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Exercise 1012Algebra › InequalitiesL1Added 3 Nov 2026

The arithmetic-harmonic mean inequality

#AM-HM#harmonic mean#inequality

Statement

Let a1,…,an>0a_1,\ldots,a_n>0. Prove that
n1a1+⋯+1an≤a1+⋯+ann.\frac{n}{\frac1{a_1}+\cdots+\frac1{a_n}}\le\frac{a_1+\cdots+a_n}{n}.

Hint

Apply AM-GM or Cauchy-Schwarz to the sequence (ai)(\sqrt{a_i}) and (1/ai)(1/\sqrt{a_i}).

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Solution

Cauchy-Schwarz. Apply Cauchy-Schwarz to the vectors (a1,…,an)(\sqrt{a_1},\ldots,\sqrt{a_n}) and (1/a1,…,1/an)(1/\sqrt{a_1},\ldots,1/\sqrt{a_n}):
(∑i=1nai⋅1ai)2≤(∑ai)(∑1ai).\left(\sum_{i=1}^n \sqrt{a_i}\cdot\frac{1}{\sqrt{a_i}}\right)^2\le\left(\sum a_i\right)\left(\sum\frac{1}{a_i}\right).
The left side is n2n^2, so
n2≤(∑ai)(∑1ai).n^2\le\left(\sum a_i\right)\left(\sum\frac{1}{a_i}\right).

Rearranging.
n∑1ai≤∑ain.\frac{n}{\sum\frac{1}{a_i}}\le\frac{\sum a_i}{n}.

Conclusion. The harmonic mean is at most the arithmetic mean, with equality iff all aia_i are equal.