒂 𝒄 𝒃 𝒅
+ + ≥𝟒
𝒃 𝒅 𝒂 𝒄
 1 1 1 1 1 1
𝑐 + + ≥ + + 𝑑 𝑎3 + 𝑏 3 ≥ 𝑎𝑏 𝑎 + 𝑏
𝑎 𝑏 𝑐 𝑏𝑐 𝑐𝑎 𝑎𝑏
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 :
𝟏 𝟏
𝟏 𝟏 + 𝟏 𝟏
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒂 𝒃≥ ×
𝒂 𝒃 𝟐 𝒂 𝒃 𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐
≥ 𝒂𝟐 × 𝒃𝟐
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟐
+ ≥𝟐 −− −①
𝒂 𝒃 𝒂𝒃
𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 ≥ 𝟐𝒂𝒃
𝟏 𝟏
𝟏 𝟏 + 𝟏 𝟏
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒃 𝒄≥ ×
𝒃 𝒄 𝟐 𝒃 𝒄 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝒂 + 𝒃 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞:

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝒂 + 𝒃 (𝒂𝟐 + 𝒃𝟐 ) ≥ (𝒂 + 𝒃)(𝟐𝒂𝒃)
+ ≥𝟐 −− −②
𝒃 𝒄 𝒃𝒄 𝒂𝟑 + 𝒃𝟑 + 𝒂𝟐 𝒃 + 𝒂𝒃𝟐 ≥ 𝟐𝒂𝒃(𝒂 + 𝒃)

𝟏 𝟏 𝒂𝟑 + 𝒃𝟑 + 𝒂𝒃(𝒂 + 𝒃) ≥ 𝟐𝒂𝒃(𝒂 + 𝒃)
𝟏 𝟏 + 𝟏 𝟏
𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐲 𝐀𝐌 − 𝐆𝐌 𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 + : 𝒄 𝒂≥ × 𝒂𝟑 + 𝒃𝟑 ≥ 𝒂𝒃(𝒂 + 𝒃)
𝒄 𝒂 𝟐 𝒄 𝒂

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
+ ≥𝟐 −− −①
𝒄 𝒂 𝒄𝒂

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
① + ② + ③: + + + + + ≥ 𝟐 +𝟐 +𝟐
𝒂 𝒃 𝒃 𝒄 𝒄 𝒂 𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒄 𝒄𝒂

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝟐 + + ≥𝟐 + +
𝒂 𝒃 𝒄 𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒄 𝒄𝒂
𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
+ + ≥ + +
𝒂 𝒃 𝒄 𝒃𝒄 𝒄𝒂 𝒂𝒃
 (b) If 𝑥 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑦 are positive such that 3𝑥 + 4𝑦 > 72, determine the
Task 4: maximum value of 𝑥𝑦(72 − 3𝑥 − 4𝑦). For what values of x and y does this
maximum occur?
(a) If 𝑥, 𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑧 are all positive numbers such that 𝑥𝑦𝑧 = 1, determine 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝑨𝑴 − 𝑮𝑴 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝟑𝒙, 𝟒𝒚, 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚 :
the minimum value of 𝑥 2 + 𝑦 2 + 𝑧 2 . For what values of 𝑥, 𝑦 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑧
𝟑𝒙 + 𝟒𝒚 + 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚 𝟑
does this minimum occur? ≥ 𝟑𝒙 𝟒𝒚 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚
𝟑
𝟕𝟐 𝟑
𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝑨𝑴 − 𝑮𝑴 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝒙𝟐 , 𝒚𝟐 , 𝒛𝟐 : 𝟑
≥ 𝟏𝟐𝒙𝒚(𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚)

𝟑
𝟕𝟐
≥ 𝟏𝟐𝒙𝒚 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚
𝟑
𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 + 𝒛𝟐 𝟑
≥ 𝒙𝟐 𝒚𝟐 𝒛𝟐 𝒙𝒚(𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚) ≤ 𝟏𝟏𝟓𝟐
𝟑
𝟑 ∴ 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒙𝒚(𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝟏𝟏𝟓𝟐
𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 + 𝒛𝟐 ≥ 𝟑 𝒙𝒚𝒛 𝟐
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝟑𝒙 = 𝟒𝒚 = 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚

𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝒙𝒚𝒛 = 𝟏 ⇒ 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 + 𝒛𝟐 ≥ 𝟑 𝟒
𝟑𝒙 = 𝟒𝒚 ⇒ 𝒙 = 𝒚 −− −①
𝟑
∴ 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒙𝟐 + 𝒚𝟐 + 𝒛𝟐 𝒊𝒔 𝟑 𝟒𝒚 = 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑𝒙 − 𝟒𝒚 −− −②
𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒙 = 𝒚 = 𝒛, 𝟒
𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒆 ①𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐②: 𝟒𝒚 = 𝟕𝟐 − 𝟑 𝒚 − 𝟒𝒚
𝟑
𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒙 = 𝒚 = 𝒛 = 𝟏 𝒚 = 𝟔 𝒂𝒏𝒅
𝟒
𝒙= 𝟔 =𝟖
𝟑

𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒙 = 𝟖, 𝒚 = 𝟔

 9𝑥 2 sin2 𝑥+4
(c) Determine the minimum value of , 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 0 < 𝑥 < 𝜋
𝑥 sin 𝑥

𝟗𝒚𝟐 + 𝟒 𝟒
𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒚 = 𝒙 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙 : = 𝟗𝒚 +
𝒚 𝒚
𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒙 > 𝟎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙 > 𝟎 𝒂𝒔 𝟎 < 𝒙 < 𝝅, 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚 > 𝟎
𝟒
𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝑨𝑴 − 𝑮𝑴 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒐𝒏 𝟗𝒚, :
𝒚
𝟒
𝟗𝒚 + 𝟒
𝒚
≥ 𝟗𝒚 ×
𝟐 𝒚

𝟒
𝟗𝒚 + ≥ 𝟐 𝟑𝟔
𝒚
𝟒
𝟗𝒚 + ≥ 𝟏𝟐
𝒚
𝟗𝒙𝟐 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝟐 𝒙 + 𝟒
𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒎 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒔 𝟏𝟐
𝒙 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝒙
 CONCLUSION

• AM – GM inequality for two positive real numbers a and b, we have

with equality if and only if a=b.

•

• Discuss the finding about the approaches to prove the theorem