If x is a positive real number and a, b and c are rational numbers, then find the value of:
1 + x ( b − a ) + x ( c − a ) 1 + 1 + x ( a − b ) + x ( c − b ) 1 + 1 + x ( b − c ) + x ( a − c ) 1
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Thanks for the solution ! :)
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I posted the actual method
1 + x b − a + x c − a 1 + 1 + x a − b + x c − b 1 + 1 + x b − c + x a − c 1
⇒ ( x a ) ( 1 + x b − a + x c − a ) x a + ( x b ) ( 1 + x a − b + x c − b ) x b + ( x c ) ( 1 + x b − c + x a − c ) x c
⇒ x a + x b + x c x a + x b + x a + x c x b + x c + x b + x a x c
⇒ x a + x b + x c x a + x b + x c
⇒ 1
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Kind of a cheap solution, but plug in x=1 and you get 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3. I find this approach helpful for competition math: when you don't have a lot of time, instead of proving something for all x, try plugging in an easy number that fits the requirements of x and you'll get the answer.