Sequences and Series
Let the arithmetic mean of $\frac{1}{a}$ and $\frac{1}{b}$ be $\frac{5}{16}$, $a > 2$. If $\alpha$ is such that $a$, $4$, $\alpha$, $b$ are in A.P., then the equation $\alpha x^2 - a x + 2(\alpha - 2b) = 0$ has :
one root in $(1, 4)$ and another in $(-2, 0)$
one root in $(0, 2)$ and another in $(-4, -2)$
both roots in the interval $(-2, 0)$
complex roots of magnitude less than $2$
$ \frac{6}{3^{26}} + \frac{10 \cdot 1}{3^{25}} + \frac{10 \cdot 2}{3^{24}} + \frac{10 \cdot 2^2}{3^{23}} + \ldots + \frac{10 \cdot 2^{24}}{3} $ is equal to :
$2^{26}$
$3^{25}$
$3^{26}$
$2^{25}$
The value of $\sum\limits_{k=1}^{\infty}(-1)^{k+1}\left(\frac{k(k+1)}{k!}\right)$ is
e/2
$\sqrt{e}$
2/e
1/e
The common difference of the A.P.: $a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{\mathrm{m}}$ is 13 more than the common difference of the A.P.: $b_1, b_2, \ldots, b_n$. If $b_{31}=-277, b_{43}=-385$ and $a_{78}=327$, then $a_1$ is equal to
21
19
24
16
Let $a_1, a_2, a_3, a_4$ be an A.P. of four terms such that each term of the A.P. and its common difference $l$ are integers. If $a_1+a_2+a_3+a_4=48$ and $a_1 a_2 a_3 a_4+l^4=361$, then the largest term of the A.P. is equal to
27
24
23
21
$\left(\frac{1}{3}+\frac{4}{7}\right)+\left(\frac{1}{3^2}+\frac{1}{3} \times \frac{4}{7}+\frac{4^2}{7^2}\right)+\left(\frac{1}{3^3}+\frac{1}{3^2} \times \frac{4}{7}+\frac{1}{3} \times \frac{4^2}{7^2}+\frac{4^3}{7^3}\right)+\ldots$ upto infinite terms, is equal to
$\frac{7}{4}$
$\frac{4}{3}$
$\frac{6}{5}$
$\frac{5}{2}$
Let $729,81,9,1, \ldots$ be a sequence and $\mathrm{P}_n$ denote the product of the first $n$ terms of this sequence.
If $2 \sum\limits_{n=1}^{40}\left(\mathrm{P}_n\right)^{\frac{1}{n}}=\frac{3^\alpha-1}{3^\beta}$ and $\operatorname{gcd}(\alpha, \beta)=1$, then
$\alpha+\beta$ is equal to
73
74
75
76
Consider an A.P.: $a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{\mathrm{n}} ; a_1>0$. If $a_2-a_1=\frac{-3}{4}, a_{\mathrm{n}}=\frac{1}{4} a_1$, and $\sum\limits_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{\mathrm{n}} a_{\mathrm{i}}=\frac{525}{2}$, then $\sum\limits_{\mathrm{i}=1}^{17} a_{\mathrm{i}}$ is equal to
238
136
476
952
Let $\sum\limits_{k=1}^n a_k=\alpha n^2+\beta n$. If $a_{10}=59$ and $a_6=7 a_1$, then $\alpha+\beta$ is equal to :
3
5
7
12
If the sum of the first four terms of an A.P. is 6 and the sum of its first six terms is 4 , then the sum of its first twelve terms is
-26
-20
-24
-22
The positive integer n, for which the solutions of the equation
$x(x+2) + (x+2)(x+4) + \cdots + (x+2n-2)(x+2n) = \frac{8n}{3}$ are two consecutive even integers, is :
3
6
9
12
Let $a_1, \frac{a_2}{2}, \frac{a_3}{2^2}, \ldots, \frac{a_{10}}{2^9}$ be a G.P. of common ratio $\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}$. If $a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_{10} = 62$, then $a_1$ is equal to:
$\sqrt{2} - 1$
$2(\sqrt{2} - 1)$
$2 - \sqrt{2}$
$2(2 - \sqrt{2})$
Let $a_1, a_2, a_3, \ldots$ be a G.P. of increasing positive terms such that $a_2 \cdot a_3 \cdot a_4=64$ and $a_1+a_3+a_5=\frac{813}{7}$. Then $a_3+a_5+a_7$ is equal to :
3256
3252
3248
3244
If $\sum\limits_{r=1}^{25} \left( \frac{r}{r^4 + r^2 + 1} \right) = \frac{p}{q}$, where p and q are positive integers such that $\gcd(p, q) = 1$, then p + q is equal to ________.
Explanation:
Given
$ \sum\limits_{r=1}^{25}\left(\frac{r}{r^4+r^2+1}\right)=\frac{p}{q} $
The expression $r^4+r^2+1$ can be factored using a completion of squares technique:
$ r^4+r^2+1=\left(r^4+2 r^2+1\right)-r^2=\left(r^2+1\right)^2-r^2 $
Using the difference of squares formula, $a^2-b^2=(a-b)(a+b)$ :
$ r^4+r^2+1=\left(r^2-r+1\right)\left(r^2+r+1\right) $
Split into Partial Fractions
Now, let's rewrite the general term $T_r$ :
$ T_r=\frac{r}{\left(r^2-r+1\right)\left(r^2+r+1\right)} $
We can express the numerator $r$ in terms of the factors in the denominator:
$ \left(r^2+r+1\right)-\left(r^2-r+1\right)=2 r $
So, $r=\frac{1}{2}\left[\left(r^2+r+1\right)-\left(r^2-r+1\right)\right]$. Substituting this back:
$ T_r=\frac{1}{2}\left[\frac{\left(r^2+r+1\right)-\left(r^2-r+1\right)}{\left(r^2-r+1\right)\left(r^2+r+1\right)}\right] $
$ T_r=\frac{1}{2}\left[\frac{1}{r^2-r+1}-\frac{1}{r^2+r+1}\right] $
Evaluate the Telescoping Sum
Let $f(r)=\frac{1}{r^2-r+1}$.
Note that $f(r+1)=\frac{1}{(r+1)^2-(r+1)+1}=\frac{1}{r^2+2 r+1-r-1+1}=\frac{1}{r^2+r+1}$.
Our sum becomes : $ S=\frac{1}{2} \sum\limits_{r=1}^{25}[f(r)-f(r+1)] $
Expanding this:
For $r=1$ : $f(1)-f(2)$
For $r=2: f(2)-f(3)$
For $r=3: f(3)-f(4)$
…
For $r=24: f(24)-f(25)$
For $r=25: f(25)-f(26)$
Result of summation: $\sum\limits_{r=1}^{25}[f(r)-f(r+1)]=f(1)-f(26)$
So,
$ S=\frac{1}{2}[f(1)-f(26)] $
Calculate the Final Value
$f(1)=\frac{1}{1^2-1+1}=1$
$\begin{aligned} & f(26)=\frac{1}{25^2+25+1}=\frac{1}{625+25+1}=\frac{1}{651} \\ & S=\frac{1}{2}\left[1-\frac{1}{651}\right]=\frac{1}{2}\left(\frac{651-1}{651}\right)=\frac{650}{2 \times 651} \\ & S=\frac{325}{651}\end{aligned}$
$325=(5)^2 \times 13$ and $651=3 \times 7 \times 31$ they share no common factor $\operatorname{gcd}(325,651)=1$
So $p=325$ and $q=651
$\therefore $ p+q=325+651=976$
In a G.P., if the product of the first three terms is 27 and the set of all possible values for the sum of its first three terms is $\mathbb{R}-(a, b)$, then $a^2+b^2$ is equal to
$\_\_\_\_$ .
Explanation:
Product of first three terms is 27.
Let the terms be $a / r, a, a r$.
$(a / r)(a)(a r)=27 \Rightarrow a^3=27 \Rightarrow a=3$
Sum $S=\frac{3}{r}+3+3 r=3\left(r+\frac{1}{r}+1\right)$.
Find the range of the sum
The sum $S=3\left(\frac{1}{r}+1+r\right)$.
Using the Arithmetic Mean-Geometric Mean (AM-GM) inequality for $r+\frac{1}{r}$ :
If $r>0$, then $r+\frac{1}{r} \geq 2$, so $S \geq 3(2+1)=9$.
If $r<0$, then $r+\frac{1}{r} \leq-2$, so $S \leq 3(-2+1)=-3$.
The possible values for the sum are $(-\infty,-3] \cup[9, \infty)$.
This is expressed as $\mathbb{R}-(-3,9)$.
Thus, $a=-3$ and $b=9$.
The final value is $a^2+b^2=(-3)^2+9^2=9+81=\mathbf{9 0}$.
Suppose $\mathrm{a}, \mathrm{b}, \mathrm{c}$ are in A.P. and $\mathrm{a}^2, 2 \mathrm{~b}^2, \mathrm{c}^2$ are in G.P. If $\mathrm{a}<\mathrm{b}<\mathrm{c}$ and $\mathrm{a}+\mathrm{b}+\mathrm{c}=1$, then $9\left(\mathrm{a}^2+\mathrm{b}^2+\mathrm{c}^2\right)$ is equal to $\_\_\_\_$ .
Explanation:
$ \begin{aligned} & a=b-d, c=b+d, \Rightarrow b=\frac{1}{3} \Rightarrow 4 b^4=a^2 c^2 \\ & 4 b^4=[(b-d)(b+d)]^2 \\ & \frac{4}{81}=\left(\frac{1}{9}-d^2\right)^2 \Rightarrow \frac{4}{81}=\frac{1}{81}-\frac{2 d^2}{9}+d^4 \Rightarrow d^4-\frac{2 d^2}{9}-\frac{1}{27}=0 \Rightarrow 27 d^4-6 d^2-1=0 \\ & d^2=1 / 3 \Rightarrow d=+\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}(\text { as } \mathrm{a}>\mathrm{b}>\mathrm{c}) \\ & 9\left(a^2+b^2+c^2\right)=9\left[\left(\frac{1}{3}-\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\right)^2+\left(\frac{1}{3}\right)^2+\left(\frac{1}{3}+\frac{1}{\sqrt{3}}\right)^2\right]=9\left[\frac{1}{3}+\frac{2}{3}\right]=3+6=9 \end{aligned} $
Let $a_1=1$ and for $n \geqslant 1, a_{n+1}=\frac{1}{2} a_n+\frac{n^2-2 n-1}{n^2(n+1)^2}$. Then $\left|\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(a_n-\frac{2}{n^2}\right)\right|$ is equal to $\_\_\_\_$ .
Explanation:
$ \begin{aligned} & a_{n+1}=\frac{1}{2} a_n+\frac{1}{(n+1)^2}-\frac{\left((n+1)^2-n^2\right)}{n^2(n+1)^2} \\ & a_{n+1}=\frac{a_n}{2}+\frac{2}{(n+1)^2}-\frac{1}{n^2} \\ & a_{n+1}-\frac{2}{(n+1)^2}=\frac{1}{2}\left(a_n-\frac{2}{n^2}\right) \\ & \text { Let } b_n=a_n \frac{-2}{n^2} \end{aligned} $
$ \begin{aligned} &\text { then }\langle b\rangle \text { is geometric progression with ratio }=\frac{1}{2}\\ &\begin{aligned} & b_1=a_1-\frac{2}{1}=1-2=(-1) \\ & \sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(a_n-\frac{2}{n^2}\right)=\sum_{n=1}^{\infty} b_n=\frac{(-1)}{1-\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)}=\frac{-1}{1 / 2}=-2 \\ & \Rightarrow\left|\sum_{n=1}^{\infty}\left(a_n-\frac{2}{n^2}\right)\right|=2 \end{aligned} \end{aligned} $
If $ \frac{1}{1^4} + \frac{1}{2^4} + \frac{1}{3^4} + \ldots \infty= \frac{\pi^4}{90} $,
$\frac{1}{1^4} + \frac{1}{3^4} + \frac{1}{5^4} + \ldots \infty= \alpha $,
$ \frac{1}{2^4} + \frac{1}{4^4} + \frac{1}{6^4} + \ldots \infty= \beta $,
then $ \frac{\alpha}{\beta} $ is equal to :
23
14
18
15
Let $a_n$ be the $n^{th}$ term of an A.P. If $S_n = a_1 + a_2 + a_3 + \ldots + a_n = 700$, $a_6 = 7$ and $S_7 = 7$, then $a_n$ is equal to :
65
56
70
64
If the sum of the second, fourth and sixth terms of a G.P. of positive terms is 21 and the sum of its eighth, tenth and twelfth terms is 15309, then the sum of its first nine terms is :
757
755
750
760
Let $x_1, x_2, x_3, x_4$ be in a geometric progression. If $2,7,9,5$ are subtracted respectively from $x_1, x_2, x_3, x_4$, then the resulting numbers are in an arithmetic progression. Then the value of $\frac{1}{24}\left(x_1 x_2 x_3 x_4\right)$ is:
If the sum of the first 20 terms of the series $\frac{4 \cdot 1}{4+3 \cdot 1^2+1^4}+\frac{4 \cdot 2}{4+3 \cdot 2^2+2^4}+\frac{4 \cdot 3}{4+3 \cdot 3^2+3^4}+\frac{4 \cdot 4}{4+3 \cdot 4^2+4^4}+\ldots \cdot$ is $\frac{\mathrm{m}}{\mathrm{n}}$, where m and n are coprime, then $\mathrm{m}+\mathrm{n}$ is equal to :
Consider two sets A and B, each containing three numbers in A.P. Let the sum and the product of the elements of A be 36 and p respectively and the sum and the product of the elements of B be 36 and $q$ respectively. Let d and D be the common differences of $\mathrm{AP}^{\prime} \mathrm{s}$ in $A$ and $B$ respectively such that $D=d+3, d>0$. If $\frac{p+q}{p-q}=\frac{19}{5}$, then $\mathrm{p}-\mathrm{q}$ is equal to
Let $A=\{1,6,11,16, \ldots\}$ and $B=\{9,16,23,30, \ldots\}$ be the sets consisting of the first 2025 terms of two arithmetic progressions. Then $n(A \cup B)$ is
$1+3+5^2+7+9^2+\ldots$ upto 40 terms is equal to
Let $a_1, a_2, a_3, \ldots$ be in an A.P. such that $\sum_\limits{k=1}^{12} a_{2 k-1}=-\frac{72}{5} a_1, a_1 \neq 0$. If $\sum_\limits{k=1}^n a_k=0$, then $n$ is :
Consider an A. P. of positive integers, whose sum of the first three terms is 54 and the sum of the first twenty terms lies between 1600 and 1800. Then its 11th term is :
108
90
122
84
540
675
1350
135
Let $\left\langle a_{\mathrm{n}}\right\rangle$ be a sequence such that $a_0=0, a_1=\frac{1}{2}$ and $2 a_{\mathrm{n}+2}=5 a_{\mathrm{n}+1}-3 a_{\mathrm{n}}, \mathrm{n}=0,1,2,3, \ldots$. Then $\sum\limits_{k=1}^{100} a_k$ is equal to
Let $\mathrm{T}_{\mathrm{r}}$ be the $\mathrm{r}^{\text {th }}$ term of an A.P. If for some $\mathrm{m}, \mathrm{T}_{\mathrm{m}}=\frac{1}{25}, \mathrm{~T}_{25}=\frac{1}{20}$, and $20 \sum\limits_{\mathrm{r}=1}^{25} \mathrm{~T}_{\mathrm{r}}=13$, then $5 \mathrm{~m} \sum\limits_{\mathrm{r}=\mathrm{m}}^{2 \mathrm{~m}} \mathrm{~T}_{\mathrm{r}}$ is equal to
In an arithmetic progression, if $\mathrm{S}_{40}=1030$ and $\mathrm{S}_{12}=57$, then $\mathrm{S}_{30}-\mathrm{S}_{10}$ is equal to :
If $7=5+\frac{1}{7}(5+\alpha)+\frac{1}{7^2}(5+2 \alpha)+\frac{1}{7^3}(5+3 \alpha)+\ldots \ldots \ldots \ldots \infty$, then the value of $\alpha$ is :
Let $S_n=\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{6}+\frac{1}{12}+\frac{1}{20}+\ldots$ upto $n$ terms. If the sum of the first six terms of an A.P. with first term -p and common difference p is $\sqrt{2026 \mathrm{~S}_{2025}}$, then the absolute difference betwen $20^{\text {th }}$ and $15^{\text {th }}$ terms of the A.P. is
If the first term of an A.P. is 3 and the sum of its first four terms is equal to one-fifth of the sum of the next four terms, then the sum of the first 20 terms is equal to
Suppose that the number of terms in an A.P. is $2 k, k \in N$. If the sum of all odd terms of the A.P. is 40 , the sum of all even terms is 55 and the last term of the A.P. exceeds the first term by 27 , then k is equal to:
Let $a_1, a_2, a_3, \ldots$ be a G.P. of increasing positive terms. If $a_1 a_5=28$ and $a_2+a_4=29$, then $a_6$ is equal to:
Explanation:
$\begin{aligned} & \frac{4.1}{1+4.1^4}+\frac{4.2}{1+4.2^4}+\frac{4.3}{1+4.3^4}+\ldots . \\ & T_r=\frac{4 r}{1+4 r^4}=\frac{4 r}{4 r^4+4 r^2+1-4 r^2} \\ & =\frac{4 r}{\left(2 r^2+1\right)^2-(2 r)^2} \\ & T_r=\frac{4 r}{\left(2 r^2-2 r+1\right)\left(2 r^2+2 r+1\right)} \end{aligned}$
$\begin{aligned} & T_r=\frac{\left(2 r^2+2 r+1\right)-\left(2 r^2-2 r+1\right)}{\left(2 r^2-2 r+1\right)\left(2 r^2+2 r+1\right)} \\ & T_r=\left(\frac{1}{r^2+(r-1)^2}-\frac{1}{r^2+(r+1)^2}\right) \\ & \sum_{r=1}^{10} T_r=\left(\frac{1}{0^2+1^2}-\frac{1}{1^2+2^2}+\frac{1}{1^2+2^2}-\frac{1}{2^2+3^2}+\ldots .\right. \\ & \frac{1}{9^2+10^2}-\frac{1}{10^2+11^2} \\ & =1-\frac{1}{221} \\ & =\frac{220}{221} \\ & \therefore \quad m+n=220+221 \\ & \quad=441 \end{aligned}$
Let $a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{2024}$ be an Arithmetic Progression such that $a_1+\left(a_5+a_{10}+a_{15}+\ldots+a_{2020}\right)+a_{2024}=2233$. Then $a_1+a_2+a_3+\ldots+a_{2024}$ is equal to _________.
Explanation:
$\mathrm{a}_1+\mathrm{a}_5+\mathrm{a}_{10}+\ldots \ldots+\mathrm{a}_{2020}+\mathrm{a}_{2024}=2233$
In an A.P. the sum of terms equidistant from ends is equal.
$\begin{aligned} & a_1+a_{2024}=a_5+a_{2020}=a_{10}+a_{2015} \ldots \ldots \\ & \Rightarrow 203 \text { pairs } \\ & \Rightarrow 203\left(a_1+a_{2024}\right)=2233 \end{aligned}$
Hence,
$\begin{aligned} & \mathrm{S}_{2024}=\frac{2024}{2}\left(\mathrm{a}_1+\mathrm{a}_{2024}\right) \\ = & 1012 \times 11 \\ = & 11132 \end{aligned}$
The interior angles of a polygon with n sides, are in an A.P. with common difference 6°. If the largest interior angle of the polygon is 219°, then n is equal to _______.
Explanation:
$\begin{aligned} & \frac{\mathrm{n}}{2}(2 \mathrm{a}+(\mathrm{n}-1) 6)=(\mathrm{n}-2) \cdot 180^{\circ} \\ & \mathrm{an}+3 \mathrm{n}^2-3 \mathrm{n}=(\mathrm{n}-2) \cdot 180^{\circ}\quad\text{.... (1)} \end{aligned}$
Now according to question
$\begin{aligned} & a+(n-1) 6^{\circ}=219^{\circ} \\ & \Rightarrow a=225^{\circ}-6 n^{\circ}\quad\text{.... (2)} \end{aligned}$
Putting value of a from equation (2) in (1)
We get
$\begin{aligned} & \left(225 \mathrm{n}-6 \mathrm{n}^2\right)+3 \mathrm{n}^2-3 \mathrm{n}=180 \mathrm{n}-360 \\ & \Rightarrow 2 \mathrm{n}^2-42 \mathrm{n}-360=0 \\ & \Rightarrow \mathrm{n} 2-14 \mathrm{n}-120=0 \\ & \mathrm{n}=20,-6 \text { (rejected) } \end{aligned}$
The roots of the quadratic equation $3 x^2-p x+q=0$ are $10^{\text {th }}$ and $11^{\text {th }}$ terms of an arithmetic progression with common difference $\frac{3}{2}$. If the sum of the first 11 terms of this arithmetic progression is 88 , then $q-2 p$ is equal to ________ .
Explanation:
$\begin{aligned} &\begin{aligned} & S_{11}=\frac{11}{2}(2 a+10 d)=88 \\ & a+5 d=8 \\ & a=8-5 \times \frac{3}{2}=\frac{1}{2} \end{aligned}\\ &\text { Roots are }\\ &\begin{aligned} & \mathrm{T}_{10}=\mathrm{a}+9 \mathrm{~d}=\frac{1}{2}+9 \times \frac{3}{2}=14 \\ & \mathrm{~T}_{11}=\mathrm{a}+10 \mathrm{~d}=\frac{1}{2}+10 \times \frac{3}{2}=\frac{31}{2} \\ & \frac{\mathrm{p}}{3}=\mathrm{T}_{10}+\mathrm{T}_{11}=14+\frac{31}{2}=\frac{59}{2} \\ & \mathrm{p}=\frac{177}{2} \\ & \frac{\mathrm{q}}{3}=\mathrm{T}_{10} \times \mathrm{T}_{11}=7 \times 31=217 \\ & \mathrm{q}=651 \\ & \mathrm{q}-2 \mathrm{p} \\ & =651-177 \\ & =474 \end{aligned} \end{aligned}$
Let $a, a r, a r^2$, ............ be an infinite G.P. If $\sum_\limits{n=0}^{\infty} a r^n=57$ and $\sum_\limits{n=0}^{\infty} a^3 r^{3 n}=9747$, then $a+18 r$ is equal to
If the sum of the series $\frac{1}{1 \cdot(1+\mathrm{d})}+\frac{1}{(1+\mathrm{d})(1+2 \mathrm{~d})}+\ldots+\frac{1}{(1+9 \mathrm{~d})(1+10 \mathrm{~d})}$ is equal to 5, then $50 \mathrm{~d}$ is equal to :
In an increasing geometric progression of positive terms, the sum of the second and sixth terms is $\frac{70}{3}$ and the product of the third and fifth terms is 49. Then the sum of the $4^{\text {th }}, 6^{\text {th }}$ and $8^{\text {th }}$ terms is equal to:
Let $A B C$ be an equilateral triangle. A new triangle is formed by joining the middle points of all sides of the triangle $A B C$ and the same process is repeated infinitely many times. If $\mathrm{P}$ is the sum of perimeters and $Q$ is be the sum of areas of all the triangles formed in this process, then :
A software company sets up m number of computer systems to finish an assignment in 17 days. If 4 computer systems crashed on the start of the second day, 4 more computer systems crashed on the start of the third day and so on, then it took 8 more days to finish the assignment. The value of $\mathrm{m}$ is equal to:
For $x \geqslant 0$, the least value of $\mathrm{K}$, for which $4^{1+x}+4^{1-x}, \frac{\mathrm{K}}{2}, 16^x+16^{-x}$ are three consecutive terms of an A.P., is equal to :

