A question that remains is whether this procedure can be adjusted to work for neg-

ative values of r . Since I don’t know the answer, I will leave it to interested readers.

Acknowledgments. I wish to thank Professors Fred Gass and Tom Farmer for their helpful
comments.

References

1. Elizabeth M. Markham, Geometric series, Mathematics Magazine 66 (1993) p. 242.

2. Roger B. Nelsen, Proofs Without Words: Exercises in visual thinking, Classroom Resourse Materials, The
Mathematical Association of America, Washington, 1993.
3. , Proofs Without Words II: More Exercises in Visual Thinking, Classroom Resourse Materials, The
Mathematical Association of America, Washington, 2000.
4. Warren Page, Geometric sums, Mathematics Magazine 54 (1981) p. 201.

The HM-GM-AM-QM Inequalities

Philip Wagala Gwanyama (P-Gwanyama@neiu.edu), Northeastern Illinois University,
Chicago, IL 60625

Many sources have discussed one or more of the inequalities involving harmonic
mean, geometric mean, arithmetic mean, and quadratic mean (see [1], [2], [3], [5], [6]).
Kung [4] provided a geometric proof without words of the inequalities connecting
the harmonic mean, geometric mean, arithmetic mean and quadratic mean (or root
mean square) for two variables. In this note, we use the method of Lagrange multipli-
ers, to discuss the inequalities for more than two variables. For positive real numbers
x1 , x2 , . . . , xn , we show that
 1/n n n
n 
n
j =1 xj j =1 xj2
0 < n 1
≤ xj ≤ ≤ .
j =1 x j j =1
n n

The harmonic mean–geometric mean–arithmetic mean inequalities. To

prove these inequalities, we let


n

n
g(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = xj, s(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = xj,
j =1 j =1

n
h(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = n 1
j =1 x j

and find bounds for g subject to the constraint s = A, where A is a constant. We

illustrate the method for n = 3 by proving that

3 x1 + x2 + x3
≤ (x1 x2 x3 )1/3 ≤ .
1
x1
+ 1
x2
+ 1
x3
3

VOL. 35, NO. 1, JANUARY 2004 THE COLLEGE MATHEMATICS JOURNAL 47

To do so, we solve for x1 , x2 , x3 , and λ in the system of equations
−
→ →
−
∇ g(x1 , x2 , x3 ) = λ ∇ s(x1 , x2 , x3 ) and s(x1 , x2 , x3 ) = A.

From x2 x3 ı + x1 x3  + x1 x2 k = λı + λ + λk and 3j =1 x j = A, we obtain the only
critical point x1 = x2 = x3 = A3 , which gives g’s maximum value

A A A A3
g , , =
3 3 3 27
3
for the constraint S(x1 , x2 , x3 ) = A. To see this, observe that g < A27 for any other
point in the interior of the triangular plate {(x1 , x2 , x3 ) ∈ + |x1 + x2 + x3 = A}. Each
point on the boundaries of the plate has at least one x j = 0 (for j = 1, 2, 3), and so
g = 0 on the boundary. Thus,
 1/3 3
 3
j =1 x j
0< xj ≤ . (1)
j =1
3

By substituting the positive real numbers x2 x3 , x1 x3 , x1 x2 into (1), we obtain

x2 x3 + x1 x3 + x1 x2
(x2 x3 .x1 x3 .x1 x2 )1/3 ≤
3
and hence,
3x1 x2 x3
≤ (x1 x2 x3 )1/3 .
x2 x3 + x1 x3 + x1 x2
Therefore,
3 3x1 x2 x3 x1 + x2 + x3
0< = ≤ (x1 x2 x3 )1/3 ≤ . (2)
1
x1
+ 1
x2
+ 1
x3
x2 x3 + x1 x3 + x1 x2 3

For n > 3, the same approach can be used.

The geometric mean–arithmetic mean–quadratic mean inequalities. To

prove these inequalities, we let


n 
n
s(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = xj, g(x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = xj,
j =1 j =1

n
r (x1 , x2 , . . . , xn ) = x j 2,
j =1

and find bounds for s subject to the constraints g = Po and r = Q o , where Po and Q o
are constants.
Using the method of Lagrange multipliers for n = 3, we show that

x1 + x2 + x3 x1 2 + x2 2 + x3 2
(x1 x2 x3 )1/3 ≤ ≤ .
3 3
To do so, we solve for x1 , x2 , x3 , λo and µo in the system of equations:

48 
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
  →
− →
− →
− 

 ∇ (x1 + x2 + x3 ) = λo ∇ (x1 x2 x3 ) + µo ∇ x1 2 + x2 2 + x3 2 (3)

x1 x2 x3 = Po (4)


 x 2+x 2+x 2= Q (5)
1 2 3 o

where the constants and λo and µo are the Lagrange multipliers. Equation (3) gives

ı +  + k = (λo x2 x3 + 2µo x1 ) ı + (λo x1 x3 + 2µo x2 )  + (λo x1 x2 + 2µo x3 ) k

or

λo x2 x3 + 2µo x1 = λo x1 x3 + 2µo x2 = λo x1 x2 + 2µo x3 = 1

which yields x1 = x2 = x3 . Using

 (4) and (5), we obtain the critical points x1 = x2 =
√
x3 = Po and x1 = x2 = x3 = Q3o . Thus, the bounds of s(x1 , x2 , x3 ) are
3

     √
s 3
Po , 3
Po , 3
Po = 3 3 Po = 3 3 x1 x2 x3
and 
Qo Qo Qo Qo x1 2 + x2 2 + x3 2
s , , =3 =3 .
3 3 3 3 3

√
Applying (1), we find that 3 3 x1 x2 x3 must be a lower bound of s and 3 x1 +x32 +x3
2 2 2

an upper bound of s. Therefore,

√ x1 + x2 + x3 x1 2 + x2 2 + x3 2
3
x1 x2 x3 ≤ ≤ . (6)
3 3

Combining (2) and (6) we get,

 1/3 3 3
3 
3
j =1 xj j =1 xj2
0 < 3 1
≤ xj ≤ ≤ .
j =1 x j j =1
3 3

For n > 3, the same approach can be used.

Acknowledgments. I am grateful to the referees and previous editor Warren Page for their
very useful comments and suggestions.

References

1. H. Alzer, A proof of the arithmetic mean-geometric mean inequality, The American Mathematical Monthly
103 (1996) 585.
2. P. S. Bullen, D. S. Mitrinovic, and P. M. Vasic, Means and Their Inequalities, (Dordrecht, Holland: D. Reidel
Publishing Company), 1988.
3. F. Dubeau, Weighted means of order r and related inequalities: An elementary approach, The College Mathe-
matics Journal 23 (1992) 211–213.

VOL. 35, NO. 1, JANUARY 2004 THE COLLEGE MATHEMATICS JOURNAL 49

4. S. Kung, Harmonic, geometric, arithmetic, root mean inequality, The College Mathematics Journal, 21 (1990)
227.
5. G. H. Hardy, J. E. Littlewood, and G. Pólya, Inequalities (2nd ed.), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,
1952.
6. N. Schaumberger, The AM-GM inequality via x 1/x , The College Mathematics Journal 20 (1989) 320.

Cauchy’s Mean Value Theorem Involving n Functions

Jingcheng Tong (jtong@unf.edu), University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL 32224

If f (x) and g(x) are two functions continuous on [a, b] and differentiable on (a, b)
with g  (x)  = 0 for any x in (a, b), then there exists a point c in (a, b) such that

f  (c) f (b) − f (a)

= . (1)
g (c)
 g(b) − g(a)
The above Generalized Mean Value Theorem was discovered by Cauchy ([1]
or [2]), and is very important in applications. Since Cauchy’s Mean Value Theorem
involves two functions, it is natural to wonder if it can be extended to three or more
functions. If so, what formulas similar to (1) can we have? In this capsule we show,
and then extend, the following result.

Theorem 1. Let α, β be two real numbers such that α + β = 1. If f (x), g(x),

h(x) are three functions continuous on [a, b] and differentiable on (a, b) such that
g(b)  = g(a) and h(b)  = h(a), then there exists a point c in (a, b) such that
f (b) − f (a) f (b) − f (a)
f  (c) = αg  (c) + βh  (c) . (2)
g(b) − g(a) h(b) − h(a)

Observe that (2) follows by letting γ = −1 and setting f 1 = f , f 2 = g, and f 3 = h

in Theorem 2.

Theorem 2. Let α, β and γ be three real numbers such that α + β + γ = 0. If f 1 ,

f 2 and f 3 are three functions continuous on [a, b] and differentiable on (a, b) such
that f i (a)  = f i (b) for i = 1, 2, 3, then there exists a point c in (a, b) such that
γ α β
f 1 (c) + f 2 (c) + f  (c) = 0. (3)
f 1 (b) − f 1 (a) f 2 (b) − f 2 (a) f 3 (b) − f 3 (a) 3

Proof. Let
   
k(x) = γ f 2 (b) − f 2 (a) f 3 (b) − f 3 (a) f 1 (x) − f 1 (a)
   
+ α f 1 (b) − f 1 (a) f 3 (b) − f 3 (a) f 2 (x) − f 2 (a)
   
+ β f 1 (b) − f 1 (a) f 2 (b) − f 2 (a) f 3 (x) − f 3 (a) .

It is easily checked that k(a) = 0 and

   
k(b) = f 1 (b) − f 1 (a) f 2 (b) − f 2 (a) f 3 (b) − f 3 (a) (α + β + γ ) = 0.

50 
c THE MATHEMATICAL ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA