SEQUENCES AND SERIES

Part I: General Sequences

Q1.
(i) Write the first 5 terms of sequences whose nth term is given as:
a(n) = (−1)n−1 5n+1
(ii) What is the 20th term of sequence having nth term as:
an = (n − 1)(2 − n)(3 + n)
(iii) Write the first 5 terms of:
a1 = a2 = 2, an = an−1 − 1 (n > 2)
(iv) Write first 5 terms and obtain the corresponding series
a1 = 1, an = an−1 + 2 (n ≥ 2)
(v) The Fibonacci sequence is defined by:
1 = a1 = a2 and an = an−1 + an−2 , n > 2.
an+1
Find , for n = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
an

Q2. Write the first five terms of each of the following sequences whose nth terms are
n
(i) an = n(n + 2) (ii) an = n+1 (iii) a n = 2n
2n−3 n(n2 +5)
(iv) an = (v) an = (−1)n−1 5n+1 (vi) an =
6 4

Ans (i) 3, 8, 15, 24, 35 (ii) ½, 2/3, ¾, 4/5, 5/6 (iii) 2, 4, 8, 16, 32
(iv) 1/6, 1/6, ½, 5/6, 7/6 (v) 25, -125, 625, -15625, 390625
(vi) 3/2, 9/2, 21/2, 21, 75/2

Part II: Review of Arithmetic Progression

Part III: GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

Q1.
(i) Find 10th term of
5 + 25 + 125 + ⋯. Also find its nth term.
(ii) Which term of GP

2, 2√2, 4, … is 128?

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 (iii) The first term of a GP is 1. The sum of 3rd and 5th terms is 90. Find r.
(iv) Find GP for which sum of the first two terms is −4 and 5th term is 4 times the 3rd
term.
(v) Show that the product of corresponding terms of the sequences
a, ar, ar 2 , … , ar n−1 and A, AR, AR2 , … , ARn−1 form GP.
Ans (i) 510 (ii) 13th (iii) ±3
4 8 16
(iv) − 3 , − 3 , − , … or 4, -8, 16, -32, …
3

Q2. If pth , qth and r th terms of GP are a, b, c respectively, then prove that aq−r . b r−p . c p−q = 1
Q3.
5 5 5
(i) Find 20th term of GP , , ,…
2 4 8

(ii) Which term of GP 2, 8, 32 … is 131072 ?

−2 −7
(iii) For what value of x, the numbers: , x, are in GP?
7 2

(iv) In GP, the 3rd term is 24 and 6th term is 192. Find 10th term.
(v) The 4th term of GP is square of its 2nd term and the 1st term is −3. Determine 7th
term.
(vi) The 5th , 8th and 11th terms of a GP are p , q and r respectively. Show that 𝑞2 = 𝑝𝑟
5
Ans (i) (ii) 9 (iii) ±1 (iv) 3(2)10 (v) (−3)7
220

Q4. Which term of the geometric sequence

(i) √3, 3, 3√3, ….is 729 ?
1 1 1 1
(ii) , 9 , 27 , …. is 19683 ?
3

Ans (i) 12th term (ii) 9th term

Q5. If (m + n)th and (m − n)th terms of GP are p and q, then prove that

(i) t m = √pq
m
q 2n
(ii) tn = p (p)

Q6. If a, b, c are in AP and x, y, z are in GP then prove that x b−c . y c−a . za−b = 1
Q7.
2 4
(i) Find the sum of first n terms and sum of first five terms of GP 1 + 3 + 9 + ⋯

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 (ii) Determine the number of terms in GP {𝑎𝑛 } if a=3, 𝑎𝑛 = 96, 𝑆𝑛 = 189?
2 𝑛 2 5
Ans (i) 3 [1 − ( ) ] , 3 [1 − ( ) ] (ii) 6
3 3

Q8. Evaluate
(i) ∑12 k
k=1(2 + 3 )

(ii) ∑18 𝑖
𝑖=1(2 + 3
𝑖−1
)
3(312 −1) 2(218 −1) 318 −1
Ans (i) 24 + (ii) +
2 1 2

Q9.
1 20
0.15[1−(10) ]
(i) Find the sum of 20 terms of 0 ∙ 15 + 0 ∙ 015 + 0 ∙ 0015 + ⋯ Ans. 1
1−10
𝑛
x3 [(𝑥 2 ) −1]
(ii) Find the sum x 3 , x 5 , x 7 , … to n terms. Ans. 𝑥 2 −1
2 7
729[1−(3) ]
th
(iii) Given G.P. with a = 729 and 7 term 64. Find S7 Ans. 2
1−3

(iv) How many terms of the G.P. 3, 32 , 33 , …. are needed to give the sum 120 ? Ans. 4
(v) The sum of some terms of GP is 315 where first term and common ratio are 5 and 2
respectively. Find the number of terms and the last term. Ans. 160
Q10. Show that ratio of the sum of first n terms of a GP to the sum of terms from (n + 1)th to
1
(2n)th term is rn .

Q11. If S1 , S2 and S3 are the sums of n , 2n, and 3n terms of a GP, show that
S1 (S3 − S2 ) = (S2 − S1 )2
Q12. Find the sum of the series
(i) 11 + 103 + 1005 + … to n terms
1 2 1 2 1 2
(ii) (x + x) + (x 2 + ) + (x 3 + ) + … to n terms
x2 x3

Q13. Find the sum

(i) 4 + 44 + 444 + …to n terms.
(ii) 7 + 77 + 777 + …to n terms.
(iii) 5 + 55 + 555 + …
(iv) 9 + 99 + 999 + …to n terms.
4 10 5
Ans (i) [ (10𝑛 − 1) − 𝑛] (ii) [10(10n − 1) − 9 n]
9 9 81

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 7 10 10
(iii) [ 9 (10𝑛 − 1) − 𝑛] (iv) (10𝑛 − 1) − 𝑛
9 9

Q14. Find the sum

(i) 0.4+0.44 + 0.444 + …to n terms.
(ii) 0.7+0.77 + 0.777 + …to n terms.
1 1 𝑛 1 1 𝑛
4 10
{1−(10) } 7 10
{1−(10) }
Ans (i) [𝑛 − 1 ] (ii) [𝑛 − 1 ]
9 1−10 9 1−10

Q15. Find the sum of 50 terms of a sequence 7 + 7.7 + 7.77 + 7.777, …

7 1 1
Ans 350 + 9 [49 − 9 (1 − 1049)]

Q16 Find 20th term of the series 2 × 4 + 4 × 6 + 6 × 8 + … to n terms Ans: 1680

Q17.
(i) Insert 4 GMs between 6 and 192.
(ii) Insert 3 numbers between 1 and 256 so that the resulting sequence is a GP.
Ans (i) 12, 24, 48, 96 (ii) 4, 16, 64
Q18.
(i) The AM between two numbers is 10 and their GM is 8. Find the numbers.
(ii) The AM between two numbers is 20 and their GM is 16. Find the numbers.
(iii) The AM and GM of roots of a quadratic equation are 8 and 5 respectively, then obtain the
quadratic equation.
(iv) If A and G be AM and GM respectively between two positive numbers then prove that the
numbers are A = ±√(A + G)(A − G)
Ans (i) 16, 4 (ii) 8, 32 (iii) x 2 − 16x + 25
Q19.
(i) The AM between two distinct numbers is twice the GM between them. Find ratio of the
2+√3
greater to the smaller numbers. Ans.
2−√3

(ii) The ratio of the AM and GM of two positive numbers a and b is m ∶ n then show that

a ∶ b = (m + √m2 − n2 ) ∶ (m − √m2 − n2 )

(iii) The sum of two numbers is 6 times their GM, show that the numbers are in the ratio
(3 + 2√2) ∶ (3 − 2√2)

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Q20.
an+1 +bn+1
(i) Find the value of n if may be GM between a and b.
an +bn

an +bn
(ii) Find n such that may be GM between the quantities a and b.
an−1 + bn−1
1 1
Ans (i) −2 (ii) 2

Q21.
13
(i) The sum of first 3 terms of GP is and their product is −1. Find common ratio and the
12
numbers.
39
(ii) The sum of first 3 terms of GP is 10 and their product is 1. Find the numbers.

(iii) The product of first 3 terms of GP is 1000. If we add 6 to its 2nd term and 7 to its 3rd term,
then the terms form an AP. Find the terms of GP.
3 4 3 4 5 2 5 2
Ans (i) 𝑟 = − 4 or − 3 ; terms are 4 , −1, 3 (ii) 𝑟 = 2 or 5 ; terms are 2 , 1, 5
1
(iii) r = 2, terms are 5, 10, 20 ; 𝑟 = 2, terms are 20, 10, 5

Q22.
(i) The sum of 3 numbers in GP is 56. If we subtract 1, 7, 21 from these numbers in that order,
we obtain an AP. Find the numbers.
(ii) Find 4 numbers forming a GP in which 3rd terms is greater than the first term by 9 and 2nd
term is greater than 4th by 18.
1
Ans (i) r = 2, numbers are 8, 16, 32 ; 𝑟 = 2 , numbers are 32, 16, 8

(ii) r = - 2, numbers are 3, - 6, 12, - 24

Q23. The sum of first three terms of a GP is 7 and the sum of their squares is 21. Determine the
first five terms of GP.
1
Ans r = 2, terms are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 ; 𝑟 = 2 , terms are 4, 2, 1, ...

Q24. If f is a function satisfying f (x + y) = f(x) f(y) for all x, y ∈ N such that f(1) = 3 and
∑nx=1 f(x) = 120 , find the value of n. Ans: 4
Q 25. Let S be the sum, P the product and R the sum of reciprocals of n terms in a G.P. Prove that
P 2 Rn = S n

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Q26.
(i) If a, b, c are in GP then show that a2 , b2 , c 2are also in GP
(ii) If a, b, care in GP then show that a2 + b2 , ab + bc, b2 + c 2 are also in GP
(iii) If a, b, c, d are in GP then show that (a2 + b2 + c 2 )(b2 + c 2 + d2 ) = (ab + bc + cd)2
(iv) If a, b, c, d are in GP then prove that (an + bn ), (bn + c n ), (c n + dn ) are also in GP.
Q 27. The number of bacteria in a certain culture doubles every hour. If there were 30 bacteria
present in the culture originally, how many bacteria will be present at the end of 2nd hour, 4th
hour, and nth hour? Ans. 120, 480, 30(2)n
Q 28. A person has 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great grand parents and so on. Find the number of
his ancestors during the 10 generations preceding his own. Ans 2046
Q 29. What will Rs. 500 amounts to in 10 years after its deposit in a bank which pays annual interest
rate of 10% compounded annually? Ans 500(1.1)10

Part IV: INFINITE GP

−5 5 −5
Q30. Find the sum to infinity of the GP , , ,⋯ Ans: -1
4 16 64
1 1 1 1 1 1 19
Q31. Find the sum to infinity of the GP + + + + 25 + ⋯ Ans:
2 32 23 34 36 24
1 1 1
Q32. Prove that 6 . 6 . 6 . ⋯ to ∞ = 6
2 4 8

b
Q33. If b = a + a2 + a3 + ⋯ to ∞ then prove that a = 1+b
𝑎 𝑎 𝑏 𝑏 𝑐 𝑐
Q34. If x = a + + + ⋯ to ∞, y = b − + − ⋯ to ∞ and z = c + + + ⋯ to ∞, then prove
𝑟 r2 𝑟 r2 r2 r4
xy ab
that z
= c
π π
Q35. If x = ∑∞
n=0 cos
2n
θ, y = ∑∞
n=0 sin
2n
φ, z = ∑∞ 2n 2n
n=0 cos θ sin φ where 0 < θ < 2 , 0 < φ < 2 ,

then prove that xz + yz – z = xy

2
Q36. The first term of GP is 2 and the sum to infinity is 6. Find the common ratio. Ans
3
Q37. The sum of an infinite GP is 57 and the sum of their cubes is 9747, find GP.
38 76
Ans 19, , ,⋯
3 9

̅̅̅̅ ?
Q 38. Which is the rational number having the decimal expansion 0. 356
Q 39. Use geometric series to express 0.555… = 0.5̅ as a rational number.

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 Part V: Miscellaneous

#Q 1 1 1
40. If a, b, c are in A.P.; b, c, d are in G.P. and c , d , e are in A.P. Prove that a, c, e are in G.P.
Q 41. 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. Ans. 4

Q 42. Prove that A ≥ G, where A is AM and G is GM.

Q 43. Find the sum of the product of the corresponding terms of sequence
1 5
256[1−( ) ]
1 2
2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 128, 32, 8, 2, 2. Ans: 1
1−2
#Q44. If pth , qth , 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.
1 1 1
#
Q 45. If a, b, c are in G.P. and ax = b y = c z , prove that x, y, z are in A.P.
Q 46. If a, b, c, d and p are different real numbers such that
(a2 + b2 + c2)p2 – 2(ab + bc + cd) p + (b2 + c2 + d2) ≤ 0 , then show that a, b, c and
d are in G.P.
#Q 47. If p, q, r are in GP and the equations p x2 + 2qx + r = 0 and d x2 + 2ex + f = 0 have a common
d e f
root, then show that p, q, r are in AP.

Q 48. Find the sum of all two digit numbers which when divided by 4, yields 1 as remainder.
Ans: 1210
Q 49. 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. Ans. n = 11

a+bx b+cx c+dx

Q 50. If = b−cx = c−dx , (x ≠ 0), then show that a, b, c and d are in G.P.
a−bx

Q 51. If a and b are the roots of x 2 – 3x + p = 0 and c, d are roots of x 2 – 12x + q = 0, where a, b,
c, d form a G.P. Prove that (q + p) : (q – p) = 17:15.
Q 52. If a and b are the roots of x 2 – 3x + p = 0 and c, d are roots of x 2 – 12x + q = 0, where a, b,
c, d form a G.P. Prove that (q + p) : (q – p) = 17:15.
Q 53. Find the sum of first n terms of the series: 3 + 7 + 13 + 21 + 31 + ⋯
n
Ans. (n2 + 3n + 5)
3
Q 54. Find the sum to n terms of the series: 5 + 11 + 19 + 29 + 41 + ⋯
n(n+2)(n+4)
Ans. 3

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 1
Q 55. Find the sum of the series: 6, 9, 21, 69, ⋯ Ans. 5n + 3 (4n −1)
#Q 56. If a, b, c are in GP and x, y are AMs between a, b and b, c respectively. Then show that

a c
(i) +y=2
x

1 1 2
(ii) x + y = b

#Q 57. If G1 is the first of n GMs between a and b , show that G1 n+1 = an b

#Q 58. If g is the GM between two distinct positive numbers a and b then show that
1 1 1
+ g−b = g
g−a

Q 59. 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? Ans: 16680
Q60. 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. Ans: 17000; 295000
Q61. 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. Ans: 43690
Q 62. 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. Ans: 5120
Q 63. 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. It took 8 more days
to finish the work. Find the number of days in which the work was completed.
Ans: 25 days

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