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Similarly, if we want to plot the graph of y = x + 3. Again, this is an increasing line but with a slope of
+1. We need just two points to plot the graph.
If x = 0, then y = 3, (again the y-intercept is same).
And if y = 0, then x = 3. Let us plot it on the same graph on which previous line was plotted.
After looking at the two graphs, we should be able to conclude that if the slope increases, the line
will be steeper.
In the graph, the line y = x + 3 is more steep than y = x/2 + 3 because the slope of the first line is
greater than the second line.
Now, if we want to plot y = 3x + 3.
If x = 0, then y = 3, (again the y-intercept is +3).
And if y = 0, then x = 1. Let us plot these two points and join them to get the graph.
After observing the third line, our conclusion should be justified that if the slope increases, the line
will be steeper than the lines with the lesser slope.
Slope: Slope or Gradient of a line is the inclination or the angle of the line. A higher slope value
indicates a steeper line. Slope can be calculated as the change in the y-coordinate divided by change
in the x-coordinate.
Slope =
y2 y1 y
.
=
x2 x1 x
So, if we know the co-ordinates of two points, we can find out the slope of the line joining them. For
e.g. if P = (5, 6) and Q = (1, 6).
We can find out the slope of the line PQ as
y2 y1 (6 6) 12
=
=
= 2 . So, the slope of the
x2 x1 [1 (5)]
6
Also, the relevance of the slope can be understood by the formula only, Slope =
y
. Let us take the
x
X
Y
0
3
1
4
2
5
3
6
By, observing the table, we can say that when there is a change of 1 unit in x, y also increases by 1
unit. Thats why the slope of the line is 1. We can conclude some properties of increasing line.
a) When x increases, then y will also increase depending on the slope.
b) And if x decreases, then y will also decrease depending on the slope.
Let us see another example of increasing line i.e. y = 3x + 3.
X
Y
0
3
1
6
2
9
3
12
Again in this line, for one unit increase in x, change in y-coordinate is of 3 units, thus the slope of
the line is +3.
Conclusion: If an increase in x-co-ordinate leads to increase in y-co-ordinate, the slope will be
positive and the line will be INCREASING.
And If an increase in x-co-ordinate leads to decrease in y-co-ordinate, the slope will be negative
and the line will be DECREASING.
Examples of Decreasing Line: We have already seen how to identify whether a line is increasing or
decreasing. If the slope is negative, line will always be decreasing.
For e.g. 2x + y = 4.
On seeing this line, many students will say that this is an increasing line with a slope of +2. But,
actually, this is an example of decreasing line of slope 2. Whenever, we need to find the slope of a
line, we will have to compare it with the standard equation of straight line y = mx + c.
If we rewrite the equation given in the question as y = 2x + 4, we get a decreasing line.
Properties of Decreasing Line: If x increases, then y will decrease depending on the slope and if x
decreases, then y will increase depending on the slope.
X
Y
0
4
1
2
2
0
3
2
As there is a change of +1 unit in x-coordinate, y co-ordinate decreases by 2 units, thus a negative
line with slope of 2.
Let us plot the graph of this line. Again we just need two points.
If x = 0, then y = 4 (4 is the y-intercept, so graph will cut the y-axis at +4) and when y = 0, then x = 2.
If we decrease the magnitude of the slope i.e. make it 1, and then try to plot it.
Let say the line y = x + 4, a decreasing line with a slope of 1.
When x =0, then y = 4, and when y = 0, then x = 4.
X
Y
0
4
1
3
2
2
3
1
As x increases by 1 unit, the y co-ordinate decreases by 1 unit, thus a slope of 1.
Again, we can see as the magnitude of slope of a line decreases, we get a flatter line. The line y = x
+ 4 is a decreasing line with slope of (1), while the line y = 2x + 4 is a decreasing line with a slope of
2. As the magnitude of the slope increases, we get a steeper line and vice-versa.
ROOTS & SOLUTIONS
Roots: Roots are the point where the graph of that equation cuts the x-axis. Or roots are the point
where y-coordinate is equal to 0 which should be quite obvious. As roots are the points on X-axis
and at any point on the X-axis, y-co-ordinate is equal to 0.
Also, a linear polynomial can have only one root. Root is dependent on the highest power of the
polynomial.
So, y = 2x + 4, highest power of polynomial here is 1, thats why it can have one root only.
Solutions: Solutions are the values which will satisfy the equation. But you will think that on plug-in
value of the root also, the equation will be satisfied. Yes, its true. Roots are a part of Solutions. In
other words, we can say that for every corresponding value of x, we will get a corresponding value of
y and all of those will be solutions.
For e.g. if x =1, then y = 2. This is a solution.
If x = 2, then y = 0. This is also a solution and root.
If x = 3, then y = 2 , this is also a solution.
Like this, we can assume infinite values of x, and for all those infinite values of x, we will get
corresponding values for y.
So, any linear equation has maximum of one root and infinite solutions.
If we want to interpret this logic graphically, then all the points on the line are solutions of that
equation. And there are infinite points on a line.
In the graph, the line cuts the X-axis at 2 which is the root and the line cuts the y-axis at 4 which is
the y-intercept.
In the graph shown above, the point (x , y) as (1, 2) also lies on the graph and is a solution. That was
just one point on the graph, like that we can get infinite points on the graph and all of them will be
the solutions.
Parallel Lines: If the slopes are same, then the lines will be parallel.
For example, y = 2x + 4 and y = 2x 4 are increasing lines with slope of (+2) and y-intercepts of +4
and 4 respectively. Let us plot them.
X
Y
3
14
2
6
1
0
0
4
1
6
2
6
3
4
4
0
On observing the table, x = 1 and x =4 are roots of the polynomial as value of y-coordinate is equal
to 0. Also, y-intercept is 4 as the value of x-coordinate is equal to 0. And also as the value of x
starts increasing, value of y increases rapidly. And when value of x decreases, then also y
increases rapidly.
Let us plot one more graph of a quadratic polynomial with negative sign of a.
Y = x2 x + 6; Again we need to find out the roots of the polynomial, we need to equate the value
of polynomial to zero.
So, we get x2 x + 6 = 0, which is same as x2 + x 6 = 0. So, the roots are (2) & (3) and the yintercept is +6. (y = x2 x + 6).
After observing both the graphs, we would have got an idea that whenever the coefficient of x2 is
positive, the graph will be a Upright-Parabola and when the coefficient of x2 is negative, the graph
will be an Inverted-Parabola.
Factor Theorem: If we know roots of a quadratic expression, we can frame the factors and if we
know the factors of a quadratic expression, we can get the roots of the equation. So, both factors
and roots are interrelated.
For e.g. if a quadratic expression is given as y = x2 10x + 24. We can factorize the expression as y =
(x 6) (x 4).
So, (x 6) and (x 4) are factors of the expression and to find the value of roots, we need to equate
the expression to 0.
So, (x 6)(x 4) = 0 which gives the value of x as 4 or 6. These two are the roots. So, if we know the
factors of an expression, we can equate it to 0 to get the roots. And if we know the roots, we can get
the factors by subtracting the root from x.
For e.g., If its given that 2 and 3 are the roots of a quadratic expression. So, we can frame the
factors as (x 2) and [x (3)]= (x + 3) are factors of the expression .
So, Factor Theorem states that if (x ) is a factor of polynomial f(x), then on plug-in value of x = in
f(x), f(x) will be equal to 0.
For e.g: If its given that (x 3) is a factor of 2x2 + 5x + k, find the value of k.
If (x 3) is given as the factor, then applying the factor theorem, we can say that x = 3 will be root of
the given expression and on substituting x = 3 in expression, the value of expression must be equal
to zero.
So, on plug-in 2 32 + 5 3 + k = 0; K is equal to 33.
We will learn some more applications of Factor theorem later on.
Sum of the roots and Product of the roots:
Roots of a quadratic expression ax2 + bx + c can be calculated in two ways:
i) By factorisation i.e. splitting the middle term.
ii ) Roots =
b b 2 4ac
.
2a
Now, the question arises if we want to find the sum of roots or product of roots of quadratic
expression is it mandatory to find out the roots first?
Answer is no. We can directly find out sum of the roots and product of roots and use it as a formula.
We will see the derivation now.
Let us assume the two roots of quadratic expression ax2 + bx + c as and .
Now using FACTOR THEOREM, if and are the roots then (x ) and (x ) will be the factors of
the quadratic expression.
So, we can express as (x ) (x ) = ax2 + bx + c.
On multiplying, we get [x2 ( + )x + ] = ax2 + bx + c.
The equation is not balanced as the coefficient of x2 on the L.H.S is 1, but the coefficient of x2 on
R.H.S is a. So, to make it balanced we will divide the expression on the R.H.S by a.
x 2 ( + ) x + = x 2 +
b
c
x+ .
a
a
On observing the above equation, we can conclude one more point about quadratic expression.
A new quadratic equation can be expressed as x2 (sum of the roots)x + product of roots = 0.
On equating the coefficient of x and constant on both sides, we get
Sum of the roots = ( + ) =
Product of roots = =
b
a
c
.
a
Now, we can use these two formulas directly in any quadratic expression. Let us see some
applications.
E.g. 2: Construct a quadratic equation if its two roots are 4 and 5.
To frame quadratic equation, we need to find sum of the roots and product of the roots.
Sum of the roots = 4 + (5) = 1.
And product of the roots = (4) (5) = 20.
So, the equation can be framed by substituting the values in x2 (sum of the roots)x + product of
roots = 0.
On plug-in values, we get x2 (1)x + (20) = 0 or, x2 + x 20 = 0.
E.g. 3: If p and q are the roots of equation x2 5x + 7 = 0, frame a new equation whose roots are (p +
5) and (q + 5).
To frame a new equation, we need to find the sum of roots and product of roots of the required
equation.
Our required equation is x2 (p + 5 + q + 5)x + (p + 5) (q + 5) = 0.
So, we need to know the value of (p + 5) + (q + 5) = p + q + 10. We already know the value of (p + q)
from the first equation as p & q are roots of the first equation.
So, p + q = b/a = (5)/1 = 5, then value of (p + q + 10) = 5 + 10 = 15.
Now, we should also know the value of the product of roots of the required equation which is (p + 5)
(q + 5).
So, (p + 5) (q + 5) = pq + 5(p + q) + 25 = 7 + 5 5 + 25 = 57 [pq = product of roots of first equation
whose value is c/a = 7].
So, now we can plug these values in equation x2 (sum of the roots)x + product of roots = 0.
So, answer is x2 15x + 57 = 0.
E.g. 4: If (p + 3) and (q + 3) are roots of x2 + 8x 10, then frame a equation whose roots are p & q.
The new equation with the roots p & q will be of the form x2 (p + q)x + pq = 0.
That means we need to find the value of (p + q) and pq.
We know sum of roots of equation given in question i.e. (p + 3 + q + 3) = 8 which gives us the value
of (p + q) = 14.
Similarly, we can find the product of roots from the equation given.
(p + 3) (q + 3) = 10, On multiplying we get [pq + 3(p + q) + 9] = 10.
On substituting the value of (p + q) obtained earlier, we can find the value of pq.
So, [pq 42 + 9] = 10, pq = 23
Now, we know the value of (p + q) = 14 and pq = 23.
So, the new equation framed is x2 + 14x + 23 =0.
E.g. 5: If two roots of equation 3x2 7x + 2k + 5 = 0 are reciprocal of each other, then find the value
of k.
This is a pretty easy question which can be solved orally if we know that if the roots are reciprocal of
each other leads to product of the roots being equal to 1.
For e.g. if one root is p, second root will be 1/p since roots are reciprocal and their product will
always be 1.
We know the product of roots = c/a = (2k + 5)/3 which is equal to 1.
So, on solving k = 1.
E.g. 6: If two roots of equation 4x2 (5p + 15)x 4 = 0 are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign,
find the value of p.
Again, a straightforward question if we know the logic that if the roots are equal in magnitude and
opposite in sign, then the sum of the roots is always equal to zero.
If we assume one root as z, then the second root will be z. And sum of those two roots will be 0.
We know sum of the roots given in the question is (5p + 15)/4 and equate it to 0.
We get (5p + 15)/4 = 0. On solving, we get value of p = 3.
Determinant:
Determinant is denoted by D whose value is equal to b 2 4ac. It is called Determinant as it helps in
determining the nature of roots of quadratic equation. We will take some examples which will make
us understand the logic.
1st case: X2 5X + 6 = 0
Roots of the equation can be found out
b b 2 4ac
.
2a
(5) 25 24 5 1
Roots =
=
.
2
2
by the formula
2nd case: X2 6X + 9 = 0
Similarly, roots of this
equation can be found out.
Roots =
6 0
2
3rd case: X2 + X + 1 =0
And roots of this
equation,
Roots =
1 5
.
2
First case: if Determinant is positive, then the roots will be real & unequal.
Second case: If determinant is 0, then the roots will be real & equal. (Also pay attention the
quadratic equation in 2nd case is a perfect square. So, we should keep in mind that determinant of a
perfect square will always be zero which will give us real and equal roots).
Third case: If determinant is negative, then the roots will be imaginary as square root of a negative
number is imaginary.
Now, we look at the positioning of the graphs in all these different cases.
E.g. 7: If the equation x2 15 m(x 4) = 0 has equal roots, find the value/s of m.
Before solving this problem, we need to rearrange the equation in standard form which is ax2 + bx +
c = 0.
On rearranging, we get x2 mx + (4m 15) = 0.
Since, the equation has equal roots, determinant must be equal to zero.
Thus, on equating b2 4ac = 0, we get m2 4(4m 15 ) = 0.
On solving, we get values of m as 6 or 10.
Common Roots: Sometimes two quadratic equations have one root in common or two roots in
common. In such scenarios we will go back to basics of the definition of root. Roots are the point
which intersects the X-axis or roots are the values which on substituting in quadratic expression, the
value of expression becomes zero. So, if a pair of quadratic equation has one root in common, then
on substituting the value of root in both the equations, value becomes zero.
For example, the expressions (x2 3x + 2) and (2x2 3x 2) have (x 2 ) as the common factor which
means x = 2 is the common root of both the expressions. And if we substitute x = 2 in both the
expressions, values of both the expressions will become zero.
a b c
= = . On plug-in values of a, b, c, d, e and f, we can solve the question.
d e f
For e.g. (x2 + 3x + 2 = 0) and (2x2 + 6x + 4= 0) are two equations with both the roots common and the
ratio just discussed earlier will be same.
Cubic Equation: Cubic equation can have maximum of 3 roots and as we saw there is relationship
between roots of a quadratic equation, similarly there exists certain relationship among roots of a
cubic equation.
If p, q and r are the roots of cubic equation ax3 + bx2 + cx + d =0.
Then sum of roots taken one at time i.e. (p + q + r) = b/a.
Sum of roots taken 2 at a time i.e. (pq + pr + qr) = c/a.
And sum of roots taken 3 at a time or product of roots i.e. (pqr) = d/a.
Also, we can notice the pattern that the negative & positive sign changes alternately.
E.g. 9: If p, q and r are the roots of cubic equation 2x3 4x2 + 6x 10 = 0, then find value of p3 + q3 +
r3 .
Before doing anything, we should see what is the requirement to find out value of p3 + q3 + r3?
We know, p3 + q3 + r3 = (p + q+ r)[p2 + q2 + r2 (pq + pr + qr)] + 3pqr.
We know the value of (p + q + r) which is sum of roots of cubic equation given equal to 2. Similarly
we also know the value of (pq + pr + qr) which is sum of roots taken 2 at a time equal to 3. And
finally, we also know value of pqr = 5.
Now, to find out value of p3 + q3 + r3, we should also know the value of p2 + q2 + r2.
No, the value of p2 + q2 + r2 can be found out with the help of an identity.
So, p2 + q2 + r2 = [p + q + r]2 2(pq + pr + qr] = 4 6 = 2.
Now, we can plug-in values of all of them in formula of p3 + q3 + r3 to obtain its value.
So, p3 + q3 + r3 = (2) [ 2 (3)] + 3 5 = 10 + 15 = 5.
So, this problem is an example of application of identities and relations between the roots of a cubic
equation. If we are comfortable with these formulas, we can solve these problems orally.
Exercise:
1. If p and q are the roots of x2 cx + b = 0, find the values of
a) p2 + q2.
b) p3 + q3.
2. If p and q are the roots of equation x2 5x + 7 =0, then frame a new equation whose roots are p/q
and q/p.
3. For what values of p will the equation x2 2x(1 + 3p) + 7(3 + 2p) = 0 have real & equal roots?
4. For what value of k will the equation x2 5k(x + 2) 2(x + 3) = 0 have roots equal in magnitude
but opposite in sign?
5. If p and q are the roots of equation 2x2 6x + 3 = 0, then frame a equation whose roots are (p q)2
and (p + q)2.
6. If p, q and r are the roots of the cubic equation 5x3 3x2 + 4x 3 =0, find the value of
p
q
r
+
+
.
qr pr pq
7. If the difference between the roots of the equation 2x2 mx + 15 = 0 is 1.5, find m.
8. If one of the root of the equation x2 2x 15 = 0 is the same as one root of the equation x2 10x +
p =0, find p.
9. P is a positive integer satisfying P2 16. How many equations of the form x2 + Px + 4 = 0 exist
such that the roots are real and unequal?
10. If the equation 2x2 px + 8 = 0 has imaginary roots, then how many positive integral values can
p take?
11. Which is the least positive integral value that p can assume if the roots of the equation 4x2 px
+ 5 = 0 are real and unequal?
12. How many integral values of p satisfy the relation x2 5px + 4p2 + 1> 0 for all real values of x?
13. If both the roots of the equation x2 6px + 2 2p =0 exceed 5, then find the range of p.
14. Find the range of p if the roots of the equation 2x2 5x + p2 6p + 8 = 0 are opposite in sign?
15. What is the condition for one root of the quadratic equation px2 + qx + r =0 to be thrice the
other? (Answer in terms of p, q and r).
16. While solving a quadratic equation, Ram made a mistake in copying the constant term and got
the roots as 5 and 1. While Shyam made a mistake in copying the coefficient of x and got the roots
as 3 and 4. Find the correct equation and its roots.
17. If one of the roots of the equation x2 + px 28 = 0 is 4 and roots of the equation x2 + px + r = 0
are real and equal, then find the value of r.
18. If two quadratic equations px2 + x + 5 = 0 and 2x2 + x + q = 0 have a common root x = 2, then
which of the following statements hold true?
a) 4p + q = 17
b) p + q = 8.25
c) p q = 11.75
d) 4p q = 3
Answer:
1.) (a) c2 2b
1. (b) c3 3bc.
2. 7x2 11x + 7 = 0.
3. 2 or 10/9
4. 0. 4
6. 31/15
7. 129
8. 25 or 39
11. 9
12. 1
5. X2 12x + 27 = 0
9. None
13. P > 1.66 or P < 11.5.
Decoding Inequalities
What is basic difference between solving an Inequality and Equality problem?
Answer is pretty simple. While solving an equality problem, we get a fixed value/s of the variable but
in case of an inequality, we get a range of values.
For e.g., On solving 2x 5 = x 3, we get value of the variable x as 2.
But the same problem with inequality will give us range of values. 2x 5 > x 3; On solving this, we
get x > 2. The range signifies that x can take all the values which are greater than 2 and uptill +
infinity.
Let us see pictorial understanding of > and <.
So, throughout the inequality chapter we will use the notation right of or left of particular value
instead of greater or less than that particular value. This concept helps us in visualizing the number
line and gives us our required region.
AND/ OR Funda:
We use funda of AND/OR quite extensively without paying attention to its details.
For e.g., if there are two sets given, lets say.
{Classical Batsmen} = [Dravid, Kallis, Sachin, Mahela, Ponting, Clarke].
{Hardhitting batsmen} = [Hayden, Sehwag, Sachin, Kallis, Ponting].
If now, the question arises which batsmen will comprise the set who are Classical AND hardhitting
batsmen. I am sure all of us will answer this. We will find out such names in two sets which are
common to both sets. [Kallis, Sachin, Ponting].
Similarly, if the question asks which batsmen will comprise the set who are classical OR hardhitting?
Answer will be the set of all the batsmen who are uniquely present in both the sets. [Hayden,
Sehwag, Sachin, Kallis, Ponting, Mahela, Dravid, Clarke].
One more pointer in AND/OR case is that OR set will always be greater than AND set.
OR (Union): In case of OR, either of the conditions has to be satisfied. So, even if one condition is
satisfied, that element will be included in OR. In the above example, if any of the batsmen satisfy
condition of hardhitting or classical, they will be included in the set.
AND (Intersection): In case of AND, both the conditions have to be satisfied simultaneously. If only
one of the conditions is being satisfied, then that case will not be considered. In the above example,
if we are looking for set of classical batsmen AND hardhitting batsmen, then both the conditions
have to be met at same time.
Application of AND/OR in Inequality:
AND/OR is used quite frequently in inequality problems, so we will revisit this funda again. But this
time we will play with inequality signs.
E.g. 1: If x > 2 AND x < 3.
These many examples should be enough to understand the logic of AND/OR. Best way to remove
any doubts related with this logic is again OR set will be greater than AND set.
(i) When both the numbers are positive; on squaring inequality sign remains same.
For e.g., If a > b, then a2 > b2 (if a & b are +ve numbers).
If 4 > 3, then on squaring sign will hold true as we will get 16 > 9.
(ii) When both numbers are negative; on squaring inequality sign will reverse.
If a > b, then a2 < b2 (if a & b are negative numbers).
For e.g., if 3 > 5, then on squaring inequality sign will reverse as we will get 9 < 25.
(iii) When one number is positive and other one in negative, nothing can be said of sign. It will
depend on the magnitude.
For e.g., if 5 > 3, then on squaring we get 25 > 9. In this case the inequality sign holds true as the
magnitude of 5 is greater than 3.
But if 5 > 6, then we will get 25 < 36 on squaring as the magnitude of 6 is greater than 5.
So, when one of the numbers is +ve and another one is ve, we will have to look out for magnitude
and accordingly proceed.
There are many other rules in inequality which we will come to know when we solve different
problems. We will learn those theories when we encounter those problems.
Applications of Inequalities:
E.g. 6: Solve: 2x + 5 > 2(x + 1).
This is a simple problem based on the rules of addition/subtraction.
We can rewrite this problem as 2x + 5 2x > 2.
On solving we get, 5 > 2.
We are getting an answer independent of x. Whenever this happens, we need to check the
condition whether its true or false.
Condition we are getting is 5 > 2. Is it true?
Yes, it is true. So, answer should be x can take all real values.
We could have also approached this problem in a different way.
Question is 2x + 5 > 2x + 2. Now, 2x is on both sides and 2x added to 5 will always be greater than 2x
added to 2 for any real value of x. Thats why the answer is all real values of x.
Now, we will look at how to tackle higherdegree inequalities like quadratic, cubic and so on.
So, entire number line is divided into threeregions. Those regions are x > 3, 2 < x < 3 and x < 2.
If we take any value in the first region which is x > 3, then both the brackets (x 3) and (x + 2) will be
positive and two positive numbers multiplied will be a positive number.
Take a value for x in the region x > 3. If x = 5, then (x 3) (x + 2) > 0 is true as both the brackets will
be positive and when multiplied will give us the required result. So, we can say that x > 3 is one of
the regions which satisfy our requirement.
If we take the middle region which is 2 < x < 3, then one of the brackets will be positive and other
will be negative; and multiplication of positive number with a negative number results in a negative
number. Take a value for x in the region 2 < x < 3. If x = 0, then value of (x 3) becomes 3 and
value of (x + 2) becomes 2. And when we multiply these two, we get a negative number. So, this
middle region does not suit our requirement.
If we take the leftmostregion which is x < 2 , then both the brackets will be positive and two
positive numbers multiplied always give a positive resultant.
Take a value in the region x < 2. If x = 4, then value of (x 3) becomes 7 and value of (x + 2)
becomes 2; when these two multiplied, we get a positive number which fulfils our need.
This pattern will always follow. That is, in the rightmost region, we got positive result; in the
middleregion, we got negative result; and in the leftmost region we got positive result. Observe
that the polarity sign changes alternately if we start from rightmost region to leftmost region. We
will use this funda throughout the chapter. But, what is the logic behind this funda?
The polarity funda is based on this underlying logic of leftright of a point. This logic is very useful
and will be used in subsequent chapters also. And in all the inequality problems, we will always start
from the rightmost region because we will always get positive region. And after that we dont need
to do anything as sign changes alternately.
So, you should have got the idea that for a quadratic inequality, if the question is asking for > 0,
then answer will always lie beyond the boundaries and if the question is asking < 0, then our
required region will be within the boundaries. See the picture above to get the logic.
And if we have understood this logic, we can solve these questions orally by just finding out the
limiting points (points where that particular bracket will be zero).
E.g. 8: Solve: x2 x 6 < 0.
Same question as the previous one, only difference is that we need to find range of values for x for
which the quadratic expression given in the question will be negative.
Again, we will factorize the expression, we get (x 3) ( x + 2) < 0.
We will find out the limitingpoints or boundaries where the two brackets will become zeros.
The points are same as the previous one and since the question is asking for the negative result, our
required region will lie between the boundaries.
So, answer is 2 < x < 3.
E.g. 9: Solve x2 x 6 0.
This question is similar to x2 x 6 > 0, only difference being that in previous question the value of
the quadratic expression had to be greater than zero, but in this question the value of quadratic
expression has to be either equal to zero or greater than zero.
So, the boundaries will still remain the same, means the boundaries are still 3 and 2. But, in this
question the points 3 and 2 will also be included in the answer. Because when x takes the value of
2, the value of the quadratic expression (x 3) ( x + 2) 0, will be zero and when x takes the value of
3, the value of the expression will be zero.
So, answer will be x 3 or x 2.
When there is an equal to sign with an inequality sign (i.e. or ), we dont need to do anything
different in finding out the required region. Just plot the points and if equal to sign is there, then
those points will also be included in our answer.
E.g. 10: Solve (x + 5) (x + 7) 0.
First of all, we will find out the boundaries or points where the expression given becomes zero.
Those points are 5 and 7 respectively.
Since, we are looking for the value of the expression to be negative; our answer will be within the
region. Since, in the question equal to sign is also included the boundaries (i.e. 5 & 7 will also be
included).
So, answer is 7 x 5.
So, all the expressions including two brackets or quadratic expression can be solved orally like we
have learnt just now. Let us see a variation in this type.
E.g. 11: Solve x2 x +12 > 0.
First of all, this problem is not in the form of the standard way. Whenever, the coefficient of x2 is
negative, first thing that we should do is to make the coefficient positive by multiplying the entire
expression by 1. And we have learnt that when we are multiplying by a negative number, inequality
sign reverses.
So, after multiplying, we get x2 + x 12 < 0, now this problem is in standard format. We can go ahead
and solve this question with the logic learnt.
On factorizing, we get(x + 4) ( x 3) < 0. So, the boundaries are (4) and (3) respectively and
whenever the quadratic expression is negative (less than zero), required answer lies within the
region.
So, answer is [4 < x < 3].
So, dont forget to convert the coefficient of x2 if its negative.
So, answer is 1.5 x 5 OR x 4. Notice, equal to sign is also included in the answer.
E.g. 14: For how many integral values of x, is the expression x(x 5) (2x 6) (x + 3) 0?
Most of the students get confused in these types of questions despite being based on the same
logic. Only difference in this question compared to those which we have done is that in this question
range is not being asked, but number of integral values of x is being asked. If we could find the
range for which the expression is less than or equal to zero, we can also count the number of
integral values of x for which this expression will be true.
Let us find out the range first.
The boundaries are 0, 5, 3 and 3 respectively. Plot them on number line and start from the right
most region because we always get positive there.
x2
> 0.
x5
x2
> 0 is also same. Why?
x5
For, (x 2) (x 5) > 0, how many scenarios are possible to multiply two numbers to get a positive
result.
There are only two cases possible: a) Both numbers are negative or b) Both numbers are positive.
If you observe carefully, polarity logic will also hold true for division. For,
x2
> 0 , which cases are
x5
possible to divide two numbers to get a positive result. Again same two cases two possible; either
both numbers are positive or negative.
Thats why the answer for both expressions is same.
x2
< 0 , answer would had been same as that for (x 2) (
x5
x 5) < 0. So, we can solve all the expressions involving divisions based on the logic which we have
learnt for multiplication.
We have to be careful in one case. Answer will change in that case. Let us see that part.
E.g. 16: Solve:
x2
0.
x5
If equal to sign was not included in the question then the answer would had been same. But since
equal to sign is also there in the question answer will vary.
Answer for (x 2) ( x 5) 0 is 2 x 5.
But answer for
x2
0 is 2 x < 5.
x5
number
= undefined ].
0
Remember denominator cannot be zero at any cost. So, we will have to exclude x = 5 from our
answer. But, in case of (x 2) (x 5) 0, there is no term in denominator, so we dont have any
restriction here.
So, whenever there is an equality sign with an inequality for an expression involving numerator &
denominator, we will should be careful to exclude the value of x for which denominator becomes
zero.
E.g. 17: Solve
( x + 4 )( x + 1) 0 .
( x 2)
This problem can also be solved by just plotting the points on the number line.
Since, the question is asking for range of values for which the expression will be greater than or
equal to zero, we can write the answer as [x > 2 OR 4 x 1].
Remember, denominator becomes zero at x =2, and since the question is asking for values for which
the expression becomes greater than or equal to zero, we will have to exclude 2 from our answer.
Inequalities involving Perfect squares.
E.g. 18: Solve x2 > 0.
We need to find the range of values of x for which x2 will be positive. We know x2 is a perfect
square and irrespective of whichever value of x, x2 will always be positive. Even if we substitute the
value of x as negative number, x2 will be positive.
So, answer should be x can take all real numbers except x = 0. x cannot take value 0 because if we
substitute x = 0 in x2, value of x2 will become 0 and the question is asking for greater than 0.
E.g. 19: Solve (x 2)2 0.
Again (x 2)2 is a perfect square and it will be positive for all real values of x. And in the question,
we need to find values of x for which the expression (x 2)2 will be greater than or equal to zero.
So, x can take value of 2 also as in question equality sign is included.
E.g. 20: Solve (x + 7)2 < 0
Answer should be no solution as (x + 7)2 is a perfect square and it cannot be negative for any real
values of x.
( x 2) 0 .
2
( x 3)
Again, the denominator is a perfect square, so we can ignore it and work on the numerator.
Our question reduces to (x 2) 0. So, the answer is x 2. But, again we need to check where the
denominator becomes zero. The denominator ( x 3)2 becomes zero x = 3. And the question is
asking for values of x for which the expression is greater than or equal to zero. But, we have to also
take in mind that the (x 3) 2 is in denominator and it cannot be equal to zero as if the denominator
becomes zero, the entire expression will become undefined.
So, if x = 3 comes in answer region x 2, we will have to exclude it. And x = 3 lies in the answer
region. So, our final answer is x 2 and x 3.
So all the questions involving perfect squares can be solved pretty easily, but we just need to be
careful in writing our final answer depending on whether the expression is asking greater than or
equal to or less than zero.
E.g. 24:
( x 2)
( x 3)
In this question, numerator is a perfect square and we can ignore it and go ahead with our question
and solve it.
So, our question reduces to
( x 3)
So, whenever, the quadratic expression cannot be factorized, we need to find the determinant
immediately. If the determinant is negative and the coefficient of x2 is positive, value of that
particular quadratic expression is always positive.
E.g. 27: Solve (x2 + 2) (x2 10x 24) < 0.
Again the first term is a quadratic expression which cannot be factorized and if we find out its
determinant, it is negative. So, x2 + 2 is always positive as the roots are imaginary and the graph will
always lie above the Xaxis. So, we can ignore it completely as it would not have any effect on
inequality.
So, our question reduces to x2 10 x 24 < 0 which can be further split into (x 12) ( x + 2) < 0.
We know how to solve such inequalities orally and answer is 2 < x < 12.
When there is some other number on right hand side of inequality apart from zero:
E.g. 28: Solve ( x 2)2 >49.
Best way to solve such problems is to bring whatever is on the righthand side to lefthand side
because that is our standard format. If we do not do that, we will have to two cases to solve it which
will consume slightly more time.
So, we can rewrite the question as (x 2)2 49 > 0.
Or (x 2)2 72 > 0; ( x 2 + 7) ( x 2 7) > 0.
We get (x + 5) ( x 9) > 0.
So, the answer is x > 9 OR x < 5.
E.g. 29: Solve
1 1
> .
x 8
1 1
8 x
>0=
> 0.
x 8
8x
We have learnt that whenever the coefficient of x is negative, we need to make it positive and for
that we will have to multiply the expression by (1).
After multiplying, we get
x 8
< 0.
8x
x+3
>2.
x 1
x+3
x + 5
x5
2>0
>0
< 0 1< x < 5.
x 1
x 1
x 1
Assume x 2 = y, so x = y2.
So, equation becomes y2 + 10y 24 0.
1 1
.
x 15
2.
3x + 1 1
.
x+4 4
3. x2 + 4 > 0.
4. (x2 4) (x2 9) 0.
x2 + 3
5. 2
0.
x 3x
6.
x2 + 3
0.
x2 6 x + 9
x2 + 4x
0.
x 2 8 x + 16
( x 3)3 ( x 7)2
0.
( x + 4)2 ( x + 9)
14.
11x
3.
( x 2 + 2)
x 2 12
15.
<2.
( x 3)2
16. x + 2x 35 0.
2
3
1
3
17. x 2 x 15 0 .
Directions for question 18 to 26: In all the following questions, find out how many integral values of
x will satisfy the given inequalities if x lies between 25 and + 25 i.e. 25 x +25?
18. x2 7x + 9 > 0
19. (x2 4) (x + 5) 0.
20. (x2 + 5x + 7) ( x + 5) 0.
21.
1
1
<
.
x 5 x
22.
1
1
<
.
2
x
x 1
23.
1 1 1
< <
5 x 3
3
24. 64 x 2 216 .
25. (x 4)2 > 0.
26.
x3 ( x 2 + 1)
< 0.
( x 5)2
27. How many integral values of x will not satisfy (x2 36) (x2 4) 0?
28. How many integral values of x will satisfy
1
100
x2
?
4
9
29. If (2x) (2x 4) (2x 7) (2x 9) (2x 11) 0, how many single-digit whole number that x cannot
assume?
Answer Key:
1. 0 < x 15.
x 3.
2. X 0 OR x < - 4.
5. X > 3 OR x < 0
8. x 5 OR -8 x - 5
9. X 0 OR x - 4, x 4.
12. 7 x 13 OR x - 11
13. X 3 OR x < - 9.
16. 0 x 49
17. 27 x 125
18. 47
19. 28
20. 21
21. 27
22. 24
23. 1
24. 26
25. 50
26. 25
27. 6
28. 6
29. 6
But, the graph of y = x is to be drawn with some constraints. The constraint is that x 0. We should
be aware that in which region x is greater than or equal to zero.
So, x is positive in the first quadrant that means that the portion of the graph lying in the 3rd
quadrant is not valid since x is negative there.
Now, if we plot the graph of y = x on the same graph with the condition x < 0.
y = x y = x if x 0
And y = (x) = x if x < 0.
Let us plot both of them on the same graph, y = x if x 0 and y = x if x < 0.
Now, if we know how to plot y = x , can you guess how will the graph of y = 2 x .
Plotting of the graph of linear equation is dependent on the slope. In this case slope is of 2, so still
we will get a V-shaped figure only. Only difference being, since the slope is greater, we will get a
steeper V figure.
Similarly, the graph of y = 3 x will also be a V-shaped figure but steeper than the graphs of y = x
or 2x .
Now, can all of you plot the graphs of x = y and x = y ?
E.g. 3: Plot the graph of y = x 2 .
We should learn how to plot the graph with the help of the definition of the modulus.
So, y = x 2 if x 2 0 or x 2.
And y = (x 2) if x 2 < 0 i.e. x < 2.
Now, let us plot both the graphs one-by one.
Graph of y = x 2 if x 2.
Now, if we merge both the graphs, then we can get the final graph of y = x 2 .
Now, if we plot both of them on the same graph, we will get the graph of y = x + 2 .
E.g. 5: y = x 2 .
Again, this is also a question of vertical displacement of the graph. In the previous question, yintercept was + 2, so the graph was vertically shifted upward and the V-shaped figure was made at
+2.
But, in this question, Y-intercept is (2), so the graph will be vertically shifted downward and the Vshaped figure will be made at (2).
Had the question been to plot y > x 2 3 , then also the graph would had remained same, but
only difference would had been that the V-shaped line would be excluded since equality sign is
missing. So, the graph would have been the area denoted in the previous graph by red arrows.
And if the question was to plot the graph of y < x 2 3 , the graph would had remained same,
but this time the required area will be below the V-shaped line excluding the V-shaped line since the
question is asking for less than.
We learnt how to plot the graphs of modulus with vertical and horizontal movements. Now, we will
look at some of the application of those graphs.
Type I:
E.g. 1: Find the area of the region enclosed by the graphs of y = x 4 5 and the X-axis.
Now herein lays the advantage of learning how to plot the graph immediately and then finding out
the area of the required region.
The graph will be V-shaped made at (4, 5). And we do not need an exact graph. We just want to
know the points where the graph will cut the X-axis.
There are many ways of finding the area of the required region. We will look at two of those
methods and both those methods are pretty easy.
First Method:
First of all, to find the area of the triangle, we should know the base and height of that triangle.
Height is clearly visible as it will be the y-intercept. So, the height of the given triangle is (5 units),
and our objective should be to find out the base of the triangle. Base of the triangle is the X-axis line
enclosed between the V-shaped modulus graphs. So, if we can find out the co-ordinates of the endpoints of V-shaped modulus graph intersecting the X-axis, we can easily find out the distance
between the two points which will serve our purpose.
All of us know what is a slope and what does it mean. We also know that slope =
y
. This means
x
that slope is the ratio of change between the Y-co-ordinates and X-xo-ordinates. And also the slope
of the line given in the question is 1. What can we conclude if the slope of a line 1?
If the slope of line is 1, it means whatever is the change in Y-coordinate, same magnitude of change
will also take place in X-coordinate.
Now, the value of x-coordinate is 1 and +9. Can we find out the distance between these two points
which will give us the length of the triangle?
Yes, the distance is 9 (1) = 10 units and the height is 5 units.
So, area of the required area is = (1/2) 10 5 = 25 square units.
Alternative method:
This is the far better efficient way of solving the question related with area problems. We just need
to find out how much is the slope of the line, the perpendicular will bisect the base into two equal
parts. Depending on what is the change in Y-coordinate and slope of the line, we can find out the
two parts of base and add them to find the length of base of triangle.
1
x2 +4.
2
Again, we need to plot the graph immediately. The graph will be inverted V-shaped since negative
sign attached to modulus and the origin has shifted to +4. [
1
x 2 Will become zero at x = 4] and
2
E.g. 3: Find the area of the region enclosed by the graphs of y = 2 x + 4 4 and the X-axis.
After solving, two examples we should understand that drawing graph is not necessary to find the
area. We can find out the area orally. To find the area we need the height and base of the triangle.
Height is already given in the question as the y-intercept is 4.
And base can be found out with the help of slope and y-intercept. Slope in this case is 2 and change
in y-intercept is 4 {as y-co-ordinate changes from 4 to 0}.
So, slope =
y
4
2=
x = 2
x
x
Remember the triangle in previous question, half of the base is 2, so length of base will be 4. Now
the base is 4 and the height is also 4, so area of the triangle is 8 square units.
See the question can be solved orally without plotting the graph. So, once you get a hang of plotting
graphs, you can solve many questions orally.
E.g. 4: Find the area of region enclosed by the graphs of y =
3
x 4 5 and the X-axis.
2
Again, we should not waste our time in plotting the graph. We can say that height of the triangle is 5
units and to find out the base, we will take help of slope. Slope of the line is 3/2 and change in the yintercept is 5 {as y-coordinate changes from 5 to 0}.
So, slope =
y
3 5
10
=
x =
x
2 x
3
Again half of the base of the triangle is 10/3, so the length of total base will be 20/3.
1 20
50
Area = 5
2 3
3
So, all such questions can be handled without any difficulty if the basic understanding of graph is
clear.
Type II:
E.g. 5: How many integral points will satisfy y x 3 + 4 and y 0.
This is a different type of question than what we have learnt. But the logic is still hidden in the funda
of graph only.
Let us plot the graph first; we have already seen that whenever there is an inequality sign involved,
we first plot the graph for equal to and then determine which region will be applicable if > or <
sign is involved.
And y 0 means we need to take the region where y will be greater than or equal to zero. We know
that y = 0 on X-axis and y > 0 above X-axis. So, the region satisfying y 0 will be X-axis and region
above X-axis.
The graph will be an inverted V-shaped made at (3, 4).
We will have to count all integral points on X-axis, points on inverted V-shaped and all the points
lying in the region enclosed between them since equality sign is included in question.
E.g. 8: How many integral points will satisfy y < x 3 + 4 and y > 0.
This is the fourth variation of this problem. In this case, we would not count any points on X-axis as y
> 0 and as well as any points lying on inverted V-shaped graph. We will just have to count integral
points lying in the enclosed region.
y
4
=2
= 2 x = 2 .
x
x
1
x 2 + 3 and y > 0.
2
2
x 4 + 5 and the X-axis.
3
1
x 4 4 and the X-axis.
2
Type III:
E.g. 1: Find the area and perimeter of the region enclosed by the graphs of x + y = 5 .
First of all, we will learn how to plot the graph of this. Once, we know how to plot, we can find out
the area and perimeter orally without plotting the graph.
If there is a single modulus involved in expression, we get two equations. But if two mods are
involved, we will get four equations under different conditions. In this case also, we will get 4
equations.
1st equation: x + y = 5 if x 0 and y 0.
2nd equation: x y = 5 if x 0 and y < 0.
3rd equation: x + y = 5 if x < 0 and y 0.
4th equation: x y = 5 if x < 0 and y < 0.
So, we get four different equations with different conditions. So we need to plot these lines and use
the conditions in which quadrant x and y is positive or negative.
Let us plot the graphs of all the four lines and see what we get.
If we merge all four graphs, we will get a square or a rhombus or a diamond. If we did this much of
hard work in plotting, we can easily plot any graph of this type orally now if point changes from 5 to
any other point.
One thing we should understand in case of ABSOLUTE VALUE or MODULUS graphs like x + y = 5 , 5
is the distance from the origin. In this case x becomes zero at 0 and y also becomes zero at 0.
Thats why the graph is being made at (0, 0) and the distance is 5 units from origin in left-hand
direction, right-hand direction, upwards and downwards. So, we should understand that even if
origin changes or distance changes, logic remains the same.
Now, let us get the answer of question asked.
So, if the same question was asked to find the area of x + y = 7 , we can find out the answer orally.
Again, the shape will be of a square and made at point (7, 0), (0, 7), (7, 0) & (0, 7). So, the side of
square will be 72 and area can be found out by squaring the side of square.
x 1 + y +1 = 6 .
The points where the square will be made can be found out by adding or subtracting 6 with the
origin depending whether we are moving in left/right or upwards or downwards.
So, the points will be (1, 1) is the origin, (7, 1), (1, 5), (5, 1) and (1, 7).
Graphical Method:
We can also find out number integral points by plotting the graph.
So, we can find out number of integral points by counting all the integral points on four lines of the
square. And answer can be found out orally by multiplying by 4 with whatever is the distance from
the origin.
In this case, question was x + y = 5 , distance from the origin was 5, so we could have directly
multiplied distance 5 by 4 to get 20 integral points.
If the question was to find the number of integral points which will satisfy x + y = 6 , we could
have directly found the integral points by multiplying distance 6 with 4 giving us 24 points.
E.g. 9: Find the area of the region enclosed by the graphs of y x = 4 and y = 7 .
We know the graph of y x = 4 . And the graph of y = 7 will be line made at (0, 7) and (0, 7). In
other words, we can also say that lines of y = 7 will be parallel to X-axis.
By now, most of you would have guessed the graph of x = 7 will be lines made at (7, 0) and (7, 0).
So, the lines of x = 7 will be parallel to Y-axis.
Let us plot both the graphs and find the area of the enclosed region.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
93
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
5.1 Introduction
You must have observed that in nature, many things follow a certain pattern, such as
the petals of a sunflower, the holes of a honeycomb, the grains on a maize cob, the
spirals on a pineapple and on a pine cone etc.
We now look for some patterns which occur in our day-to-day life. Some such
examples are :
(i) Reena applied for a job and got selected. She
has been offered a job with a starting monthly
salary of Rs 8000, with an annual increment of
Rs 500 in her salary. Her salary (in Rs) for the
1st, 2nd, 3rd, . . . years will be, respectively
8000, 8500, 9000, . . . .
(ii) The lengths of the rungs of a ladder decrease
uniformly by 2 cm from bottom to top
(see Fig. 5.1). The bottom rung is 45 cm in
length. The lengths (in cm) of the 1st, 2nd,
3rd, . . ., 8th rung from the bottom to the top
are, respectively
Fig. 5.1
5
times of itself after every 3 years.
4
The maturity amount (in Rs) of an investment of Rs 8000 after 3, 6, 9 and 12
years will be, respectively :
10000, 12500, 15625, 19531.25
94
MATHEMATICS
(iv) The number of unit squares in squares with side 1, 2, 3, . . . units (see Fig. 5.2)
are, respectively
1 2, 2 2, 32, . . . .
Fig. 5.2
(v) Shakila put Rs 100 into her daughters money box when she was one year old
and increased the amount by Rs 50 every year. The amounts of money (in Rs) in
the box on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, . . . birthday were
100,
150,
(vi) A pair of rabbits are too young to produce in their first month. In the second, and
every subsequent month, they produce a new pair. Each new pair of rabbits
produce a new pair in their second month and in every subsequent month (see
Fig. 5.3). Assuming no rabbit dies, the number of pairs of rabbits at the start of
the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, . . ., 6th month, respectively are :
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Fig. 5.3
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
95
In the examples above, we observe some patterns. In some, we find that the
succeeding terms are obtained by adding a fixed number, in other by multiplying
with a fixed number, in another we find that they are squares of consecutive
numbers, and so on.
In this chapter, we shall discuss one of these patterns in which succeeding terms
are obtained by adding a fixed number to the preceding terms. We shall also see how
to find their nth terms and the sum of n consecutive terms, and use this knowledge in
solving some daily life problems.
96
MATHEMATICS
a 2 a1 = a 3 a2 = . . . = an a n 1 = d.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
97
Similarly, when
a = 7,
d = 2,
a = 1.0,
d = 0.1,
a = 0,
d=1
a = 2,
d = 0,
1
1
1
, the AP is 0, 1 , 3, 4 , 6, . . .
2
2
2
the AP is 2, 2, 2, 2, . . .
So, if you know what a and d are, you can list the AP. What about the other way
round? That is, if you are given a list of numbers can you say that it is an AP and then
find a and d? Since a is the first term, it can easily be written. We know that in an AP,
every succeeding term is obtained by adding d to the preceding term. So, d found by
subtracting any term from its succeeding term, i.e., the term which immediately follows
it should be same for an AP.
For example, for the list of numbers :
We have
6, 9, 12, 15, . . . ,
a2 a 1 = 9 6 = 3,
a3 a2 = 12 9 = 3,
a4 a3 = 15 12 = 3
Here the difference of any two consecutive terms in each case is 3. So, the
given list is an AP whose first term a is 6 and common difference d is 3.
For the list of numbers : 6, 3, 0, 3, . . .,
a2 a 1 = 3 6 = 3
a3 a2 = 0 3 = 3
a4 a3 = 3 0 = 3
Similarly this is also an AP whose first term is 6 and the common difference
is 3.
In general, for an AP a 1, a2, . . ., a n, we have
d = ak + 1 ak
where ak + 1 and ak are the ( k + 1)th and the kth terms respectively.
To obtain d in a given AP, we need not find all of a 2 a1, a 3 a 2, a 4 a 3, . . . .
It is enough to find only one of them.
Consider the list of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, . . . . By looking at it, you can tell that the
difference between any two consecutive terms is not the same. So, this is not an AP.
98
MATHEMATICS
a=
3 1
1
3
, , ,
, . . ., write the first term a and the
2 2
2
2
3
1
3
,d=
= 1.
2
2
2
Remember that we can find d using any two consecutive terms, once we know that
the numbers are in AP.
Example 2 : Which of the following list of numbers form an AP? If they form an AP,
write the next two terms :
(i) 4, 10, 16, 22, . . .
(ii) 1, 1, 3, 5, . . .
(iii) 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, . . .
(iv) 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, . . .
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
99
(iv) a2 a 1 = 1 1 = 0
a3 a 2 = 1 1 = 0
a4 a 3 = 2 1 = 1
Here, a 2 a1 = a 3 a 2 a4 a3.
So, the given list of numbers does not form an AP.
EXERCISE 5.1
1. In which of the following situations, does the list of numbers involved make an arithmetic
progression, and why?
(i) The taxi fare after each km when the fare is Rs 15 for the first km and Rs 8 for each
additional km.
1
(ii) The amount of air present in a cylinder when a vacuum pump removes of the
4
air remaining in the cylinder at a time.
(iii) The cost of digging a well after every metre of digging, when it costs Rs 150 for
the first metre and rises by Rs 50 for each subsequent metre.
(iv) The amount of money in the account every year, when Rs 10000 is deposited at
compound interest at 8 % per annum.
2. Write first four terms of the AP, when the first term a and the common difference d are
given as follows:
(i) a = 10,
(iii) a = 4,
d = 10
(ii) a = 2, d = 0
d=3
(iv) a = 1, d =
1
2
(ii) 5, 1, 3, 7, . . .
1 , 5 , 9 , 13 ,
...
3 3 3 3
4. Which of the following are APs ? If they form an AP, find the common difference d and
write three more terms.
(ii) 2, 5 , 3, 7 , . . .
2
2
(iv) 10, 6, 2, 2, . . .
(v) 3, 3 +
(i) 2, 4, 8, 16, . . .
2 , 3 + 2 2 , 3 + 3 2, . . .
(vii) 0, 4, 8, 12, . . .
(viii)
1
1
1
1
, , , ,...
2
2
2
2
100
MATHEMATICS
(ix) 1, 3, 9, 27, . . .
3, 6, 9 ,
(xii)
12, . . .
2, 8, 18 ,
32, . . .
= Rs 9500
Salary for the 5th year = Rs (9500 + 500)
= Rs (8000+500+500+500 + 500)
= Rs (8000 + 4 500)
= Rs [8000 + (5 1) 500]
= Rs 10000
Observe that we are getting a list of numbers
8000, 8500, 9000, 9500, 10000, . . .
These numbers are in AP. (Why?)
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
101
Now, looking at the pattern formed above, can you find her monthly salary for
the 6th year? The 15th year? And, assuming that she will still be working in the job,
what about the monthly salary for the 25th year? You would calculate this by adding
Rs 500 each time to the salary of the previous year to give the answer. Can we make
this process shorter? Let us see. You may have already got some idea from the way
we have obtained the salaries above.
Salary for the 15th year
= Salary for the 14th year + Rs 500
= Rs [8000 + 14 500]
= Rs [8000 + (15 1) 500] = Rs 15000
i.e.,
This example would have given you some idea about how to write the 15th term,
or the 25th term, and more generally, the nth term of the AP.
Let a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , . . . be an AP whose first term a1 is a and the common
difference is d.
Then,
the second term a 2 = a + d = a + (2 1) d
the third term
a 3 = a 2 + d = (a + d) + d = a + 2d = a + (3 1) d
a 4 = a 3 + d = (a + 2d) + d = a + 3d = a + (4 1) d
........
........
102
MATHEMATICS
a n is also called the general term of the AP. If there are m terms in the AP, then
a m represents the last term which is sometimes also denoted by l.
Let us consider some examples.
Example 3 : Find the 10th term of the AP : 2, 7, 12, . . .
Solution : Here, a = 2,
d = 7 2 = 5 and
n = 10.
We have
a n = a + (n 1) d
So,
a 10 = 2 + (10 1) 5 = 2 + 45 = 47
a n = a + ( n 1) d,
81 = 21 + (n 1)( 3)
81 = 24 3n
105 = 3n
So,
n = 35
Therefore, the 35th term of the given AP is 81.
Next, we want to know if there is any n for which an = 0. If such an n is there, then
21 + (n 1) (3) = 0,
i.e.,
3(n 1) = 21
i.e.,
So, the eighth term is 0.
n= 8
Example 5 : Determine the AP whose 3rd term is 5 and the 7th term is 9.
Solution : We have
and
a 3 = a + (3 1) d = a + 2d = 5
(1)
a 7 = a + (7 1) d = a + 6d = 9
(2)
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
103
Example 6 : Check whether 301 is a term of the list of numbers 5, 11, 17, 23, . . .
Solution : We have :
a 2 a1 = 11 5 = 6,
a 3 a 2 = 17 11 = 6,
a 4 a3 = 23 17 = 6
a=5
and
d = 6.
Let 301 be a term, say, the nth term of the this AP.
We know that
a n = a + (n 1) d
So,
301 = 5 + (n 1) 6
i.e.,
301 = 6n 1
So,
n=
302 151
=
6
3
But n should be a positive integer (Why?). So, 301 is not a term of the given list of
numbers.
Example 7 : How many two-digit numbers are divisible by 3?
Solution : The list of two-digit numbers divisible by 3 is :
12, 15, 18, . . . , 99
Is this an AP? Yes it is. Here,
a = 12, d = 3, a n = 99.
As
a n = a + (n 1) d,
we have
99 = 12 + (n 1) 3
i.e.,
87 = (n 1) 3
i.e.,
i.e.,
n1=
87
= 29
3
n = 29 + 1 = 30
a = 10, d = 7 10 = 3, l = 62,
l = a + (n 1) d
104
MATHEMATICS
To find the 11th term from the last term, we will find the total number of terms in
the AP.
So,
62 = 10 + (n 1)(3)
i.e.,
72 = (n 1)(3)
i.e.,
n 1 = 24
or
n = 25
a 15 = 10 + (15 1)(3) = 10 42 = 32
a 11 = 62 + (11 1) 3 = 62 + 30 = 32
So, the 11th term, which is now the required term, is 32.
Example 9 : A sum of Rs 1000 is invested at 8% simple interest per year. Calculate
the interest at the end of each year. Do these interests form an AP? If so, find the
interest at the end of 30 years making use of this fact.
Solution : We know that the formula to calculate simple interest is given by
P R T
100
1000 8 1
So, the interest at the end of the 1st year = Rs
= Rs 80
100
1000 8 2
The interest at the end of the 2nd year = Rs
= Rs 160
100
1000 8 3
The interest at the end of the 3rd year = Rs
= Rs 240
100
Simple Interest =
Similarly, we can obtain the interest at the end of the 4th year, 5th year, and so on.
So, the interest (in Rs) at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, . . . years, respectively are
80, 160, 240, . . .
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
105
It is an AP as the difference between the consecutive terms in the list is 80, i.e.,
d = 80. Also, a = 80.
So, to find the interest at the end of 30 years, we shall find a30 .
Now,
a 30 = a + (30 1) d = 80 + 29 80 = 2400
a = 23,
d = 21 23 = 2, an = 5
As,
a n = a + (n 1) d
We have,
5 = 23 + (n 1)( 2)
i.e.,
18 = (n 1)( 2)
i.e.,
n = 10
EXERCISE 5.2
1. Fill in the blanks in the following table, given that a is the first term, d the common
difference and an the nth term of the AP:
a
an
(i)
...
(ii)
18
...
10
(iii)
...
18
(iv)
18.9
2.5
...
3.6
(v)
3.5
105
...
106
MATHEMATICS
(B) 77
(C) 77
(D) 87
(D) 48
1
2
,
,
(iii) 5,
13,
,
(iv) 4,
(v)
26
,
,
,
38,
1
2
,
,
,
,
22
(ii) 18, 15
7. Find the 31st term of an AP whose 11th term is 38 and the 16th term is 73.
8. An AP consists of 50 terms of which 3rd term is 12 and the last term is 106. Find the 29th
term.
9. If the 3rd and the 9th terms of an AP are 4 and 8 respectively, which term of this AP is
zero?
10. The 17th term of an AP exceeds its 10th term by 7. Find the common difference.
11. Which term of the AP : 3, 15, 27, 39, . . . will be 132 more than its 54th term?
12. Two APs have the same common difference. The difference between their 100th terms is
100, what is the difference between their 1000th terms?
13. How many three-digit numbers are divisible by 7?
14. How many multiples of 4 lie between 10 and 250?
15. For what value of n, are the nth terms of two APs: 63, 65, 67, . . . and 3, 10, 17, . . . equal?
16. Determine the AP whose third term is 16 and the 7th term exceeds the 5th term by 12.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
107
17. Find the 20th term from the last term of the AP : 3, 8, 13, . . ., 253.
18. The sum of the 4th and 8th terms of an AP is 24 and the sum of the 6th and 10th terms is
44. Find the first three terms of the AP.
19. Subba Rao started work in 1995 at an annual salary of Rs 5000 and received an increment
of Rs 200 each year. In which year did his income reach Rs 7000?
20. Ramkali saved Rs 5 in the first week of a year and then increased her weekly savings by
Rs 1.75. If in the nth week, her weekly savings become Rs 20.75, find n.
S=
100 101
= 5050 , i.e., the sum = 5050.
2
108
MATHEMATICS
We will now use the same technique to find the sum of the first n terms of an AP :
a, a + d, a + 2d, . . .
The nth term of this AP is a + (n 1) d. Let S denote the sum of the first n terms
of the AP. We have
S = a + (a + d ) + (a + 2d ) + . . . + [a + (n 1) d ]
(1)
(2)
2S =
n times
or,
or,
2S = n [2a + (n 1) d ]
S=
n
[2a + (n 1) d ]
2
n
[2a + (n 1) d ]
2
S=
n
[a + a + (n 1) d ]
2
i.e.,
S=
n
(a + a n )
2
Now, if there are only n terms in an AP, then a n = l, the last term.
From (3), we see that
n
(a + l )
S=
2
(3)
(4)
This form of the result is useful when the first and the last terms of an AP are
given and the common difference is not given.
Now we return to the question that was posed to us in the beginning. The amount
of money (in Rs) in the money box of Shakilas daughter on 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th birthday,
. . ., were 100, 150, 200, 250, . . ., respectively.
This is an AP. We have to find the total money collected on her 21st birthday, i.e.,
the sum of the first 21 terms of this AP.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
109
we have
S=
n
[ 2a + (n 1) d ] ,
2
S=
21
21
[2 100 + (21 1) 50] = [ 200 + 1000]
2
2
21
1200 = 12600
2
S =
Therefore,
n
[2 a + (n 1)d ] ,
2
14
1050 =
[20 + 13d ] = 140 + 91d
2
Sn =
110
MATHEMATICS
i.e.,
910 = 91d
or,
d = 10
Therefore,
Example 13 : How many terms of the AP : 24, 21, 18, . . . must be taken so that their
sum is 78?
Solution : Here, a = 24, d = 21 24 = 3, Sn = 78. We need to find n.
n
We know that
Sn = [ 2a + (n 1)d ]
2
n
n
So,
78 = [ 48 + (n 1)(3)] = [51 3n]
2
2
or
3n 2 51n + 156 = 0
or
n 2 17n + 52 = 0
or
(n 4)(n 13) = 0
or
n = 4 or 13
Both values of n are admissible. So, the number of terms is either 4 or 13.
Remarks :
1. In this case, the sum of the first 4 terms = the sum of the first 13 terms = 78.
2. Two answers are possible because the sum of the terms from 5th to 13th will be
zero. This is because a is positive and d is negative, so that some terms will be
positive and some others negative, and will cancel out each other.
Example 14 : Find the sum of :
(i) the first 1000 positive integers
Solution :
(i) Let S = 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + 1000
n
Using the formula Sn = ( a + l ) for the sum of the first n terms of an AP, we
2
have
1000
(1 + 1000) = 500 1001 = 500500
S1000 =
2
So, the sum of the first 1000 positive integers is 500500.
(ii) Let Sn = 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + n
Here a = 1 and the last term l is n.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
Therefore,
111
Sn =
n (1 + n)
2
or
Sn =
n (n + 1)
2
n(n + 1)
2
Example 15 : Find the sum of first 24 terms of the list of numbers whose nth term is
given by
a n = 3 + 2n
Solution :
As
an = 3 + 2n,
so,
a1 = 3 + 2 = 5
a2 = 3 + 2 2 = 7
a3 = 3 + 2 3 = 9
#
List of numbers becomes 5, 7, 9, 11, . . .
Here,
7 5 = 9 7 = 11 9 = 2 and so on.
a = 5,
S24 =
d = 2.
24
[ 2 5 + (24 1) 2] = 12 [10 + 46] = 672
2
112
MATHEMATICS
or,
a + 2d = 600
and
a + 6d = 700
a 10 = a + 9d = 550 + 9 25 = 775
S7 =
=
7
[2 550 + (7 1) 25]
2
7
[1100 + 150 ] = 4375
2
EXERCISE 5.3
1. Find the sum of the following APs:
(i) 2, 7, 12, . . ., to 10 terms.
(iii) 0.6, 1.7, 2.8, . . ., to 100 terms.
1
+ 14 + . . . + 84
2
(ii) 34 + 32 + 30 + . . . + 10
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
113
4. How many terms of the AP : 9, 17, 25, . . . must be taken to give a sum of 636?
5. The first term of an AP is 5, the last term is 45 and the sum is 400. Find the number of terms
and the common difference.
6. The first and the last terms of an AP are 17 and 350 respectively. If the common difference
is 9, how many terms are there and what is their sum?
7. Find the sum of first 22 terms of an AP in which d = 7 and 22nd term is 149.
8. Find the sum of first 51 terms of an AP whose second and third terms are 14 and 18
respectively.
9. If the sum of first 7 terms of an AP is 49 and that of 17 terms is 289, find the sum of
first n terms.
10. Show that a1, a2, . . ., an, . . . form an AP where an is defined as below :
(i) an = 3 + 4n
(ii) an = 9 5n
114
MATHEMATICS
Fig. 5.4
[Hint : Length of successive semicircles is l1, l2, l3, l4, . . . with centres at A, B, A, B, . . .,
respectively.]
19. 200 logs are stacked in the following manner: 20 logs in the bottom row, 19 in the next row,
18 in the row next to it and so on (see Fig. 5.5). In how many rows are the 200 logs placed
and how many logs are in the top row?
Fig. 5.5
20. In a potato race, a bucket is placed at the starting point, which is 5 m from the first potato,
and the other potatoes are placed 3 m apart in a straight line. There are ten potatoes in the
line (see Fig. 5.6).
Fig. 5.6
A competitor starts from the bucket, picks up the nearest potato, runs back with it, drops
it in the bucket, runs back to pick up the next potato, runs to the bucket to drop it in, and
she continues in the same way until all the potatoes are in the bucket. What is the total
distance the competitor has to run?
[Hint : To pick up the first potato and the second potato, the total distance (in metres)
run by a competitor is 2 5 + 2 (5 + 3)]
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSIONS
115
Fig. 5.7
4. The houses of a row are numbered consecutively from 1 to 49. Show that there is a value
of x such that the sum of the numbers of the houses preceding the house numbered x is
equal to the sum of the numbers of the houses following it. Find this value of x.
[Hint : S x 1 = S49 S x]
5. A small terrace at a football ground comprises of 15 steps each of which is 50 m long and
built of solid concrete.
1
1
Each step has a rise of m and a tread of m. (see Fig. 5.8). Calculate the total volume
4
2
of concrete required to build the terrace.
1
1
[Hint : Volume of concrete required to build the first step = 50 m3 ]
4
2
Fig. 5.8
* These exercises are not from the examination point of view.
116
MATHEMATICS
5.5 Summary
In this chapter, you have studied the following points :
1. An arithmetic progression (AP) is a list of numbers in which each term is obtained by
adding a fixed number d to the preceding term, except the first term. The fixed number d
is called the common difference.
The general form of an AP is a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, . . .
2. A given list of numbers a1, a2, a3, . . . is an AP, if the differences a2 a1, a3 a 2,
a4 a3, . . ., give the same value, i.e., if ak + 1 ak is the same for different values of k.
3. In an AP with first term a and common difference d, the nth term (or the general term) is
given by an = a + (n 1) d.
4. The sum of the first n terms of an AP is given by :
S=
n
[ 2a + ( n 1) d ]
2
5. If l is the last term of the finite AP, say the nth term, then the sum of all terms of the AP
is given by :
S=
n
( a + l)
2
a+c
and b is called the arithmetic
2
mean of a and c.
After learning the theory of arithmetic progression, we will see the basic fundas and applications of
Geometric Progression. In AP, we used to get next term by adding a common difference to the
previous term. But, in case of GP, we can obtain a new term by multiplying the previous term by a
common ratio.
The first term is usually denoted by a and the common ratio by r.
For e.g., 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,...................is an example of GP with first term being 2 and common ratio
being 2.
We can also say that 27, 9, 3, 1,.......................is also an example of GP with a = 27 and r = 1/3.
As we found out the nth term of AP, we can also find out nth term of GP by the same logic.
So, t1 = a
Then, t2 = a r, t3 = a r r or ar2, t4 = ar3, t5 = ar4,.......................tn = a r(n 1)
So, we can use this formula whenever question is related with last term, first term or number of
terms.
Similarly, sum of first n terms of GP, Sn =
a ( r n 1)
r 1
(when r > 1) OR Sn =
a (1 r n )
1 r
E.g. 1: Find the number of terms of the GP: 0.5, 1, 2,............., 512.
This is a direct application of the formula learnt above, tn = a r(n 1).
Plug-in value of a = 0.5 and tn = 512 and r = 2, we get: 512 = 0.5 2n 1
On solving, we get: 1024 = 2n 1 which gives the value of n = 11. [1024 = 210.]
E.g. 2: Find the sum of the following series: 3, 9, 27, ..........................up till 10 terms.
We need to use the formula to find the sum of n terms as a = 3, r = 3 and n = 10.
So, S10 =
3 ( 310 1)
3 1
3 ( 310 1)
2
E.g. 3: Find the common ratio of the GP if the 3rd term of the GP is given as 4.5 and 6th term is
243/16. Also find the 5th term of the GP.
We know, t3 = 9/2 or ar2 = 9/2.
We also know, t6 = 243/16 or ar5 = 243/16.
To find out the common ratio r, we need to divide the 6th term by 3rd term.
On dividing,
27
3
ar 5 243 2
=
r3 =
r= .
ar 2 16 9
8
2
If we know the common ratio, we can easily find out t5 which will be ar4.
So, ar 4 =
ar 5 243 2
81
=
.
r
16 3
8
E.g. 4: Given P = 260 and Q = (259+ 258+ 257+...+ 21 + 20), so establish a relation between P and Q.
Its given that Q = (259 + 258 + 257+...+ 21 + 20) which is a GP with first term 20 and common ratio 2.
Even if we took the first term as 259 and common difference as 1/2, we will get the same answer.
So, now use the logic to find the sum to first 60 terms.
Q = S60 =
a ( r n 1)
r 1
20 ( 260 1)
2 1
( 260 1)
So, Q = P 1.
a
.
1 r
This formula is used in geometry also. So, we should be comfortable in understanding it.
E.g. 5: Find the sum to infinite terms of the series: 8, 4, 2, 1, 0.5,.......................infinite terms.
So, sum to infinite terms can be easily found out as a is given as 8 and common ratio is given as 1/2.
So, just substitute the value of a and r in the formula S =
a
to find the value of sum.
1 r
So, distance travelled will be = a/(1 r), on solving, we get sum as 2500 m.
We will have to multiply this by 2 as we have not taken into account the distance which the ball
travels when it comes down in the process. Every time the ball goes up after rebounding, it will come
down, so we will have to multiply the distance by 2.
So, total distance travelled is 5000 m.
E.g. 7: Find the sum of the infinite series:
1 1
7, 1, , ,...............
7 49
We know the first term is 7 and the common ratio is 1/7. Just substitute these values in the
equation [a/(1 r)]. We will get the answer as 49/8.
E.g. 8: Find the sum to infinite terms:
1
16 165 16 25 .........................terms.
Again, this is an application of sum of infinite terms and rules of indices. Whenever the base is same
and numbers are being multiplied, we can add up the powers.
1
So, we get, 16
1 1
1+ 5 + 25 + ................. terms
16
1
5
16 4 ( 2 4 ) 4 25 = 32 .
This series can be split into two parts as the first term and third terms are in infinite GP and similarly,
second and fourth terms are in infinite GP. First term of the first GP is 2/5 and the common ratio is
1/25. While, the first term of the second GP is 7/25 and the common ratio is 1/25.
So, we will get:
2
7
2
2 25 7 25 10 7 17
2 2
7 7
5
5
+
+ 2
+
=
5 + 53 + ................ + 52 + 54 + .............
1
1
5
24 5 24
24 24 24
1 2 1 2
5
5
So, we just need to identify the series as infinite GP and find their first term, common ratio.
E.g. 10: In a square of side 10 units, another square is constructed at the mid-points of the original
square. Again, another square is constructed at the mid-points of the newly formed square and this
process is continued for infinite times. So, find the sum of area of all such squares and also sum of
perimeters of all such squares.
We just need to establish a relation between the sides of the outer-most square with the side of the
immediate inner square. If we find the side of immediate Inner Square, we will get the area of that
square and that will give us the common ratio of the infinite GP.
Side of the outer-most square is given as 10 units.
So, if the side of Inner Square is 52 units, the area of the inner square will be 50 sq. Units. And the
area of the outer-most square is 100 square units. So, the area of the inner square has become 1/2
of the outer square. And the same relationship will also exist between the areas of Inner Square to
its immediate inner square.
So, sum of areas of all such squares will form an infinite GP as 100, 50, 25, 12.5,.................. infinite
terms.
So, S =
100
a
And, we can also remember this result as whenever when one square is constructed at the midpoints of any square, the area becomes half of the original area of the outer square.
Now, for the sum of perimeters of all such squares, we can use the side obtained for the inner
square. Perimeter of square = 4 side,
So, series is 40 + 202 + ..........................infinite terms.
So, the first term is 40 and the common ratio is
20 2
1
.
40
2
40
40 2
a
.
=
1
1 r
2 1
1
2
So, in all such geometrical problems, we just need to establish relation between the two immediate
figures and same relation will also hold true for other immediate figures.
E.g. 11: Find the sum of the first 20 terms of the series:
4 + 44 + 444 + 4444 +................................ up till 20 terms.
This is a very random series and we should memorize this pattern as it becomes very difficult to
identify which series is it.
We can rewrite this as 4[1 + 11 + 111 + 1111 +...............................].
Now, multiply the series by 9 and divide by 9, we get:
4
[9 + 99 + 999 + 9999 + ................] .
9
Now, this series becomes sum to 20 terms of a GP if we write 9 as (10 1), 99 as (100 1) and so on.
We will get the series as
4
4
[(10 1) + (100 1) + (1000 1) + ................] = [(10 + 100 + 1000 + .....20terms) (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + ......20times )] .
9
9
Now, we will use the formula of sum to 20 terms of a GP series as the first term a = 10 and the
common ratio r is also 10. So, the answer will be
.
4 10(1020 1)
4 1021 10
20
20
9 10 1
9
E.g. 12: If four geometric means are inserted between 1/8 and 128. Find the third of this geometric
mean.
This is a standard question based on GP. Do not get hassled by the term geometric mean, it is still
based on the same logic.
If 4 geometric means are inserted between 1/8 and 128 means there are total of 6 terms in GP
including the 4 means and the first term and the last term.
So, the series is like 1/8, ?, ?, ?, ?, 128.
So, we can assume the first term as a = 1/8, then the series becomes a, ar, ar2, ar3, ar4, ar5.
Now, think which data is given, a = 1/8 and ar5 = 128.
If we divide both of them, a will get cancelled and we can find out the value of r.
On dividing, we get: (ar5)/a = (128) 8 = 27 23 = 210.
So, we get r5 = 210, which gives us the value of r = 22.
We need to find the third geometric mean inserted means we need to find the value of ar3.
So, we know the first term a = 1/8 and we know r = 4, so ar3 = 1/8 43 = 8
So, the answer is 8.
Exercise:
1. On 1st of Jan 2006, two new societies P and Q are formed, each of x members. On the first day of
each subsequent month, P adds a members while Q multiplies its current members by a constant
multiplying factor b. It is observed that both the societies end up with same number of members
on 2nd July, 2006. If a = 10.5x, then find the value of b.
2. In a GP, the first term is 7 and the nth term is 448. It is also given that the sum to the first n terms
is 889, and then determines the common ratio of this GP?
3. In the sequence 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8,......................., find the 1035th term of the
sequence.
4. The sum of an infinite GP is 4 and the sums of the cubes of the terms of the same GP are 192, and
then find the common ratio of the original GP.
5. In a GP of even number of terms, the sum of all the terms is 5 times the sum of the odd terms.
Find the common ratio of the GP.
6. The least value of n for which the sum of 1 + 3 + 9 + 27 +..............becomes greater than 3000 is
7. In an infinite GP, every term is equal to the sum of all the terms that follow. Find the common
ratio.
8. Find the number of terms common between the series:
1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 +.......................50 terms.
4 + 7 + 10 + 13 + 16 +...................90 terms.
9. The sequence Sn of positive terms is in GP such that the ratio of the 2nd term and 4th term is 1: 4. It
is also given that the sum of the first term and the fourth term is 108. Then find the value of sixth
term?
10. In a GP, the product of the first four terms is 4 and the second term is the reciprocal of the fourth
term. The sum of the GP up to infinite terms is
11. A GP consists of 500 terms. The sum of the terms occupying the odd places is S while the sum of
terms at even places is T. Then find the common ratio of the GP (in terms of S and T).
12. In an infinite GP, each term is equal to four times the sum of all the terms that follow. Find the
common ratio.
13. If Y is the first term of an infinite GP and the sum to infinite terms of GP is 12. Then find the
range of Y.
14. The middle-points of the sides of a equilateral triangle are joined to form a second equilateral
triangle. Again a third equilateral triangle is constructed by joining the middle-points of this second
triangle and the process is continued infinite times. If the area of the outermost equilateral triangle
is Y square units, then find the sum of the areas of all such triangles.
15. If a and b are the roots of x2 15x + p = 0 and b and c are roots of x2 12x + q = 0. If a, b and c are
in GP, then find the value of (p + q).
16. The sum of the first 10 terms of an AP is equal to 155 and sum of the first two terms of a GP is 9.
How many values for the first term of an AP is possible if the first term of an AP is equal to the
common ratio of the GP and the first term of the GP is same as the common difference of the AP?
17. The seventh term of a GP is 8 times the fourth term. What will be the first term when its fifth
term is given as 48?
18. Determine the first term of a GP, if the sum of the first term and third term is 40 and the sum of
the second and the fourth term is 80.
19. Find the sum to the first 20 terms of the series: 11 + 103 + 1005 + 10007 +.............
1
1. b = 2
2. 2
7. 0.5
8. 4
9. 384
14. 4Y/3
15. (820/9)
17. 3
18. 8
19.
20. y2
21. +8 or 8
22. 99.22%
4. r = -0.5
5. 4
10 1020 1
6. 7
12. 1/5
Chapter
9.2 Sequences
Let us consider the following examples:
Assume that there is a generation gap of 30 years, we are asked to find the
number of ancestors, i.e., parents, grandparents, great grandparents, etc. that a person
might have over 300 years.
Here, the total number of generations = 300 = 10
30
178
MATHEMATICS
The number of persons ancestors for the first, second, third, , tenth generations are
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, , 1024. These numbers form what we call a sequence.
Consider the successive quotients that we obtain in the division of 10 by 3 at
different steps of division. In this process we get 3,3.3,3.33,3.333, ... and so on. These
quotients also form a sequence. The various numbers occurring in a sequence are
called its terms. We denote the terms of a sequence by a1, a2, a3, , an, , etc., the
subscripts denote the position of the term. The nth term is the number at the nth position
of the sequence and is denoted by an. The nth term is also called the general term of the
sequence.
Thus, the terms of the sequence of persons ancestors mentioned above are:
a1 = 2, a2 = 4, a3 = 8, , a10 = 1024.
Similarly, in the example of successive quotients
a1 = 3, a2 = 3.3, a3 = 3.33, , a6 = 3.33333, etc.
A sequence containing finite number of terms is called a finite sequence. For
example, sequence of ancestors is a finite sequence since it contains 10 terms (a fixed
number).
A sequence is called infinite, if it is not a finite sequence. For example, the
sequence of successive quotients mentioned above is an infinite sequence, infinite in
the sense that it never ends.
Often, it is possible to express the rule, which yields the various terms of a sequence
in terms of algebraic formula. Consider for instance, the sequence of even natural
numbers 2, 4, 6,
Here
a1 = 2 = 2 1
a2 = 4 = 2 2
a3 = 6 = 2 3
a4 = 8 = 2 4
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
....
179
In the sequence of primes 2,3,5,7,, we find that there is no formula for the nth
prime. Such sequence can only be described by verbal description.
In every sequence, we should not expect that its terms will necessarily be given
by a specific formula. However, we expect a theoretical scheme or a rule for generating
the terms a1, a2, a3,,an, in succession.
In view of the above, a sequence can be regarded as a function whose domain
is the set of natural numbers or some subset of it of the type {1, 2, 3...k}. Sometimes,
we use the functional notation a(n) for an.
9.3 Series
Let a1, a2, a3,,an, be a given sequence. Then, the expression
a1 + a2 + a3 +,+ an + ...
is called the series associated with the given sequence .The series is finite or infinite
according as the given sequence is finite or infinite. Series are often represented in
compact form, called sigma notation, using the Greek letter (sigma) as means of
indicating the summation involved. Thus, the series a1 + a2 + a3 + ... + an is abbreviated
n
as
ak .
k =1
Remark When the series is used, it refers to the indicated sum not to the sum itself.
For example, 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 is a finite series with four terms. When we use the phrase
sum of a series, we will mean the number that results from adding the terms, the
sum of the series is 16.
We now consider some examples.
Example 1 Write the first three terms in each of the following sequences defined by
the following:
(i) an = 2n + 5,
(ii) an =
n3
.
4
n3
1 3
1
1
= , a2 = , a3 = 0
. Thus, a1 =
4
4
2
4
180
MATHEMATICS
EXERCISE 9.1
Write the first five terms of each of the sequences in Exercises 1 to 6 whose nth
terms are:
1.
an = n (n + 2)
4. an =
2n 3
6
n
n +1
3. an = 2n
an = (1)n1 5n+1
6. a n = n
2. an =
5.
n2 + 5
.
4
Find the indicated terms in each of the sequences in Exercises 7 to 10 whose nth
terms are:
7.
an = 4n 3; a17, a24
9. an = (1)n 1n3; a9
n2
8. an = 2n ; a7
n( n 2)
; a20 .
10. an =
n+3
181
Write the first five terms of each of the sequences in Exercises 11 to 13 and obtain the
corresponding series:
11. a1 = 3, an = 3an 1 + 2 for all n > 1
12. a1 = 1, an =
an 1
,n2
n
an +1
an , for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
= a + (n 1) d
182
MATHEMATICS
Sn =
We can also write, Sn =
n
[ 2a + (n 1)d ]
2
n
[a + l ]
2
... (1)
... (2)
... (3)
... (4)
1
n( n 1)Q , where P and Q
2
1
n (n 1) Q
2
Therefore
S1 = a1 = P, S2 = a1 + a2 = 2P + Q
So that
a2 = S2 S1 = P + Q
Hence, the common difference is given by d = a2 a1 = (P + Q) P = Q.
Example 6 The sum of n terms of two arithmetic progressions are in the ratio
(3n + 8) : (7n + 15). Find the ratio of their 12th terms.
Solution Let a1, a2 and d1, d2 be the first terms and common difference of the first
and second arithmetic progression, respectively. According to the given condition, we
have
or
n
[ 2a1 + ( n 1 )d1 ] 3n + 8
2
=
n
7 n + 15
2
+
1
a
(
n
)d
[ 2
2]
2
or
2a1 + (n 1)d1 3n + 8
=
2a2 + (n 1)d 2 7 n + 15
Now
2a1 + 22d1 3 23 + 8
=
2a2 + 22d 2 7 23 + 15
Therefore
183
... (1)
a1 + 11d1
12 th term of first A.P.
7
= th
=
a2 + 11d 2 12 term of second A.P. 16
20
[600000 + 19 10000] = 10 (790000) = 79,00,000.
2
Hence, the person received Rs. 79,00,000 as the total amount at the end of 20 years.
S20 =
9.4.1 Arithmetic mean Given two numbers a and b. We can insert a number A
between them so that a, A, b is an A.P. Such a number A is called the arithmetic mean
(A.M.) of the numbers a and b. Note that, in this case, we have
A a = b A,
i.e., A =
a+b
2
We may also interpret the A.M. between two numbers a and b as their
average
a+b
. For example, the A.M. of two numbers 4 and 16 is 10. We have, thus
2
constructed an A.P. 4, 10, 16 by inserting a number 10 between 4 and 16. The natural
184
MATHEMATICS
question now arises : Can we insert two or more numbers between given two numbers
so that the resulting sequence comes out to be an A.P. ? Observe that two numbers 8
and 12 can be inserted between 4 and 16 so that the resulting sequence 4, 8, 12, 16
becomes an A.P.
More generally, given any two numbers a and b, we can insert as many numbers
as we like between them such that the resulting sequence is an A.P.
Let A1, A2, A3, , An be n numbers between a and b such that a, A1, A2, A3, ,
An, b is an A.P.
Here, b is the (n + 2) th term, i.e., b = a + [(n + 2) 1]d = a + (n + 1) d.
d=
This gives
ba
.
n +1
ba
n +1
A2 = a + 2d = a +
2(b a )
n +1
A3 = a + 3d = a +
3(b a )
n +1
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
.....
An = a + nd = a +
.....
.....
n (b a )
n +1 .
Example 8 Insert 6 numbers between 3 and 24 such that the resulting sequence is
an A.P.
Solution Let A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 be six numbers between 3 and 24 such that
3, A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A6, 24 are in A.P. Here, a = 3, b = 24, n = 8.
Therefore, 24 = 3 + (8 1) d, so that d = 3.
A2 = a + 2d = 3 + 2 3 = 9;
Thus
A1 = a + d = 3 + 3 = 6;
A3 = a + 3d = 3 + 3 3 = 12; A4 = a + 4d = 3 + 4 3 = 15;
A5 = a + 5d = 3 + 5 3 = 18; A6 = a + 6d = 3 + 6 3 = 21.
Hence, six numbers between 3 and 24 are 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 21.
185
EXERCISE 9.2
1. Find the sum of odd integers from 1 to 2001.
2. Find the sum of all natural numbers lying between 100 and 1000, which are
multiples of 5.
3. In an A.P., the first term is 2 and the sum of the first five terms is one-fourth of
the next five terms. Show that 20th term is 112.
4. How many terms of the A.P. 6,
1
1
and qth term is , prove that the sum of first pq
p
q
1
(pq +1), where p q.
2
If the sum of a certain number of terms of the A.P. 25, 22, 19, is 116. Find the
last term.
Find the sum to n terms of the A.P., whose kth term is 5k + 1.
If the sum of n terms of an A.P. is (pn + qn2), where p and q are constants,
find the common difference.
The sums of n terms of two arithmetic progressions are in the ratio
5n + 4 : 9n + 6. Find the ratio of their 18th terms.
If the sum of first p terms of an A.P. is equal to the sum of the first q terms, then
find the sum of the first (p + q) terms.
Sum of the first p, q and r terms of an A.P. are a, b and c, respectively.
terms is
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
Prove that
a
b
c
(q r ) + (r p) + ( p q) = 0
p
q
r
12. The ratio of the sums of m and n terms of an A.P. is m2 : n2. Show that the ratio
of mth and nth term is (2m 1) : (2n 1).
13. If the sum of n terms of an A.P. is 3n2 + 5n and its mth term is 164, find the value
of m.
14. Insert five numbers between 8 and 26 such that the resulting sequence is an A.P.
15. If
a n + bn
is the A.M. between a and b, then find the value of n.
a n 1 + b n 1
16. Between 1 and 31, m numbers have been inserted in such a way that the resulting
sequence is an A. P. and the ratio of 7th and (m 1)th numbers is 5 : 9. Find the
value of m.
186
MATHEMATICS
17. A man starts repaying a loan as first instalment of Rs. 100. If he increases the
instalment by Rs 5 every month, what amount he will pay in the 30th instalment?
18. The difference between any two consecutive interior angles of a polygon is 5.
If the smallest angle is 120 , find the number of the sides of the polygon.
1 1 1 1
, , ,
(iii) .01,.0001,.000001,...
9 27 81 243 ...
In each of these sequences, how their terms progress? We note that each term, except
the first progresses in a definite order.
In (i), we have
and so on.
1 a
1 a
1 a
1
and so on.
In (ii), we observe, a1 = , 2 = , 3 = , 4 =
9 a1 3 a2 3 a3 3
Similarly, state how do the terms in (iii) progress? It is observed that in each case,
a3
a
a
a1 =ratio
2, 2to=the
2, term
=immediately
2, 4 = 2 preceding
every term except the first term bears a constant
a1
a2
a3
1
it. In (i), this constant ratio is 2; in (ii), it is and in (iii), the constant ratio is 0.01.
3
Such sequences are called geometric sequence or geometric progression abbreviated
as G.P.
A sequence a1, a2, a3, , an, is called geometric progression, if each term is
non-zero and
ak + 1
ak
= r (constant), for k 1.
1
and 0.01, respectively.
3
As in case of arithmetic progression, the problem of finding the nth term or sum of n
terms of a geometric progression containing a large number of terms would be difficult
without the use of the formulae which we shall develop in the next Section. We shall
use the following notations with these formulae:
a = the first term, r = the common ratio, l = the last term,
geometric progression (i), (ii) and (iii) above are 2,
187
an = ar n1 .
Thus, a, G.P. can be written as a, ar, ar2, ar3, arn 1; a, ar, ar2,...,arn 1... ;according
as G.P. is finite or infinite, respectively.
The series a + ar + ar2 + ... + arn1 or a + ar + ar2 + ... + arn1 +...are called
finite or infinite geometric series, respectively.
9.5.2. Sum to n terms of a G .P. Let the first term of a G.P. be a and the common
ratio be r. Let us denote by Sn the sum to first n terms of G.P. Then
Sn = a + ar + ar2 +...+ arn1
... (1)
Case 1
If r = 1, we have Sn = a + a + a + ... + a (n terms) = na
If r 1, multiplying (1) by r, we have
rSn = ar + ar2 + ar3 + ... + arn
Subtracting (2) from (1), we get (1 r) Sn = a arn = a(1 rn)
Case 2
a (1 r n )
1 r
... (2)
a ( r n 1)
r 1
Example 9 Find the 10th and nth terms of the G.P. 5, 25,125, .
Solution Here a = 5 and r = 5. Thus, a10 = 5(5)101 = 5(5)9 = 510
and an = arn1 = 5(5)n1 = 5n .
This gives
Sn =
or
Sn =
188
MATHEMATICS
Example11 In a G.P., the 3rd term is 24 and the 6th term is 192.Find the 10th term.
Solution Here, a3 = ar 2 = 24
... (1)
and
... (2)
Dividing (2) by (1), we get r = 2. Substituting r = 2 in (1), we get a = 6.
Hence
a10 = 6 (2)9 = 3072.
Example12 Find the sum of first n terms and the sum of first 5 terms of the geometric
series
Solution Here a = 1 and r =
2
. Therefore
3
2 n
1
n
a (1 r n ) 3 3 1 2
=
Sn =
=
2
3
1 r
1
3
a =2 ar45 = 192
1 6+ + + ...
3 9
2 5
211
211
3
In particular, S5 = 3 1 =
=
.
243
81
3
3 3
Example 13 How many terms of the G.P. 3, , ,... are needed to give the
2 4
3069
sum 512 ?
Solution Let n be the number of terms needed. Given that a = 3, r =
a (1 r n )
1 r
Since
Sn =
Therefore
3069
=
512
1
)
2n = 6 1 1
n
1
2
1
2
3(1
1
3069
and Sn =
2
512
189
1
3069
= 1 n
2
3072
or
1
3069
3
1
=
=
n = 1
2
3072 3072 1024
2n = 1024 = 210, which gives n = 10.
or
or
13
and their product is 1.
12
a
, a, ar be the first three terms of the G.P. Then
r
a
13
+ ar + a =
r
12
a
(a ) (ar ) = 1
r
From (2), we get a3 = 1, i.e., a = 1 (considering only real roots)
and
... (1)
... (2)
1
13
1 r =
or 12r2 + 25r + 12 = 0.
r
12
3
4
or .
4
3
4
3
3
3
4
4
and , 1,
for r =
,
Thus, the three terms of G.P. are : , 1, for r =
3
4
4
4
3
3
Example15 Find the sum of the sequence 7, 77, 777, 7777, ... to n terms.
This is a quadratic in r, solving, we get r =
Solution This is not a G.P., however, we can relate it to a G.P. by writing the terms as
Sn = 7 + 77 + 777 + 7777 + ... to n terms
=
7
[9 + 99 + 999 + 9999 + ...to n term]
9
7
[(10 1) + (102 1) + (103 1) + (104 1) + ...n terms]
9
190
MATHEMATICS
7
[(10 + 102 + 103 + ...n terms) (1+1+1+...n terms)]
9
7 10 (10n 1)
7 10(10n 1)
n
n .
=
9 10 1
9
9
We have
S10 = 2(210 1) = 2046
Hence, the number of ancestors preceding the person is 2046.
9.5.3 Geometric Mean (G .M.) The geometric mean of two positive numbers a
and b is the number ab . Therefore, the geometric mean of 2 and 8 is 4. We
observe that the three numbers 2,4,8 are consecutive terms of a G.P. This leads to a
generalisation of the concept of geometric means of two numbers.
Given any two positive numbers a and b, we can insert as many numbers as
we like between them to make the resulting sequence in a G.P.
Let G1, G2,, Gn be n numbers between positive numbers a and b such that
a,G1,G2,G3,,Gn,b is a G.P. Thus, b being the (n + 2)th term,we have
1
b = ar
n +1
b n + 1 .
r =
a
or
1
Hence
2
b n +1
G1 = ar = a ,
b n +1
2
G 2 = ar = a ,
a
a
b n +1
G 3 = ar = a ,
a
3
b n +1
G n = ar n = a
a
Example17 Insert three numbers between 1 and 256 so that the resulting sequence
is a G.P.
Solution Let G1, G2,G3 be three numbers between 1 and 256 such that
1, G1,G2,G3 ,256 is a G.P.
Therefore
256 = r4 giving r = 4 (Taking real roots only)
For r = 4, we have G1 = ar = 4, G2 = ar2 = 16, G3 = ar3 = 64
Similarly, for r = 4, numbers are 4,16 and 64.
Hence, we can insert 4, 16, 64 between 1 and 256 so that the resulting sequences are
in G.P.
A=
a+b
and G = ab
2
Thus, we have
AG=
a +b
a + b 2 ab
ab =
2
2
a b
0
2
From (1), we obtain the relationship A G.
=
... (1)
Example 18 If A.M. and G.M. of two positive numbers a and b are 10 and 8,
respectively, find the numbers.
a+b
=10
2
A.M. =
and
G.M. = ab = 8
... (1)
... (2)
192
MATHEMATICS
EXERCISE 9.3
5 5 5
, , , ...
2 4 8
Find the 12th term of a G.P. whose 8th term is 192 and the common ratio is 2.
The 5 th, 8 th and 11 th terms of a G.P. are p, q and s, respectively. Show
that q2 = ps.
The 4th term of a G.P. is square of its second term, and the first term is 3.
Determine its 7th term.
Which term of the following sequences:
(a)
2 ,2 2 ,4 ,... is 128 ?
(c)
1 1 1
1
, , ,... is
?
3 9 27
19683
(b)
2
7
, x, are in G.P.?
7
2
Find the sum to indicated number of terms in each of the geometric progressions in
Exercises 7 to 10:
7. 0.15, 0.015, 0.0015, ... 20 terms.
6. For what values of x, the numbers
8.
7 , 21 , 3 7 , ... n terms.
9. 1, a, a2, a3, ... n terms (if a 1).
10. x3, x5, x7, ... n terms (if x 1).
11
11. Evaluate
(2 + 3k ) .
k =1
39
12. The sum of first three terms of a G.P. is
and their product is 1. Find the
10
common ratio and the terms.
13. How many terms of G.P. 3, 32, 33, are needed to give the sum 120?
14. The sum of first three terms of a G.P. is 16 and the sum of the next three terms is
128. Determine the first term, the common ratio and the sum to n terms of the G.P.
15. Given a G.P. with a = 729 and 7th term 64, determine S7.
16. Find a G.P. for which sum of the first two terms is 4 and the fifth term is
4 times the third term.
17. If the 4th, 10th and 16th terms of a G.P. are x, y and z, respectively. Prove that x,
y, z are in G.P.
193
18. Find the sum to n terms of the sequence, 8, 88, 888, 8888 .
19. Find the sum of the products of the corresponding terms of the sequences 2, 4, 8,
1
.
2
Show that the products of the corresponding terms of the sequences a, ar, ar2,
arn 1 and A, AR, AR2, ARn 1 form a G.P, and find the common ratio.
Find four numbers forming a geometric progression in which the third term is
greater than the first term by 9, and the second term is greater than the 4th by 18.
If the pth, qth and rth terms of a G.P. are a, b and c, respectively. Prove that
aq r br pcP q = 1.
If the first and the nth term of a G.P. are a and b, respectively, and if P is the
product of n terms, prove that P2 = (ab)n.
Show that the ratio of the sum of first n terms of a G.P. to the sum of terms from
16, 32 and 128, 32, 8, 2,
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
1
.
rn
25. If a, b, c and d are in G.P. show that
(a2 + b2 + c2) (b2 + c2 + d2) = (ab + bc + cd)2 .
26. Insert two numbers between 3 and 81 so that the resulting sequence is G.P.
(n + 1)th to (2n)th term is
a n+1 + b n+1
may be the geometric mean between
a n + bn
a and b.
28. The sum of two numbers is 6 times their geometric mean, show that numbers
)(
194
MATHEMATICS
n (n + 1)
2
k =1
k =1
n3 = 3 k 2 3 k + n
n
k =1 + 2 + 3 + ... + n =
k =1
Hence Sn =
k 2 = 3 n3 +
k =1
n (n + 1)
2
3n (n + 1)
n = 1 (2n3 + 3n 2 + n)
2
6
n (n +1)(2n +1)
6
(iii) Here Sn = 13 + 23 + ...+n3
We consider the identity, (k + 1)4 k4 = 4k3 + 6k2 + 4k + 1
Putting k = 1, 2, 3 n, we get
=
k =1
k =1
k =1
= 4 k3 + 6 k2 + 4 k + n
... (1)
k =
k =1
n (n + 1)
2
and
k2 =
k =1
n (n + 1) (2n + 1)
6
4 k 3 = n 4 + 4 n 3 + 6n 2 + 4n
k =1
or
6n (n + 1) (2n + 1) 4n (n + 1)
n
6
2
Hence,
Sn = 5 + 11 + 19 + 29 + ... + an1 + an
Sn =
5 + 11 + 19 + ... + an2 + an1 + an
196
MATHEMATICS
0 = 5 + [6 + 8 + 10 + 12 + ...(n 1) terms] an
or
an = 5 +
(n 1)[12 + (n 2) 2]
2
= 5 + (n 1) (n + 4) = n2 + 3n + 1
Hence
k =1
k =1
k =1
2
2
Sn = ak = ( k + 3k + 1) = k + 3 k + n
n(n + 2)(n + 4)
n(n +1) (2n +1) 3n(n + 1)
+
+n =
.
3
6
2
Example 20 Find the sum to n terms of the series whose nth term is n (n+3).
Solution Given that an = n (n + 3) = n2 + 3n
Thus, the sum to n terms is given by
Sn =
k =1
k =1
k =1
ak = k 2 + 3 k
n (n + 1) (2n + 1) 3n (n + 1) n(n + 1)(n + 5)
+
=
.
6
2
3
EXERCISE 9.4
Find the sum to n terms of each of the series in Exercises 1 to 7.
1. 1 2 + 2 3 + 3 4 + 4 5 +...
2. 1 2 3 + 2 3 4 + 3 4 5 + ...
3. 3 12 + 5 22 + 7 32 + ...
1
1
1
4. 1 2 + 2 3 + 3 4 + ...
5. 52 + 62 + 72 + ... + 202
6. 3 8 + 6 11 + 9 14 + ...
9. n2 + 2n
10. (2n 1) 2
197
Miscellaneous Examples
Example21 If p th, q th, r th and s th terms of an A.P. are in G.P, then show that
(p q), (q r), (r s) are also in G.P.
Solution Here
ap = a + (p 1) d
aq = a + (q 1) d
... (1)
... (2)
ar = a + (r 1) d
... (3)
as = a + (s 1) d
Given that ap, aq, ar and as are in G.P.,
aq
So
ap
... (4)
ar aq ar q r
=
=
aq a p aq p q (why ?)
ar as ar as r s
= =
=
aq ar aq ar q r
Similarly
(why ?)
... (5)
... (6)
Let a x = b y = c z = k Then
a = kx , b = ky and c = kz.
Since a, b, c are in G.P., therefore,
b2 = ac
Using (1) in (2), we get
k2y = kx + z, which gives 2y = x + z.
Hence, x, y and z are in A.P.
Solution
... (1)
... (2)
... (1)
198
MATHEMATICS
But L.H.S.
= (a2p2 2abp + b2) + (b2p2 2bcp + c2) + (c2p2 2cdp + d2),
which gives (ap b)2 + (bp c)2 + (cp d)2 0
... (2)
Since the sum of squares of real numbers is non negative, therefore, from (1) and (2),
we have,
(ap b)2 + (bp c)2 + (cp d)2 = 0
or
ap b = 0, bp c = 0, cp d = 0
b c d
= = =p
a b c
d e f
, , are in A.P.
p q r
2q 4q 2 4rp
2p
q
q
but
is also root of
p
p
q
q
d
+ 2e
+ f = 0,
p
p
or
2e d f
d 2e fp
= +
+ = 0, or
q p r
p q pr
Hence
d e f
, , are in A.P.
p q r
... (1)
199
f(1) = 3 and
x =1
8. The sum of some terms of G.P. is 315 whose first term and the common ratio are
5 and 2, respectively. Find the last term and the number of terms.
9. The first term of a G.P. is 1. The sum of the third term and fifth term is 90.
Find the common ratio of G.P.
10. The sum of three numbers in G.P. is 56. If we subtract 1, 7, 21 from these numbers
in that order, we obtain an arithmetic progression. Find the numbers.
11. A G.P. consists of an even number of terms. If the sum of all the terms is 5 times
the sum of terms occupying odd places, then find its common ratio.
12. The sum of the first four terms of an A.P. is 56. The sum of the last four terms is
112. If its first term is 11, then find the number of terms.
13. If
a + bx b + cx c + dx
( x 0) , then show that a, b, c and d are in G.P.
=
=
a bx b cx c dx
14. Let S be the sum, P the product and R the sum of reciprocals of n terms in a G.P.
Prove that P2Rn = Sn.
15. The pth, qth and rth terms of an A.P. are a, b, c, respectively. Show that
(q r )a + (r p )b + (p q )c = 0
1 1 1 1 1 1
16. If a + , b + , c + are in A.P., prove that a, b, c are in A.P.
b c c a a b
17. If a, b, c, d are in G.P, prove that (an + bn), (bn + cn), (cn + dn) are in G.P.
18. If a and b are the roots of x2 3x + p = 0 and c, d are roots of x2 12x + q = 0,
where a, b, c, d form a G.P. Prove that (q + p) : (q p) = 17:15.
200
MATHEMATICS
19. The ratio of the A.M. and G.M. of two positive numbers a and b, is m : n. Show
)(
that a : b = m + m 2 n 2 : m m 2 n 2
).
1 1 1
20. If a, b, c are in A.P.; b, c, d are in G.P. and , , are in A.P. prove that a, c, e
c d e
are in G.P.
21. Find the sum of the following series up to n terms:
(i) 5 + 55 +555 +
(ii) .6 +. 66 +. 666+
22. Find the 20th term of the series 2 4 + 4 6 + 6 8 + ... + n terms.
23. Find the sum of the first n terms of the series: 3+ 7 +13 +21 +31 +
24. If S1, S2, S3 are the sum of first n natural numbers, their squares and their
cubes, respectively, show that 9 S22 = S3 (1 + 8S1).
25. Find the sum of the following series up to n terms:
13 13 + 23 13 + 23 + 33
+
+
+ ...
1
1+ 3
1+ 3 + 5
1 22 + 2 32 + ... + n (n + 1) 2 3n + 5
=
12 2 + 22 3 + ... + n 2 (n + 1) 3n + 1 .
A farmer buys a used tractor for Rs 12000. He pays Rs 6000 cash and agrees to
pay the balance in annual instalments of Rs 500 plus 12% interest on the unpaid
amount. How much will the tractor cost him?
Shamshad Ali buys a scooter for Rs 22000. He pays Rs 4000 cash and agrees to
pay the balance in annual instalment of Rs 1000 plus 10% interest on the unpaid
amount. How much will the scooter cost him?
A person writes a letter to four of his friends. He asks each one of them to copy
the letter and mail to four different persons with instruction that they move the
chain similarly. Assuming that the chain is not broken and that it costs 50 paise to
mail one letter. Find the amount spent on the postage when 8th set of letter is
mailed.
A man deposited Rs 10000 in a bank at the rate of 5% simple interest annually.
Find the amount in 15th year since he deposited the amount and also calculate the
total amount after 20 years.
A manufacturer reckons that the value of a machine, which costs him Rs. 15625,
will depreciate each year by 20%. Find the estimated value at the end of 5 years.
150 workers were engaged to finish a job in a certain number of days. 4 workers
dropped out on second day, 4 more workers dropped out on third day and so on.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
201
It took 8 more days to finish the work. Find the number of days in which the work
was completed.
Summary
Let a1, a2, a3, ... be the sequence, then the sum expressed as a1 + a2 + a3 + ...
is called series. A series is called finite series if it has got finite number of
terms.
An arithmetic progression (A.P.) is a sequence in which terms increase or
decrease regularly by the same constant. This constant is called common
difference of the A.P. Usually, we denote the first term of A.P. by a, the
common difference by d and the last term by l. The general term or the nth
term of the A.P. is given by an = a + (n 1) d.
The sum Sn of the first n terms of an A.P. is given by
n
n
Sn = 2a + ( n 1) d = ( a + l ) .
2
2
a+b
i.e., the
2
sequence a, A, b is in A.P.
202
MATHEMATICS
) or a (1 r ) , if r 1
a rn 1
Sn =
r 1
1r
The geometric mean (G.M.) of any two positive numbers a and b is given by
ab i.e., the sequence a, G, b is G.P.
Historical Note
Evidence is found that Babylonians, some 4000 years ago, knew of arithmetic and
geometric sequences. According to Boethius (510), arithmetic and geometric
sequences were known to early Greek writers. Among the Indian mathematician,
Aryabhatta (476) was the first to give the formula for the sum of squares and cubes
of natural numbers in his famous work Aryabhatiyam, written around
499. He also gave the formula for finding the sum to n terms of an arithmetic
sequence starting with p th term. Noted Indian mathematicians Brahmgupta
(598), Mahavira (850) and Bhaskara (1114-1185) also considered the sum of squares
and cubes. Another specific type of sequence having important applications in
mathematics, called Fibonacci sequence, was discovered by Italian mathematician
Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1250). Seventeenth century witnessed the classification
of series into specific forms. In 1671 James Gregory used the term infinite series in
connection with infinite sequence. It was only through the rigorous development of
algebraic and set theoretic tools that the concepts related to sequence and series
could be formulated suitably.
Now, in this last section, we will look at all the miscellaneous series problems based on Arithmeticogeometric series, Iterative series, User-defined series and others.
3y2
y + 2 y2
1 y
1 y
y + 2 y2
(1 y )
Again, the terms given in the question are in AGP. The numerator is in AP while the denominator is in
GP with the common ratio of 1/9.
2
9
Let P = +
5 8 11
+ + + .............
92 93 94
1
of the GP. On multiplying, we get
9
P 2 5 8 11
=
+ + + + .............
9 9 2 9 3 9 4 95
Now subtract the 2nd equation from the first one again leaving the first term of the 1st equation as it is.
On subtracting, we get:
8P 2 3
3 3 3
= + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + .............
9
9 9
9 9
9
Again, the series becomes an infinite GP starting from the second term onwards with the first term
being
3
1
and the common ratio being .
2
9
9
This is a slightly tricky question. Students find it difficult to solve, but this is also an example of AGP. In
this case, denominator is in GP but the terms in numerator are not in AP. But, if we observe carefully,
difference of the terms of numerator is in AP. So, we will have to do the process of multiplying by
common ratio twice to convert this AGP into an infinite GP.
1st step: Common ratio of the GP is 1/7, so multiplying by 1/7, we get:
P=
2 3 5 8 12
+ + + + + ............. (Equation (i))
7 72 73 74 75
P 2
3 5 8 12
=
+ + + + + ............. (Equation (ii))
7 72 73 74 75 76
Again, multiply (equation (iii)) by the common ratio of the GP (1/7), we get
3 4
6P 2 1 2
=
+ + + + + ............. (Equation (IV))
7 2 7 2 73 7 4 7 5 7 6
2 = 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + .............
7
7
7 7 7 7 7
36 P 2 1 73
2 1
1
79
= 2 +
2
2 + 2
1
49
7 7 1
7 7 7 6
7 6
7
79
79
49
So, P = 2
7 6 36
216
So, whenever the difference of the terms is in AP and one term is in GP, it still is a problem based on the
logic of AGP, we just need to identify it and solve it.
tn +1 tn 1
. Now, in this case, our term (tn+1) is not represented in form of its previous terms,
2
E.g. 4: If the sequence tn+1 + 2tn1 = 3tn, is true for all natural numbers n > 1, then find the value of t40 if t1
= 1 and t2 = 2. And also find the sum of those forty terms {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 +................+ t40}.
Now, this sequence is not arranged in terms of its previous terms, so we will arrange it first.
tn+1 = 3tn 2tn1,
Now, we can interpret the sequence as any new term is difference of thrice of previous term and twice
of yet another previous term.
So, if t1 = 1
And t2 = 2
Then t3 = 3 t2 2 t1 = 6 2 = 4
Similarly, t4 = 3 t3 2 t2 = 8
Once, we got the logic, we can write the other terms in a jiffy as t5 = 16, t6 = 32,.............and so on.
Again, try to understand one thing, that if the question is asking to find the 40th term, there must be a
pattern or sequence which we can catch.
So, if we try to catch the pattern in the question, it goes like: t1= 20, t2 = 21, t3 = 22, t4 = 23, t5 = 24, t6 = 25.
So, t40 should be 239.
Now, to find the sum of these 40 terms, we can use the formula of sum of the 40 terms of the GP with
the first term being 20 and common ratio being 2.
{t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 +..................+ t40} = {20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 +.......................+ 239}.
So, we can get the sum of these 40 terms by the formula: S40 =
sum as S40 =
20 ( 240 1)
(2 1)
a ( r 40 1)
( r 1)
( 240 1) .
Alternative method of finding the sum: Whenever there is consecutive series of powers starting from
20, we can use this logic directly and get the answer.
20 + 21 = 22 1
20 + 21 + 22 = 23 1
20 + 21 + 22 + 23 = 24 1
20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 = 25 1
20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 = 26 1
20 + 21 + 22 + 23 + 24 + 25 + 26 +..........................+ 239 = 240 1
E.g. 5: If tn+2 + tn = tn+1 for all natural number values of n > 0. If t1 = 3, t2 = 1, then find out t129. And also
find out the sum of these terms {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 +.....................+ t129}.
First of all, we need to see that if the sequence is arranged in the terms of its previous terms.
The previous terms of tn+2 are tn+1 and tn.
So, we can write the sequence as tn+2 = tn+1 tn.
That means a new term (tn+2) can be represented in the form of difference of previous term (tn+1) and
yet another previous term (tn).
So, if t1 = 3,
t2 = 1,
t3 = t2 t1 = 1 3 = 2,
t4 = t3 t2 = 2 1 = 3,
t5 = 3 (2) = 1
t6 = 1 (3) = 2
t7 = 2 (1) = 3
So, the first term t1 is same as t7, so a cycle of 6 is there in the series. Also, it would have been obvious
that if the question was asking to find 129th term, then cycle/period of terms must be there. Else it will
be very cumbersome to find 129th term.
Now, if a cycle of 6 is being repeated and we want to find t129, then we will divide (129 6) which gives a
remainder of 3.
A remainder of 3 means that t129 is the third term of the cycle means equal to t3.
So, t129 = t3 = 2
Now, to find the sum of the terms {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 +..................+ t129}, we just need to find the sum of
each cycle.
Sum of each cycle is {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 + t5 + t6} = {3 + 1 2 3 1 + 2} = 0
So, sum of each cycle is 0 and there are 21 cycles in sum of 129 terms, so sum of all 21 cycles will also be
zero. But apart from those 21 cycles, three terms are still behind {t127, t128 and t129}.
So, {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 +..................+ t129} = {t127 + t128 + t129}. And we know t127 = t1, t128 = t2 and t129 = t3.
So, finally sum is {3 + 1 2} = 2.
E.g. 6: Consider a series, t1, t2, t3, such that for any n being any natural number 1, tn + 1 =
tn 1
.
tn + 1
t1 1 a 1
t1 + 1 a + 1
a 1
1
t2 1
1
Similarly, t3 =
a +1
a
1
t2 + 1
a
+1
a +1
1
1
1 a
(a + 1)
t3 1
And t4 =
a
(a 1)
t3 + 1
+ 1 1 + a
a
(a + 1)
1
t4 1
(a 1)
a
And t5 =
t4 + 1 (a + 1) + 1
(a 1)
Now, t5 becomes same as t1 that means a cycle of 4 is running. We do not need to go any further as t6
will be same as t2, t7 will be same as t3 and t8 will be same as t4.
Now, we need to find the product of t1 t2 t3 t 4 ...... t 50 .
Substituting the values which we obtained for t2, t3, t4 and so on, we can find out the product of one
cycle.
Product of one cycle i.e., t1, t2, t3 and t4 is a
a 1 1
(a + 1)
1
a +1 a
(a 1)
So, in product of 50 terms, we will get 12 cycles and product of all the cycles will be 1 each. So, two
terms (t49 and t50) will be left behind.
The product of t1 t2 t3 t 4 ...... t 50 = t49 t50 = a
a 1
a2 a
and t50 will be the 2nd term of the cycle). So, t49 = t1 and t50 = t2.
60 ( 60 + 1)
n ( n + 1)
n ( n + 1)
30 61 = 1830 .
Now, to find the sum of these 60 terms, we will have to use the summation of these terms.
60
60
n ( n + 1)
n =1
So, S60 =
1 60 2 1 60
n
n + 2
2 n =1
n =1
n ( n + 1)( 2n + 1)
n ( n + 1)
And n = {1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ................ + n }
2
3
We should be comfortable in using these formulas as they are used quite frequently.
Now, coming back to original question, we needed to find S 60 =
1 60 2 1 60
n . [Just substitute the value
n + 2
2 n =1
n =1
2 2 2
So, S60 =
2
So, it seems a very length process, but actually is not. We just need to be comfortable in identifying first
that this is a user-defined series and no formula for AP or GP will work. And after determining tn, we just
need to apply summation to find sum of n terms. And to find sum, we need to memorize those three
formulas. Let us see some more examples based on the same logic.
E.g. 8: Find the sum to first 20 terms if the nth term of the series is given by (5n + 4).
In this question already, the nth term is given, so we do not need to find it. We can directly find out the
sum of 20 terms using the summation formula.
20
20
20
20
n =1
n =1
n =1
n =1
S20 = tn = (5n + 4) 5 n + 4 1 .
{We know n =
20
n(n + 1)
and 1 = 20 }.
2
n=1
20 21
+ 4 20 1130 .
2
So, S20 = 5
Sn = tn n ( n 2 + n + 1) n 3 + n 2 + n . (Equation (i)).
Now, we are familiar with the summations of n3, n2 and n, we just needed to plug-in the values of them
to get the answer.
And if the question was asking to find the sum of n = 20 or n = 30 terms, we could have got the answer
by just substituting the value of n = 20 or 30 (or whichever terms the question was asking) in equation
(i).
E.g. 10: Find the nth term of the series whose Sn is given as (2n2 + n + 1).
Now, this is the question based on the reverse logic. Up till now, we have solved problems where nth
term has been given and we needed to find out sum of those terms. But, in this case sum is given; we
need to find out tn.
So, it depends on the question, what is asking. So, accordingly, we can proceed and get the answer. But
whatever has been discussed is the crux of all such problems. If we get this, we can solve almost all
problems of such type.
E.g. 11: Find the sum of the series: 1 3 + 4 5 + 7 7 + 10 9 + 13 11 + ....................15 terms.
Now, this problem is a combination of multiplication of two sequences. And if we observe, both the
sequences are APs.
1, 4, 7, 10, 13 is the first AP. The nth term, tn = a + (n 1)d = 1 + (n 1 )3 = 3n 2.
3, 5, 7, 9 is the second AP. The nth term, tn = 3 + (n 1)2 = 2n + 1.
Hence, nth term, tn of the given sequence is {(3n 2) (2n + 1)} = (6n2 n 2).
Now, if we know tn, we can easily find out the sum to those terms using summation.
15
15
15
15
n =1
n =1
n =1
n =1
n ( n + 1)( 2n + 1) n(n + 1)
2 15
6
So, S15 = tn = 6 n 2 n 21 6
Now, substitute, the value of n = 15 in the above equation to get the final answer.
So, S15 = 7290
E.g. 12: Find the nth term of the series: 1 2 4 + 2 3 5 + 3 4 6 +.......................
What we can do to find the nth term is assume a particular nth term and check by plug-in values of n,
whether we are getting the terms given in the question.
For e.g., if i say that the nth term of the above expression is (n) (n + 1) (n + 2). You guys will prove it
wrong by substituting n = 1 in the value of tn because when we plug-in n = 1, we will get t1 = 1 2 3,
which is not the term given in the question. So, its wrong.
Now, you must be confident enough of finding the nth term. Its very easy.
So, nth term (tn) = (n) (n + 1) (n + 3).
If we know the nth term, we can also find out the sum of these n terms easily with the logic learnt so
far.
Now, we need to find the sum of this series, first we should do is to look is that this series is neither in
AP nor GP nor AGP. Then, we will think whether it can be some user-defined series which it is not. Then,
our last resort would be to think in terms of splitting the denominator and trying to find a pattern.
The first term in the denominator is 2 can be broken down into: 1 2
The second term in the denominator is 6 can be broken down into: 2 3
The third term in the denominator is 12 can be broken down into: 3 4
The fourth term in the denominator is 20 can be broken down into: 4 5
The fifth term in the denominator is 30 can be broken down into: 5 6
The last term in the denominator is 240 can be broken down into: 15 16(think of two consecutive
numbers whose product is 240).
So, we can see that there is a fixed pattern as the denominators are product of two consecutive
numbers. And also the difference between two consecutive numbers is 1 and 1 is present there in
numerator of each term. So, when we split the denominator in the difference of two terms, it would not
make any difference as the difference is 1 between those terms.
For e.g.,
Similarly,
1
1
1 1
=
.
2 1 2 1 2
1
1
1 1
=
.
6 23
2 3
The point which i was trying to make was that if the difference in two terms of the denominator is 1,
there is no problem in writing those terms as difference of those two terms also.
So, now, we can write the entire series as:
1 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 2 + 2 3 + 3 4 + 4 5 + 5 6 + 6 7 + .............................. 14 15 + 15 16
On solving, all the terms will get cancelled except the first term and the last term. So our answer would
be
15
.
16
Again, try to split the denominator in such a way that we get some pattern in it.
The first term in the denominator 3 can be split as: 1 3
The second term in the denominator 15 can be split as: 3 5
The third term in the denominator 35 can be split as: 5 7
The fourth term in the denominator 63 can be split as: 7 9
So, we got a pattern, but in this case the terms are not consecutive numbers but with a constant
difference of 2. We need to go up till 20 terms, so we need to find out the 20th term first.
We can use the logic of AP to find the 20th term as the terms are increasing with a common difference of
2 and first term being 1.
So, t20 = a + 19d = 1 + 19 2 = 39. 39 will be the first term of the 20th fraction and 41 will be the second
term.
So, the last term in the denominator can be split as: 39 41
Now, how to deal with the difference of 2 in the terms of denominator? If we split the denominator as
the difference of the terms, we will get 2 in the numerator. And that 2 will be present in each term.
1 1 1 1
=
3 1 3 3
So, if we are writing any term as the difference of two terms, on solving the expression we should get
the same result. If not then, we will have to make some adjustments to it.
So,
1 1 1 1
=
. This is absolutely fine as on solving RHS, we will get the same value on LHS. And the
3 2 1 3
same pattern will follow for rest of terms. So, we can extract
1
common out from all the terms and
2
solve the expression as all the terms will get cancelled out except the first and last one.
So, we can write the expression as
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1
1
1
+ + + + ........................... + + Which
2 1 3 3 5 5 7 7 9
37 39 39 41
1 1 1
1 40
20
on solving will give the answer as .
2 1
41
41
41
Short-cut: We could have solved this question orally if we could have identified the pattern first. Then
next step to identify was how much was the common difference between the terms. And in this
question, last term was not given which could have been found out by using AP logic. And then
whatever was the difference between the terms would have come in the denominator (to cancel out
the same term in the numerator) as it would be present in all the terms. So, answer could had been
written in one step as
1
1
1
Now, this is a slightly tricky one. But, this one can also be solve easily if the logic of the previous two was
clear. Again, try to identify whether this series is an AP or GP or AGP. This series is neither of them, so
our next approach would be splitting of the denominator only.
Do not worry about the term in the numerator; it will automatically be taken care of. We should think of
splitting the denominator in such a way that we get a pattern.
First term in the denominator is 3 which can be split as: 1 3(difference between them is 2).
Second term in the denominator is 21 which can be split as: 3 7(difference between them is 4).
Third term in the denominator is 91 can be split as: 7 13(difference between them is 6).
Fourth term in the denominator is 273 can be split as: 13 21(difference between them is 8).
So, we are getting a pattern and whatever is the difference between the terms of the denominator is
already present in the numerator. So, if we can find out the terms of the last fraction, our question will
be solved.
Think of two numbers whose product is 1333 and difference is 12. {Numbers must be in the vicinity of
30 and 40 as their product is 1200.} So, try taking 31 and see whether 1333 is divisible by 31 or no. 1333
is divisible by 31 and the number obtained on dividing 1333 by 31 will be 43, and the difference
between 31 and 43 is also 12. So, our purpose is solved.
So, now we can write the sequence as
1 1
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1 42
.
+ + + + ................ + And on simplifying we will get
1
3
3
7
7
13
13
21
31
43
43
1 43
So, this was a slightly different question from the previous two questions solved as whatever was the
common difference between the terms of the denominator was already given in the numerator. Had it
been not given, we would have to make necessary adjustments as we did in previous example.
Let us see some more tricky examples of this kind.
If we split =
1
1
1
1
1
1
=
, then on solving
1 2 3 1 2 2 3
6
1 2 2 3
1
2
1
, we will get .
2
2
3
6
But, on solving
1
6
1
1 1
1
=
.
1 2 3 2 1 2 2 3
We can write
1
1
1 1
1
=
=
.
24 2 3 4 2 2 3 3 4
1
1
1 1
1
=
=
.
60 3 4 5 2 3 4 4 5
1
1
1 1
1
=
=
.
1320 10 11 12 2 10 11 11 12
1
is coming out of the
2
1
would have come out of the bracket and so on.
3
+
+
+
+ ........................... +
.
2 1 2 2 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 4 5 4 5 5 6
10 11 11 12
2 1 2 11 12 2 132
264
All these problems are based on pattern-catching and familiarity. So do not get overwhelmed by such
problems and if all of you solve 5-6 questions of this type, you will get a hang of it and can write the
answer in one or two steps.
Let us see one example on the same type again.
E.g. 17: Find the sum of the series:
1
1
1
1
+
+
+ ....................... +
.
1 3 5 3 5 7 5 7 9
19 21 23
If we understood the previous question well, we can solve this question orally.
Answer should be:
1 1
1
.
4 1 3 21 23
Now, you start thinking how we can write the answer so fast. How did i get 1/4?
Logic:
First of all, in this question half of the work is already done as we do not need to find the pattern as it is
already visible in the question.
Two terms of the first fraction is being repeated in the second fraction, similarly two terms of the
second fraction is being repeated in the third fraction.
And also watch out for the three terms of the first fraction: (1 3 5): Difference between 1 and 5 is 4.
Similarly, the three terms of the second fraction: (3 5 7): Difference between 3 and 7 is 4.
And this holds true for remaining fractions also.
And that 4 will come out as
1
when we write the fraction as difference of terms.
4
1 1
1
1
, we will get
.
4 1 3 3 5
1 3 5
On splitting
1 1
1
1
, we will get
.
4 3 5 5 7
357
And so on. Now on writing them by adding all the terms, we get
1 1
1 1
1 1
1 1
1
1
1
+
+
+
+ ................ +
4 1 3 3 5 3 5 5 7 5 7 7 9 7 9 9 11
19 21 21 23
On simplifying, we will get the same answer which we wrote in one step only.
1 1
Answer is
.
4 1 3 21 23
So, again i am stressing the point of familiarity and pattern-grabbing in all such problems. If we get hold
of it, we can solve all such problems in one step.
Now, try to solve this last example orally.
E.g. 18: Find the sum of the series:
1
1
1
1
+
+
+
+ ....................... to 15 terms.
1 4 7 4 7 10 7 10 13 10 13 16
Now, in this question the last term is not given. But using the logic of AP, we can find out the first term
of the last fraction.
First term of the first bracket is 1, common difference is 3.
So, first term of the 15th term would be (a + 14d) = 1 + 14 3 = 43
And the remaining two terms of the last bracket would be (46 and 49).
So, now our question becomes
1
1
1
1
1
+
+
+
+ ....................... +
.
1 4 7 4 7 10 7 10 13 10 13 16
43 46 49
1 1
I hope that we do not need to do any work in this question if the logics of the previous two questions
were clear. And when i was talking about being familiar and comfortable about a particular type of
question, i meant solving 7-8 questions based on the same logic so that the logic is engraved in our
memory.
Exercise:
1. If tn1 + tn3 = tn2 for all natural numbers n > 3. Find the value of t203 if t1 = 10 and t2 = 7. Also find the
sum of the following terms: {t1 + t2 + t3 + t4 + t5 +..................+ t359}.
2. Consider a series, t1, t2, t3, such that for any n being any natural number 1, tn + 1 =
tn 1
. If the
tn + 1
first term of the series is 2, find the sum of first 150 terms of the series.
3
7
5 7
+ + ...............
7 2 73
1 3 7 13 21
+ + + + + ...............
9 9 2 9 3 9 4 95
1
1
1
1
+
+
+ ................ +
.
1 3 5 3 5 7 5 7 9
47 49 51
1 1
1 1
1
1
+
+ 1 + 2 + 2 + ....................... + 1 +
+
12 22
2 3
20072 20082
15. If a1 = 1 and an+1 3an + 2 = 4n for every positive integer n, then a100 equals
2
16. Let S denote the infinite sum 2 + 5x + 9x + 14x + 20x + ., where |x| < 1, then find the value of S.
17. If a1 = 1 and an+1= 2an + 5, n = 1, 2, ................ then a200 is equal to
Answer key:
2.
5.
4
85
6.
10. 3500
208
2499
7. 171700
3.
14
9
4.
8. (6n + 1)
41
256
9. 36
11. T45 = 1938, and the sum of the first 25 terms is 4950.
245
6
13. 2016
2007
1
OR 2008
2008
2008
2 x
(1 x )