Arithmetic and harmonic three-element Sets
Source: Austrian Federal Competition for Advanced Students 2011, #3
May 15, 2011
algebra proposedalgebra
Problem Statement
A set of three elements is called arithmetic if one of its elements is the arithmetic mean of the other two. Likewise, a set of three elements is called harmonic if one of its elements is the harmonic mean of the other two.How many three-element subsets of the set of integers are arithmetic and harmonic?(Remark: The arithmetic mean and the harmonic mean are defined as
A(a,b)=\frac{a+b}{2} \mbox{and} H(a,b)=\frac{2ab}{a+b}=\frac{2}{\frac{1}{a}+\frac{1}{b}}\mbox{,}
respectively, where is not defined for some , .)