IMO 1964 · Problem 2

Suppose \(a, b, c\) are the sides of a triangle. Prove that \[ a^2(b+c-a)+b^2(c+a-b)+c^2(a+b-c)\leq 3abc. \]

Official text of the problem. Official problem paper (PDF)

Solution

We prove the inequality for all nonnegative \(a,b,c\), which also covers degenerate triangles. By symmetry, we may assume \[ a\geq b\geq c\geq0. \] A direct expansion gives \[ \begin{aligned} &3abc-\bigl[a^2(b+c-a)+b^2(c+a-b)+c^2(a+b-c)\bigr]\\ &\qquad=a(a-b)(a-c)+b(b-c)(b-a)+c(c-a)(c-b)\\ &\qquad=(a-b)\bigl[a(a-c)-b(b-c)\bigr]+c(a-c)(b-c)\\ &\qquad=(a-b)^2(a+b-c)+c(a-c)(b-c). \end{aligned} \] Both terms in the last expression are nonnegative, because \[ a+b-c\geq a\geq0,\qquad a-c\geq0,\qquad b-c\geq0. \] Thus the required inequality follows.

For positive triangle sides, equality in the first term forces \(a=b\); equality in the second then forces \(a=c\). Hence equality holds exactly for an equilateral triangle.

The solution was checked against John Scholes' IMO solution archive (Kalva).