IMO 1978 · Problem 5

Let \(\{a_k\}(k = 1, 2, 3, \ldots, n, \ldots)\) be a sequence of distinct positive integers. Prove that for all natural numbers \(n\), \[ \sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{a_k}{k^2}\geq\sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{1}{k}. \]

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

Solution

Fix \(n\geq 1\). Among the finitely many arrangements of \(a_1,\ldots,a_n\), choose one, say \(b_1,\ldots,b_n\), that minimizes \[ \sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{b_k}{k^2}. \]

We claim that \(b_1<b_2<\cdots<b_n\). Indeed, if \(i<j\) but \(b_i>b_j\), exchanging \(b_i\) and \(b_j\) would decrease the sum by \[ \frac{b_i}{i^2}+\frac{b_j}{j^2} -\frac{b_j}{i^2}-\frac{b_i}{j^2} =(b_i-b_j)\left(\frac{1}{i^2}-\frac{1}{j^2}\right)>0, \] contradicting minimality. Since the numbers are distinct, the claim follows.

As the \(b_k\) are increasing positive integers, \(b_1\geq1\) and \(b_{k+1}\geq b_k+1\), so \(b_k\geq k\) for every \(k\). Therefore \[ \sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{a_k}{k^2} \geq \sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{b_k}{k^2} \geq \sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{k}{k^2} =\sum_{k=1}^{n}\frac{1}{k}. \] This proves the inequality for every \(n\geq1\).

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