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Supplementary Exercise: Sequences & Series

1. The first term of a geometric series is 𝑎 and the second term is (𝑎2 − 𝑎). Find the set of values of
𝑎 for which the series converges.
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If 𝑎 = , find the least value of 𝑛 so that the sum of the first 𝑛 terms differs from the sum to
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infinity by less than 0.001.

2. (a) The first term of a convergent geometric progression is 3. The sum of the first five terms of
the progression is twice the sum of the first ten terms. Find the sum to infinity of the
progression.
(b) The twelfth term of an arithmetic progression is 52 and the sum to the first eighteen terms is
756. If the 𝑛𝑡ℎ term of the progression is more than 2000, find the least possible value of 𝑛.

TJC 2007/I/8

3. The product of three consecutive numbers, which form a geometric progression, is 729. If the first
number is reduced by 4.5, the three numbers now form an arithmetic progression. Find the
numbers.
JJC 2007/II/4(a)

4. Fred works as an investment banker at Barclays Bank. His total salary for his first year was $𝑦.
As a top performer in the bank he is offered 2 employment schemes.

Scheme 1: An annual salary increment equivalent to 40% of his first year total salary.

Scheme 2: An annual increment of 𝑟%.

4𝑛𝑦
(a) If he chooses 1, show that his total salary after 2𝑛 years is (𝑛 + 2)
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(b) If Fred chooses scheme 2, and he wishes to earn $86,400 in his 4th year and a total of
$218,400 from his 2nd to his 4th year (inclusive) of work, find the value of 𝑟.
(c) Hence determine the least number of years Fred should work such that Fred will earn more in
Scheme 2 as compared to Scheme 1.
NYJC 2007/II/5

5. A fund is started at $1000 and compound interest is reckoned at 4% per annum. If withdrawals of
$50 are made at the beginning of each of the subsequent years, show that the amount in the fund
1
at the beginning of the (𝑛 + 1)th year is $1250[1 − (1.04)𝑛 ].
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6. Dr Math’s son, Junior has reached school going age. Dr Math gives his son pocket money in the
following way:

$20 on week 1, $22 on week 2, and so on,

increasing the pocket money amount by $2 each week.

[Assume that 1 school week = 5 days]

Junior Math wants to save up some of his pocket money to buy the latest game console which
costs $400. If he disciplines himself to spend just $1.50 per school day, which is the earliest week
Junior will be able to save enough to buy the game console?

7. Each time that a ball falls vertically on to a horizontal floor it rebounds to three-quarters of the
height from which it fell. It is initially dropped from a point 4 m above the floor.
Find, and simplify, an expression for the total distance the ball travels until it is about to touch the
floor for the (𝑛 + 1)th time.

Hence find the number of times the ball has bounced when it has travelled 24 m and also the total
distance it travels before coming to rest. (The dimensions of the ball are to be ignored.)

8. A special robotic pen is programmed to draw a pattern consisting of squares in increasing sizes
with no overlapping of lines. The squares have lengths which follow an arithmetic progression
and the first three squares have lengths 4 cm, 6 cm and 8 cm respectively (see Figure (a)).

8 cm

6 cm

4 cm 𝑘 cm

Figure (a) Figure (b)

(i) If the pattern in Figure (a) continues until the 30th square is completed, calculate the total
perimeter of the squares formed. [2]
(ii) If the amount of ink in one pen can only draw up to a maximum of 10 000 cm, find the
length of the largest complete square drawn when the ink runs out. [4]
(iii) The robotic pen is reprogrammed to draw three circles as shown in Figure (b) which has
the same total area as the three squares in Figure (a)/
The smallest circle of radius 𝑘 cm has the same area as the smallest square of length
4 cm. Given that the radius of each circle follows a geometric progression, determine the
common ratio 𝑅. [3]
DHS Promo 2010 Q8
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9. The positive integers, starting at 1, are grouped into sets containing 1, 2, 4, 8, … integers, as
indicated below, so that the number of integers in each set after the first is twice the number of
integers in the previous set.

{1}, {2, 3}, {4, 5, 6, 7}, {8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15}, …

(i) Write down expressions, in terms of 𝑟, for

(a) the number of integers in the 𝑟th set,
(b) the first integer in the 𝑟th set,
(c) the last integer in the 𝑟th set.

(ii) Given that the integer 1 000 000 occurs in the 𝑟th set, find the value of 𝑟.
(iii) The sum of all the integers in the 20th set is denoted by 𝑆, and the sum of all the integers
in all of the first 20 sets is denoted by 𝑇. Show that 𝑆 may be expressed as
𝑇
218 (3 × 219 − 1), and evaluate , correct to four decimal places. J93/I/13
𝑆

10. The 𝑟th term of a sequence is given by 4𝑟 + 2−𝑟 , find, in terms of 𝑛, the sum of its first 𝑛 terms.

2𝑛+1 2𝑛−1
11. A sequence 𝑣1 , 𝑣2 , 𝑣3 , … is defined by 𝑣𝑛 = − .
√𝑛2 +𝑛+1 √𝑛2 −𝑛+1
𝑛

(i) Find ∑ 𝑣𝑟 in terms of 𝑛.

𝑟=1

JJC 2007/II/4(b)(i)(ii)

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12. A sequence 𝑈1 , 𝑈2 , 𝑈3 , … is defined by 𝑈𝑛 = .
𝑛2

2𝑛+1
(i) Show that 𝑈𝑛 − 𝑈𝑛+1 =
𝑛2 (𝑛+1)2
𝑁
2𝑛 + 1
(ii) Hence find ∑ in terms of 𝑁.
𝑛2 (𝑛 + 1)2
𝑛=1

(iii) Deduce that the sum to the first 𝑁 terms of the series

9 15 2
+ + 2 2+⋯
12 22 2
2 3 2 3 4

is less than 3.
CJC 2007/I/3
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Answers:
1. 0 < 𝑎 < 2, least 𝑛 = 22

2. (a) 1.60 (b) 500

3. 4.5, 9 and 18 (or 18, 9 and 4.5)

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4. (b) 5 (c) 12

5. –

6. 16

7. 28-24(0.75𝑛 ) ; 7 ; 28

8. (i) 3960 cm (ii) 98 cm (iii) 1.43

9. (i) (a) 2𝑟−1 (b) 2𝑟−1 (c) 2𝑟−1

(ii) 20 (iii) 1.3333

1 𝑛
10. 2𝑛(𝑛 + 1) + 1 − (2)

2𝑛+1
11. (i) −1
√𝑛2 +𝑛+1

1
12. (ii) 1 −
(𝑁+1)2
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2 (a)

2 (b)
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4 (a)

4 (b)
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3 (b)

3 (c)
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8 (i)
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8 (ii)

8 (iii)

9 (i) (a)
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9 (i) (c)

9 (ii)

9 (iii)
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11 (i)
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12 (ii)

12 (iii)