[Math] Finding minimum using Lagrange multipliers

lagrange multiplier

I'm having difficulty finding the minimum of this equation, $f(x,y,z) = xy + 2xz + 3yz$, subject to the constraint $xyz = 6$ and $x \ge 0$, $y \ge 0$, $z \ge 0$. I tried using Lagrange multipliers but got stuck when eliminating $\lambda$, and finding the values of $x, y, z$. Anyone has any idea how to solve this? Would appreciate any help!

Best Answer

Warning: This method is cute, but does not use Lagrange multipliers.

Let $x=3w$ and $y=2u$. Then we have $xyz=6\implies uwz=1$ and we want to minimize $$xy+2xz+3yz=6uw+6wz+6uz=6(uw+wz+uz)$$ Now by the AM-GM inequality, we have $$uw+wz+uz\ge3\sqrt[3]{uwz}=3,$$ with equality when $uw=wz=uz$ which implies $u=w=z=1$, so we have $$xy+2xz+3yz\ge6\times3=18$$ and we can see $18$ is a true minimum because it is achieved at $x=3$, $y=2$, and $z=1$.