Sequences and Series RV

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Question 1 Calculator Not Allowed Markscheme
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Consider an arithmetic sequence 2, 6, 10, 14, …
1. Find the common difference, d. 2

2. Find the 10th term in the sequence. 2
3. Find the sum of the first 10 terms in the sequence. 2
Question 2 Calculator Allowed Markscheme
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
An arithmetic sequence has u1 = 40, u2 = 32, u3 = 24.

1. Find the common difference, d. 2

2. Find u8 .
2
3. Find S8 .
2
[Maximum mark: 6] Difficulty: Easy

Only one of the following four sequences is arithmetic and only one of them is
geometric.
an = 1, 5, 10, 15, … cn = 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, …
1 2 3 4 1 1

bn = , , , ,… dn = 2, 1, , , …
2 3 4 5 2 4

1. State which sequence is arithmetic and find the common difference of

the sequence. 2
2. State which sequence is geometric and find the common ratio of the
sequence. 2
3. For the geometric sequence find the exact value of the eighth term.
Give your answer as a fraction. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Only one of the following four sequences is arithmetic and only one of them is
geometric.
1 1 1 1 1 1
an = , , , ,… cn = 3, 1, , ,…
3 4 5 6 3 9

bn = 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, … dn = 1, 3, 6, 10, …

1. State which sequence is arithmetic and find the common difference of
the sequence. 2
2. State which sequence is geometric and find the common ratio of the
sequence. 2
3. For the geometric sequence find the exact value of the sixth term.
Give your answer as a fraction. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Jeremy invests $8000 into a savings account that pays an annual interest
rate of 5.5 %, compounded annually.
1. Write down a formula which calculates that total value of the

investment after n years. 2
2. Calculate the amount of money in the savings account after:
1. 1 year;
2. 3 years. 2
3. Jeremy wants to use the money to put down a $10 000 deposit on
an apartment. Determine if Jeremy will be able to do this within a 5-
year timeframe. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Consider the infinite geometric sequence 4480, −3360, 2520,
−1890, …
1. Find the common ratio, r . 2

2. Find the 20th term. 2
3. Find the exact sum of the infinite sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The table shows the first four terms of three sequences: un , vn , and wn .

1. State which sequence is

1. arithmetic;
2. geometric. 2
2. Find the sum of the first 50 terms of the arithmetic sequence. 2
3. Find the exact value of the 13th term of the geometric sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 7]
An arithmetic sequence is given by 3, 5, 7, …
1. Write down the value of the common difference, d. 1

2. Find
1. u10 ;

2. S10 .
4
3. Given that un = 253, find the value of n.

2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Consider the infinite geometric sequence 9000, −7200, 5760, −4608,
...
1. Find the common ratio. 2

2. Find the 25th term. 2
3. Find the exact sum of the infinite sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
A tennis ball bounces on the ground n times. The heights of the bounces,
h1 , h2 , h3 , … , hn , form a geometric sequence. The height that the ball

bounces the first time, h1 , is 80 cm, and the second time, h2 , is 60 cm.

1. Find the value of the common ratio for the sequence. 2

2. Find the height that the ball bounces the tenth time, h10 .
2
3. Find the total distance travelled by the ball during the first six
bounces (up and down). Give your answer correct to 2 decimal
places. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The third term, u3 , of an arithmetic sequence is 7. The common

difference of
the sequence, d, is 3.
1. Find u1 , the first term of the sequence.

2
2. Find u60 , the 60th term of sequence.

2
The first and fourth terms of this arithmetic sequence are the first two
terms
of a geometric sequence.
2
3. Calculate the sixth term of the geometric sequence.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The fifth term, u5 , of a geometric sequence is 125. The sixth term, u6 , is

156.25.
1. Find the common ratio of the sequence. 2

2
3. Calculate the sum of the first 12 terms of the sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The fourth term, u4 , of a geometric sequence is 135. The fifth term, u5 , is

81.
1. Find the common ratio of the sequence. 2

2
3. Calculate the sum of the first 20 terms of the sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The fifth term, u5 , of an arithmetic sequence is 25. The eleventh term,

u11 , of the same sequence is 49.

1. Find d, the common difference of the sequence. 2


2
3. Find S100 , the sum of the first 100 terms of the sequence.

2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
A 3D printer builds a set of 49 Eiffel Tower Replicas in different sizes. The
height of the largest tower in this set is 64 cm. The heights of successive
smaller towers are 95 % of the preceding larger tower, as shown in the
diagram below.
1. Find the height of the smallest tower in this set. 3

2. Find the total height if all 49 towers were placed one on top of
another. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Hannah buys a car for $24 900. The value of the car depreciates by 16 %
each year.
1. Find the value of the car after 10 years. 3
Patrick buys a car for $12 000. The car depreciates by a fixed
percentage each year, and after 6 years it is worth $6200.
3
2. Find the annual rate of depreciation of the car.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Consider the following sequence of figures.
Figure 1 contains 6 line segments.
1. Given that Figure n contains 101 line segments, show that n = 203.
2. Find the total number of line segments in the first 20 figures. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
In an arithmetic sequence, u5
= 24, u13 = 80.

1. Find the common difference. 2

2. Find the first term. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The first three terms of a geometric sequence are u1 = 32, u2 = −16,

u3 = 8 .

1. Find the value of the common ratio, r . 2

2. Find u6 .

2
3. Find S∞ . 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
In an arithmetic sequence, u4 = 12, u11 = −9.


Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 5]
In an arithmetic sequence, the sum of the 2nd and 6th term is 32.
Given that the sum of the first six terms is 120, determine the first term
and common difference of the sequence.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 5]
An arithmetic sequence has first term 45 and common difference −1.5.
1. Given that the k th term of the sequence is zero, find the value of k .2
Let Sn denote the sum of the first n terms of the sequence.

3
2. Find the maximum value of Sn .
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are about 45 000
koalas left in the wild in 2019. A year before, in 2018, the population of
koalas was estimated as 50 000. Assuming the population of koalas
continues to decrease by the same percentage each year, find:
1. the exact population of koalas in 2022; 3

2. the number of years it will take for the koala population to reduce
to half of its number in 2018. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Landmarks are placed along the road from London to Edinburgh and the
distance between each landmark is 16.1 km. The first landmark placed
on the road is 124.7 km from London, and the last landmark is near
Edinburgh. The length of the road from London to Edinburgh is 667.1 km.
1. Find the distance between the fifth landmark and London. 3

2. Determine how many landmarks there are along the road. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
The first term of an arithmetic sequence is 24 and the common difference
is 16.
1. Find the value of the 62nd term of the sequence. 2
The first term of a geometric sequence is 8. The 4th term of the

geometric sequence is equal to the 13th term of the arithmetic sequence
given above.
2. Write down an equation using this information. 2

3. Calculate the common ratio of the geometric sequence. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
On 1st of January 2021, Fiona decides to take out a bank loan to
purchase a new Tesla electric car. Fiona takes out a loan of $P with a
bank that offers a nominal annual interest rate of 2.6%, compounded
monthly.
The size of Fiona's loan at the end of each year follows a geometric
sequence with common ratio, α.
1. Find the value of α, giving your answer to five significant figures. 3
The bank lets the size of Fiona's loan increase until it becomes triple the
size of the original loan. Once this happens, the bank demands that Fiona
pays the entire amount back to close the loan.
3
2. Find the year during which Fiona will need to pay back the loan.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
On Gary's 50th birthday, he invests $P in an account that pays a nominal
annual interest rate of 5 %, compounded monthly.
The amount of money in Gary's account at the end of each year follows
a geometric sequence with common ratio, α.
1. Find the value of α, giving your answer to four significant figures. 3
Gary makes no further deposits or withdrawals from the account.
2. Find the age Gary will be when the amount of money in his account3
will be double the amount he invested.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 7]
In an arithmetic sequence, the third term is 41 and the ninth term is 23.

3. Find the smallest value of n such that Sn < 0. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 7]
The first three terms of a geometric sequence are u1 = 0.8, u2 = 2.4,

u3 = 7.2.


2. Find the value of S8 .
2
3. Find the least value of n such that Sn > 35 000. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 7]
The first three terms of a geometric sequence are u1 = 0.4, u2 = 0.6,

u3 = 0.9.


2. Find the sum of the first ten terms in the sequence. 2
3. Find the greatest value of n such that Sn < 650.
3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 7]
In a geometric sequence, u2 = 6, u5 = 20.25.


2. Find u1 .

2
3. Find the greatest value of n such that un < 200. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
In this question give all answers correct to the nearest whole
number.
A population of goats on an island starts at 232. The population is
expected to increase by 15 % each year.
1. Find the expected population size after:

1. 10 years;
2. 20 years. 4
2. Find the number of years it will take for the population to reach
15 000. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 5]
Maria invests $25 000 into a savings account that pays a nominal annual
interest rate of 4.25%, compounded monthly.
1. Calculate the amount of money in the savings account after 3 years.

2
2. Calculate the number of years it takes for the account to reach
$40 000. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Greg has saved 2000 British pounds (GBP) over the last six months. He
decided to deposit his savings in a bank which offers a nominal annual
interest rate of 8%, compounded monthly, for two years.
1. Calculate the total amount of interest Greg would earn over the two
years. Give your answer correct to two decimal places. 3
Greg would earn the same amount of interest, compounded semi-

annually, for two years if he deposits his savings in a second bank.
3
2. Calculate the nominal annual interest rate the second bank offers.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Emily deposits 2000 Australian dollars (AUD) into a bank account. The
bank pays a nominal annual interest rate of 4 %, compounded monthly.
1. Find the amount of money that Emily will have in her bank account
after 5 years. Give your answer correct to two decimal places. 3
Emily will withdraw the money back from her bank account when the
amount reaches 3000 AUD.
2. Find the time, in months, until Emily withdraws the money from her3
bank account.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
In this question give all answers correct to two decimal places.
Mia deposits 4000 Australian dollars (AUD) into a bank account. The
bank pays a nominal annual interest rate of 6 %, compounded semi-
annually.
1. Find the amount of interest that Mia will earn over the next 2.5
years. 3
Ella also deposits AUD into a bank account. Her bank pays a nominal
annual interest rate of 4 %, compounded monthly. In 2.5 years, the
total amount in Ella's account will be 4000 AUD.
3
2. Find the amount that Ella deposits in the bank account.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Julia wants to buy a house that requires a deposit of 74 000 Australian
dollars (AUD).
Julia is going to invest an amount of AUD in an account that pays a
nominal annual interest rate of 5.5 %, compounded monthly.
1. Find the amount of AUD Julia needs to invest to reach 74 000 AUD
after 8 years. Give your answer correct to the nearest dollar. 3
Julia's parents offer to add 5000 AUD to her initial investment from part
(a), however, only if she invests her money in a more reliable bank that
pays a nominal annual interest rate only of 3.5 %, compounded
quarterly.
2. Find the number of years it would take Julia to save the 74 000
AUD if she accepts her parents money and follows their advice. 3
Give your answer correct to the nearest year.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Ali bought a car for $18 000. The value of the car depreciates by 10.5 %
each year.
1. Find the value of the car at the end of the first year. 2
2. Find the value of the car after 4 years. 2
3. Calculate the number of years it will take for the car to be worth
exactly half its original value. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
On 1st of January 2022, Grace invests $P in an account that pays a
nominal annual interest rate of 6 %, compounded quarterly.
The amount of money in Grace's account at the end of each year follows
a geometric sequence with common ratio, α.
1. Find the value of α, giving your answer to four significant figures. 3
Grace makes no further deposits or withdrawals from the account.
2. Find the year in which the amount of money in Grace's account will 3
become triple the amount she invested.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
l
Consider the sum S = ∑(2k − 3), where l is a positive integer

k=4
greater than 4.
1. Write down the first three terms of the series. 2

2. Write down the number of terms in the series. 1
3. Given that S = 725, find the value of l. 3
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Let un = 5n − 1, for n
∈ Z+ .
1. 1. Using sigma notation, write down an expression for u1 +

u2 + u3 + ⋯ + u10 .

2. Find the value of the sum from part (a) (i). 4
A geometric sequence is defined by vn

= 5 × 2n−1 , for n ∈ Z+ .
2
6
2. Find the value of the sum of the geometric series ∑ vk .
k=1
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Peter is playing on a swing during a school lunch break. The height of the
first swing was 2 m and every subsequent swing was 84 % of the
previous one. Peter's friend, Ronald, gives him a push whenever the
height falls below 1 m.
1. Find the height of the third swing.

2
2. Find the number of swings before Ronald gives Peter a push. 2
3. Calculate the total height of swings if Peter is left to swing until
coming
to rest. 2
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Sarah walks to school each morning. During the first minute, she travels
130 metres. In each subsequent minute, she travels 5 metres less than
the distance she travelled during the previous minute. The distance from
her home to school is 950 metres. Sarah leaves her house at 8:00 am
and must be at school by 8:10 am.
Will Sarah arrive to school on time? Justify your answer.
Difficulty: Easy
[Maximum mark: 6]
Jack rides his bike to work each morning. During the first minute, he
travels 160 metres. In each subsequent minute, he travels 80 % of the
distance travelled during the previous minute.
The distance from his home to work is 750 metres. Jack leaves his house
at 8:30 am and must be at work at 8:40 am.
Will Jack arrive to work on time? Justify your answer.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 5]
The third term of an arithmetic sequence is equal to 7 and the sum of the
first 8 terms is 20.
Find the common difference and the first term.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
The first term and the common ratio of a geometric series are denoted,
respectively, by u1 and r , where u1 , r ∈ Q. Given that the fourth term is

64 and the sum to infinity is 625, find the value of u1 and the value of r.


[Maximum mark: 6] Difficulty: Medium
The seventh term of an arithmetic sequence is equal to 1 and the sum of
the first 16 terms is 52.
Find the common difference and the first term.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
The sum of an infinite geometric sequence is 27. The second term of the
sequence is 6. Find the possible values of r .
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
The sum of the first three terms of a geometric sequence is 92.5, and the
sum of the infinite sequence is 160. Find the common ratio.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
The 1st, 5th and 13th terms of an arithmetic sequence, with common
difference d, d =
 0, are the first three terms of a geometric sequence,
with common ratio r , r  1. Given that the 1st term of both sequences is
=
12, find the value of d and the value of r.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
The sum of the first three terms of a geometric sequence is 81.3, and the
sum of the infinite sequence is 300. Find the common ratio.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 8]
It is known that the number of trees in a small forest will decrease by 5 %
each year unless some new trees are planted. At the end of each year,
600 new trees are planted to the forest. At the start of 2021, there are
8200 trees in the forest.
1. Show that there will be roughly 9060 trees in the forest at the start
of 2026. 4
2. Find the approximate number of trees in the forest at the start of
2041. 4
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 13]
1. The following diagram shows [PQ], with length 4 cm. The line is
divided into an infinite number of line segments. The diagram shows
the first four segments.
The length of the line segments are m cm, m2 cm, m3 cm, …,

where 0 < m < 1.
4
Show that m = . 5
5

2. The following diagram shows [RS], with length l cm, where l > 1.
2 3
Squares with side lengths n cm, n cm, n cm, …, where 0 <
n < 1, are drawn along [RS]. This process is carried on indefinitely.
The diagram shows the first four squares.
25
The total sum of the areas of all the squares is . Find the value
11

of l. 8
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 15]
The first three terms of an infinite geometric sequence are k −
4, 4, k + 2, where k ∈ Z.
1. 1. Write down an expression for the common ratio, r .

2. Hence show that k satisfies the equation k 2 − 2k − 24 = 0.5
2. 1. Find the possible values for k .
2. Find the possible values for r . 5
3. The geometric sequence has an infinite sum.
1. Which value of r leads to this sum. Justify your answer.
2. Find the sum of the sequence. 5
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 8]
= e3 sin( 4 ) , for x > 0.
πx
Let f (x)

The k th maximum point on the graph of f has x-coordinate xk , where
k ∈ Z+ .
1. Given that xk+1 = xk + d, find d.

4
n
2. Hence find the value of n such that ∑ xk = 992.
k=1 4
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 14]
Alex and Julie each have a goal of saving $30 000 to put towards a
house deposit. They each have $16 000 to invest.
1. Alex chooses his local bank and invests his $16 000 in a savings
account that offers an interest rate of 5% per annum compounded
annually.
1. Find the value of Alex's investment after 7 years, to the
nearest hundred dollars.
2. Alex reaches his goal after n years, where n is an integer.
Determine the value of n. 4
2. Julie chooses a different bank and invests her $16 000 in a
savings account that offers an interest rate of r% per annum
compounded monthly, where r is set to two decimal places.
Find the minimum value of r needed for Julie to reach her goal after
10 years. 3
3. Xavier also wants to reach a savings goal of $30 000. He doesn't
trust his local bank so he decides to put his money into a safety
deposit box where it does not earn any interest. His system is to add
more money into the safety deposit box each year. Each year he will
add one third of the amount he added in the previous year.
1. Show that Xavier will never reach his goal if his initial deposit
into the safety deposit box is $16 000.
2. Find the amount Xavier needs to initially deposit in order to
reach his goal after 7 years. Give your answer to the nearest
dollar. 7
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 13]
Grant wants to save $40 000 over 5 years to help his son pay for his
college tuition. He deposits $20 000 into a savings account that has an
interest rate of 6% per annum compounded monthly for 5 years.
1. Show that Grant will not be able to reach his target. 2

2. Find the minimum amount, to the nearest dollar, that Grant would
need to deposit initially for him to reach his target. 3
Grant only has $20 000 to invest, so he asks his sister, Caroline, to help
him accelerate the saving process. Caroline is happy to help and offers to
contribute part of her income each year. Her annual income is $37 500
per year. She starts by contributing one fifth of her annual income, and
then decreases her contributions by half each year until the target is
reached. Caroline's contributions do not yield any interest.
3. Show that Grant and Caroline together can reach the target in 5
years. 4
Grant and Caroline agree that Caroline should stop contributing once
she contributes enough to complement the deficit of Grant's investment.
4. Find the whole number of years after which Caroline will will stop 4
contributing.
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 18]
The first three terms of an infinite sequence, in order, are
2 ln x, q ln x, ln x where x > 0.

First consider the case in which the series is geometric.
1. 1. Find the possible values of q .

2. Hence or otherwise, show that the series is convergent. 3
2. Given that q > 0 and S∞ = 8 ln 3, find the value of x.

3
Now suppose that the series is arithmetic.

5
3. 1. Show that q = .
4

2. Write down the common difference in the form m ln x, where

m ∈ Q. 4
4. Given that the sum of the first n terms of the sequence is ln x5 ,

find the value of n.

8
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
A bouncy ball is dropped from a height of 2 metres onto a concrete floor.
After hitting the floor, the ball rebounds back up to 80 % of it's previous
height, and this pattern continues on repeatedly, until coming to rest.
1. Show that the total distance travelled by the ball until coming to rest
can be expressed by
2 + 4(0.8) + 4(0.8)2 + 4(0.8)3 + ⋯ 2
2. Find an expression for the total distance travelled by the ball, in
terms of the number of bounces, n. 2
3. Find the total distance travelled by the ball. 2
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 7]
The sides of a square are 8 cm long. A new square is formed by joining
the midpoints of the adjacent sides and two of the resulting triangles are
shaded as shown. This process is repeated 5 more times to form the right
hand diagram below.
1. Find the total area of the shaded region in the right hand diagram
above. 4
2. Find the total area of the shaded region if the process is repeated
indefinitely. 3
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 14]
The first two terms of an infinite geometric sequence, in order, are
3 log3 x, 2 log3 x, where x > 0.


2. Show that the sum of the infinite sequence is 9 log3 x.

3
The first three terms of an arithmetic sequence, in order, are
x x
log3 x, log3 , log3 , where x > 0.
3 9

3. Find the common difference d, giving your answer as an integer. 3
Let S6 be the sum of the first 6 terms of the arithmetic sequence.

4. Show that S6 = 6 log3 x − 15.

3
5. Given that S6 is equal to one third of the sum of the infinite

geometric
sequence, find x, giving your answer in the form ap where a, p ∈Z
. 3
Difficulty: Medium
[Maximum mark: 6]
Given a sequence of integers, between 20 and 300, which are divisible
by 9.
1. Find their sum. 2

2. Express this sum using sigma notation. 2
An arithmetic sequence has first term −500 and common difference of

8. The sum of the first n terms of this sequence is negative.
2
3. Find the greatest value of n.
Difficulty: Hard
[Maximum mark: 8]
The first three terms of a geometric sequence are ln x9 , ln x3 , ln x, for
x > 0.
1. Find the common ratio. 3
∞
2. Solve ∑ 3
3−k
ln x = 27.
k=1 5
Difficulty: Hard
[Maximum mark: 15]
The first two terms of an infinite geometric sequence are u1 = 20 and
u2 = 16 sin2 θ, where 0 < θ < 2π , and θ =
 π.
1. 1. Find an expression for r in terms of θ .

2. Find the possible values of r . 5
100
2. Show that the sum of the infinite sequence is .
3 + 2 cos 2θ 4

3. Find the values of θ which give the greatest value of the sum. 6
Difficulty: Hard
[Maximum mark: 15]
Bill takes out a bank loan of $100 000 to buy a premium electric car, at
an annual interest rate of 5.49%. The interest is calculated at the end of
each year and added to the amount outstanding.
1. Find the amount of money Bill would owe the bank after 10 years.
Give your answer to the nearest dollar. 3
To pay off the loan, Bill makes quarterly deposits of $P at the end of
every quarter in a savings account, paying a nominal annual interest rate
of 3.2%. He makes his first deposit at the end of the first quarter after
taking out the loan.
2. Show that the total value of Bill's savings after 10 years is

1.00840 − 1
P[ ].
1.008 − 1 3

3. Given that Bill's aim is to own the electric car after 10 years, find
the value for P to the nearest dollar. 3
Melinda visits a different bank and makes a single deposit of $Q, the
annual interest rate being 3.5%.
4. 1. Melinda wishes to withdraw $8000 at the end of each year for

a period of n years. Show that an expression for the minimum
value of Q is
8000 8000 8000 8000

+ + + ⋯ + .
1.035 1.0352 1.0353 1.035n

2. Hence, or otherwise, find the minimum value of Q that would

permit Melinda to withdraw annual amounts of $8000
indefinitely. Give your answer to the nearest dollar. 6
Difficulty: Hard
[Maximum mark: 24]
This question asks you to investigate some properties of hexagonal
numbers.
Hexagonal numbers can be represented by dots as shown below where
hn denotes the nth hexagonal number, n ∈ N.

Note that 6 points are required to create the regular hexagon h2 with side
of length 1, while 15 points are required to create the next hexagon h3
with side of length 2, and so on.
1. Write down the value of h5 .

1
2. By examining the pattern, show that hn+1 = hn + 4n + 1, n ∈

N. 3
3. By expressing hn as a series, show that hn = 2n − n, n ∈ N. 3

2
4. Hence, determine whether 2016 is a hexagonal number. 3

5. Find the least hexagonal number which is greater than 80 000. 5
6. Consider the statement:
45 is the only hexagonal number which is divisible by 9.
Show that this statement is false. 2
Matt claims that given h1 = 1 and hn+1 = hn + 4n + 1, n ∈ N, then

hn = 2n2 − n,

n ∈ N.
7. Show, by mathematical induction, that Matt's claim is true for all 7

n ∈ N.
Difficulty: Hard
[Maximum mark: 14]
The cubic polynomial equation x3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0 has three roots
x1 , x2 and x3 . By expanding the product (x − x1 )(x − x2 )(x − x3 ),

show that
1. 1. b = −(x1 + x2 + x3 );

2. c = x1 x2 + x1 x3
+ x2 x3 ;

3. d = −x1 x2 x3 .

3
It is given that b = −9 and c = 45 for parts (b) and (c) below.
2. 1. In the case that the three roots x1 , x2 and x3 form an

arithmetic
sequence, show that one of the roots is 3.
2. Hence determine the value of d. 5
3. In another case the three roots form a geometric sequence.
Determine
the value of d. 6

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Home > App > Mathematics > Analysis &

Approaches HL > Questionbank > Number &

1. Find the common difference, d. 2

Question 2 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common difference, d. 2

Question 3 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

[Maximum mark: 6] Difficulty: Easy

an ​ = 1, 5, 10, 15, … cn ​ = 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, …

1. State which sequence is arithmetic and find the common difference of

bn ​ = 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, … dn ​ = 1, 3, 6, 10, …

Question 5 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Write down a formula which calculates that total value of the

Question 6 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common ratio, r . 2

1. State which sequence is

Question 8 Calculator Not Allowed Markscheme

1. Write down the value of the common difference, d. 1

Question 9 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common ratio. 2

1. Find the value of the common ratio for the sequence. 2

Question 11 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find u1 , the first term of the sequence.

Question 12 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

Question 13 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

Question 14 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

u11 , of the same sequence is 49.

1. Find d, the common difference of the sequence. 2

Question 15 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the height of the smallest tower in this set. 3

1. Find the value of the car after 10 years. 3

Question 17 Calculator Not Allowed Markscheme

Figure 1 contains 6 line segments.

Question 18 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common difference. 2

Question 19 Calculator Not Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the value of the common ratio, r . 2

Question 20 Calculator Not Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common difference. 2

Question 21 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

Question 22 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

Let Sn denote the sum of the first n terms of the sequence.

Question 23 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. the exact population of koalas in 2022; 3

Question 24 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the distance between the fifth landmark and London. 3

Question 25 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the value of the 62nd term of the sequence. 2

The first term of a geometric sequence is 8. The 4th term of the

2. Write down an equation using this information. 2

Question 26 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

Question 27 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the value of α, giving your answer to four significant figures. 3

Gary makes no further deposits or withdrawals from the account.

Question 28 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common difference. 2

Question 29 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the value of the common ratio, r . 2

1. Find the value of the common ratio, r . 2

Question 31 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the common ratio, r . 2

Question 32 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

1. Find the expected population size after:

Question 33 Calculator Allowed Markscheme

an = 1, 5, 10, 15, … cn = 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, …

bn = 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, … dn = 1, 3, 6, 10, …

1. 1. Using sigma notation, write down an expression for u1 +

A geometric sequence is defined by vn

The k th maximum point on the graph of f has x-coordinate xk , where

1. Given that xk+1 = xk + d, find d.

of length 1, while 15 points are required to create the next hexagon h3

1. Write down the value of h5 .

Matt claims that given h1 = 1 and hn+1 = hn + 4n + 1, n ∈ N, then