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Exercise 1950Algebra › InequalitiesOlympiadAdded 4 Nov 2026

A classic with abc = 1 (IMO 1995)

#IMO#substitution#Titu's lemma#abc=1

Statement

Let a,b,c>0a,b,c>0 with abc=1abc=1. Prove that
1a3(b+c)+1b3(c+a)+1c3(a+b)≥32.\frac1{a^3(b+c)}+\frac1{b^3(c+a)}+\frac1{c^3(a+b)}\ge\frac32.

Hint

Substitute x=1ax=\frac1a, y=1by=\frac1b, z=1cz=\frac1c (so xyz=1xyz=1) and simplify each term.

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Solution

Substitution. With x=1ax=\frac1a etc., xyz=1xyz=1 and
1a3(b+c)=x31y+1z=x3yzy+z=x2y+z.\frac1{a^3(b+c)}=\frac{x^3}{\frac1y+\frac1z}=\frac{x^3yz}{y+z}=\frac{x^2}{y+z}.

Titu.
∑x2y+z≥(x+y+z)22(x+y+z)=x+y+z2.\sum\frac{x^2}{y+z}\ge\frac{(x+y+z)^2}{2(x+y+z)}=\frac{x+y+z}2.

AM-GM. x+y+z≥3xyz3=3x+y+z\ge3\sqrt[3]{xyz}=3, so the left side is at least 32\frac32.

Equality iff a=b=c=1a=b=c=1.

Remark. The condition abc=1abc=1 was used twice: to simplify x3yzx^3yz and to bound x+y+zx+y+z.

Lesson. With abc=1abc=1, try a=1xa=\frac1x (or a=yxa=\frac yx, b=zyb=\frac zy, c=xzc=\frac xz): it turns the condition into something usable and often reveals a known inequality.