MHB Ernesto's Question: Proving Harmonic & Arithmetic Progressions

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If b+c, a+c, and a+b are in harmonic progression, their reciprocals form an arithmetic progression. By manipulating the equations derived from these relationships, it can be shown that a², b², and c² are also in arithmetic progression. Specifically, the conditions lead to the identity 0=0, confirming the relationship. The proof involves algebraic manipulation of the terms and demonstrating the equality of differences. Thus, the assertion that a², b², and c² are in arithmetic progression holds true under the given conditions.
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Here is the question:

Prove that if b+c, a+c, a+b are in harmonic progression, then a², b² y c²...?


Prove that if b+c, a+c, a+b are in harmonic progression, then a², b² y c² are in arithmetic progression .

Explain.

Thanks.

I have posted a link there to this thread so the OP can view my work.
 
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Hello Ernesto,

If $b+c,\,a+c,\,a+b$ are in harmonic progression, then their reciprocals are in arithmetic progression, and we may state:

(i) $$\frac{1}{a+c}=\frac{1}{b+c}+d$$

Multiply through by $$(a+c)(b+c)$$ to obtain:

$$b+c=a+c+d(a+c)(b+c)$$

Subtract $c$ from both sides and expand the product on the far right:

$$b=a+d(ab+ac+bc+c^2)$$

Distribute on the right:

$$b=a+abd+acd+bcd+c^2d$$

Subtract through by $$a+abd+acd+bcd$$:

$$b-a-abd-acd-bcd=c^2d$$

Divide through by $d$ and arrange as:

$$c^2=\frac{b-a-abd-acd-bcd}{d}$$

(ii) $$\frac{1}{a+b}=\frac{1}{b+c}+2d$$

Multiply through by $$(a+b)(b+c)$$ to obtain:

$$b+c=a+b+2d(a+b)(b+c)$$

Subtract $b$ from both sides and expand the product on the far right:

$$c=a+2d(ab+ac+b^2+bc)$$

Distribute on the right:

$$c=a+2abd+2acd+2b^2d+2bcd$$

Subtract through by $$a+2abd+2acd+2bcd$$:

$$c-a-2abd-2acd-2bcd=2b^2d$$

Divide through by $2d$ and arrange as:

$$b^2=\frac{c-a-2abd-2acd-2bcd}{2d}$$

(iii) $$\frac{1}{a+b}=\frac{1}{a+c}+d$$

Multiply through by $$(a+b)(a+c)$$ to obtain:

$$a+c=a+b+d(a+b)(a+c)$$

Subtract $a$ from both sides and expand the product on the far right:

$$c=b+d(a^2+ac+ab+bc)$$

Distribute on the right:

$$c=b+a^2d+acd+abd+bcd$$

Subtract through by $$b+acd+abd+bcd$$:

$$c-b-acd-abd-bcd=a^2d$$

Divide through by $d$ and arrange as:

$$a^2=\frac{c-b-acd-abd-bcd}{d}$$

Now in order for $a^2,\,b^2,\,c^2$ to be in arithmetic progression, we require:

$$b^2-a^2=c^2-b^2$$

Add through by $$a^2+b^2$$:

$$2b^2=a^2+c^2$$

Substitute for $a^2,\,b^2,\,c^2$ the expressions we found above:

$$2\left(\frac{c-a-2abd-2acd-2bcd}{2d} \right)=\frac{c-b-acd-abd-bcd}{d}+\frac{b-a-abd-acd-bcd}{d}$$

Distributing the 2 on the left, and the multiplying through by $d$, we find:

$$c-a-2abd-2acd-2bcd=c-b-acd-abd-bcd+b-a-abd-acd-bcd$$

Add through by $$2abd+2acd+2bcd$$:

$$c-a=c-b+b-a$$

Collect like terms:

$$c-a=c-a$$

Subtract through by $$c-a$$:

$$0=0$$

This is an identity, which proves that given $b+c,\,a+c,\,a+b$ are in harmonic progression, then $a^2,\,b^2,\,c^2$ must be in arithmetic progression.
 
Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

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