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jmc

algebra intermediate

Problem

Find the largest constant so that for any positive real numbers and
Solution
By GM-HM applied to 1 and Similarly, Adding up all these inequalities, we get The only we can get equality is if Adding these equations, we get so which is impossible. Thus, equality is not possible.

However, by setting and where is a small positive number, then As approaches 0, the expression approaches 2. Thus, we can make the expression arbitrarily close to 2, so
Final answer
2