Lecture Notes Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic Means page 1

Let c and / represent positive numbers. The arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic means of c and
/ are dened as follows.
arithmetic mean =
c + /
2
geometric mean =
p
c/
harmonic mean =
2c/
c + /
or
2
1
c
+
1
/
As it turns out, all three of these means occur in mathematics and physics.
For any c and /. these three means have a natural order. The arithmetic mean is always the largest,
and the harmonic mean is always the smallest. In short,
c + /
2

p
c/
2c/
c + /
and the equality holds if and only if c = /.
Theorem 1 (The arithmetic and geometric means). Suppose that c and / are positive numbers.
Then
c + /
2

p
c/ and the equality holds if and only if c = /.
Proof: For all c and /, (c /)
2
0 and the equality holds if and only if c = /.
(c /)
2
0
c
2
2c/ + /
2
0 add 4c/
c
2
+ 2c/ + /
2
4c/
(c + /)
2
4c/
at this point, we take the square root of both sides. It is important to note that what allow this
step, is that both c and / are positive.
q
(c + /)
2

p
4c/
c + / 2
p
c/ divide by 2
c + /
2

p
c/
Theorem 2 (The geometric and harmonic means.) Suppose that c and / are positive numbers.
Then
2c/
c + /

p
c/ and the equality holds if and only if c = /.
Proof: This statement is true because the previous one is true. Starting with that statement,
c + /
2

p
c/ multiply by 2
c + / 2
p
c/ divide by c + /
1
2
p
c/
c + /
multiply by
p
c/
p
c/
2c/
c + /
c copyright Hidegkuti, Powell, 2009 Last revised: February 25, 2009
Lecture Notes Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic Means page 2
Exercises
1. Find all three means for c = 36 and / = 64.
2. Prove that the two forms of the harmonic mean are equivalent.
3. The picture below shows a right triangle. Find the length of the height drawn to the
hypotenuse.
4. A bus travels between cities A and B. From A to B, the bus has an average speed of
1
. On
its way back, the average speed is
2
. Express the average speed of the bus in terms of
1
and
2
.
5. Prove that for any positive number, the sum of the number and its reciprocal is at least 2.
For what numbers is this sum exactly 2?
c copyright Hidegkuti, Powell, 2009 Last revised: February 25, 2009
Lecture Notes Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic Means page 3
Answers to Exercises
1. Arithmetic Mean:
36 + 64
2
= 50
Geometric Mean:
p
36 64 = 48
Harmonic Mean:
2 (36) 64
36 + 64
= 46. 08
2.
2
1
c
+
1
/
=
2
/ + c
c/
= 2
c/
c + /
=
2c/
c + /
3. Solution: Let us rst label the points, angles and sides in the triangle.
Since 1C triangle is a right triangle, we have that c+, = 90

. Because of this, angle C1

must be equal to ,. and angle 1C1 is equal to c. Thus the height drawn to the hypotenuse
splits the original triangle into two triangles that have identical angles as the original triangle.
Thus, all three triangles, 41C, 41C and M 11C are similar.
Consider now the ratio
side opposite angle ,
side opposite angle c
in triangles 41C and M 11C. Since these
triangles are similar, this ratio is preserved.
side opposite angle ,
side opposite angle c
=
50
/
=
/
18
We solve this equation for / :
50
/
=
/
18
50 18 = /
2
900 = /
2
/ = 30
/ = 30 is ruled out since distances can not be negative. Thus / =
p
18 50 = 30. the
geometric mean of 18 and 50.
c copyright Hidegkuti, Powell, 2009 Last revised: February 25, 2009
Lecture Notes Arithmetic, Geometric, and Harmonic Means page 4
4. Let t
1
and
1
denote the time and speed associated with the trip from A to B, and t
2
and

2
the time and speed associated with the trip from B to A. In both cases, the distance will
be denoted by :.

av
=
distance traveled
time
=
: + :
t
1
+ t
2
=
2:
:

1
+
:

2
=
2:
:
2
+ :
1

2
= 2:

1

2
: (
1
+
2
)
=
2
1

1
+
2
The average speed on the roundtrip is
2
1

1
+
2
. the harmonic average of the individual speeds.
5. Solution: Let r be a positive number. We state the arithmetic-geometric mean theorem for
r and
1
r
.
r +
1
r
2

r
r
1
r
r +
1
r
2
1 multiply by 2
r +
1
r
2
The equality holds if r and
1
r
are equal.
r =
1
r
multiply by r. (r 0)
r
2
= 1
r = 1
r = 1 since r 0
Thus only 1 is a number with the property that the sum of it and its reciprocal is exactly 2.
For all other numbers, this sum is greater than 2.
c copyright Hidegkuti, Powell, 2009 Last revised: February 25, 2009