the inequality of arithmetic and geometric means, or more briefly the AM–GM inequality, states that

the inequality of arithmetic and geometric means, or more briefly the AM–GM inequality, states that the arithmetic mean of a list of non-negative real numbers is greater than or equal to the geometric mean of the same list; and further, that the two means are equal if and only if every number in the list is the same.

The simplest non-trivial case — i.e., with more than one variable — for two non-negative numbers x and y, is the statement that,

with equality if and only if x = y. This case can be seen from the fact that the square of a real number is always non-negative (greater than or equal to zero) and from the elementary case (a ± b)2 = a2 ± 2ab + b2 of the binomial formula:



Hence (x + y)2 ≥ 4xy, with equality precisely when(x − y)2 = 0, i.e. x = y. The AM–GM inequality then follows from taking the positive square root of both sides.

For a geometrical interpretation, consider a rectanglewith sides of length x and y, hence it has perimeter2x + 2y and area xy. Similarly, a square with all sides of length √xy has the perimeter 4√xy and the same area as the rectangle. The simplest non-trivial case of the AM–GM inequality implies for the perimeters that 2x + 2y ≥ 4√xy and that only the square has the smallest perimeter amongst all rectangles of equal area.

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