MATHEMATICS

CATALYST SUMMER WORKSHOP

A Pre-Foundation Program ZENITH (CLASS X)
TOPIC : PROGRESSION
PROGRESSIONS
Those sequence whose terms follow certain patterns are called progressions. Generally there are three
types of progressions.
(i) Arithmetic Progression (A.P.)
(ii) Geometric Progression (G.P.)
(iii) Harmonic Progression (H.P.)

ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION
A sequence is called an A.P., if the difference of a term and the previous term is always same.
i.e. d = an + 1 – an = Constant for all n  N. The constant difference, generally denoted by ‘d’ is called
the common difference.

 nth FORM OF AN A.P.

Let A.P. be a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d,...........
Then, First term (a1) = a + 0.d
Second term (a2) = a + 1.d
Third term (a3) = a + 2.d
. .
. .
. .
th
n term (an) = a + (n – 1) d
 an = a + (n – 1) d is called the nth term of an A.P.

 SELECTION OF TERMS IN AN A.P.

Sometimes we require certain number of terms inA.P.The following ways of selecting terms are generally
very convenient.

No. of Terms Terms Common Difference

For 3 terms a – d, a, a + d d
For 4 terms a – 3d, a – d, a + d, a + 3d 2d
For 5 terms a – 2d, a – d, a, a + d, a + 2d d
For 6 terms a – 5d, a – 3d, a – d, a + d, a + 3d, a + 5d 2d

 SUM OF n TERMS OFAN A.P.

Let A.P. be a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d,............., a + (n – 1)d
n
Then, Sn  2a  (n  1)d 
2
n
Sn = [a + a + (n – 1)d] = n [a + l ]
2 2

n
 Sn  a  l  where, l is the last term.
2
 rth term of an A.P. when sum of first r terms is Sr is given by, ar = Sr – Sr – 1

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 Highlights of an A.P. :
(i) If each term of an A.P. is increased, decreased, multiplied or divided by the same non zero
number, then the resulting sequence is also anA.P.
(ii) The common difference can be zero, positive or negative.
(iii) The sum of the two terms of anA.P. equidistant from the beginning & end is constant and equal
to the sum of first & last term.
(iv) For any series, Tn = Sn – Sn – 1. In a series if Sn is a quadratic function of n or Tn is a linear
function of n, then the series is anA.P.
(v) If a, b, c are in A.P.  2b = a + c.

 ARITHMETIC MEAN (MEAN OR AVERAGE) (A.M.)

If three terms are in A.P. then the middle term is called the A.M. between the other two, so if a, b,
c are in A.P., b is A.M. of a & c.
A.M. for any n number a1, a2,..., an is;
a1  a 2  a 3  .....  a n
A.M. = .
n
 n - ARITHMETIC MEANS BETWEEN TWO NUMBERS :
If a, b are any two given numbers & a, A1, A2,...., An, b are in A.P. then A1, A2,... An are the n-A.M.’s
between a & b.
Total terms are n + 2.
ba
Last term b = a + (n+2–1)d.Now, d = .
n 1
ba 2(b  a ) n (b  a)
A1 = a + , A2 = a + ,............, An = a + .
n 1 n 1 n 1

NOTE : Sum of all n-A.M.’s inserted between a & b is equal to n times the single A.M. between
n
a & b. i.e.  Ar = nA whereAis the singleA.M. between a & b.
r 1

GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION (G.P.)

G.P. is a sequence of numbers whose first term is non zero & each of the succeeding terms is equal
to the preceding term multiplied by a constant. Thus in a G.P. the ratio of successive terms is
constant. This constant factor is called the common ratio of the series & is obtained by dividing
any term by that which immediately precedes it.
1 1 1 1
Example : 2, 4, 8, 16 ... & , , ,
3 9 27 81
...are in G.P.
.P.

(i) Therefore a, ar, ar2, ar3, ar4,...... is a G.P. with ‘a’ as the first term and ‘r’ as common ratio.
nth term of an G.P. = a rn1
(ii) Sum of the first n terms.


a rn 1

 , r 1
 r 1
Sn = 

a 1 rn

 , r 1
 1 r
(iii) Sum of an infinite G.P. when r < 1. When n  rn  0 if r < 1 therefore,
a
S = (| r |  1) .
1– r

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 Highlights of G.P. :
(i) If each term of a G.P. be multiplied or divided by the same non-zero quantity, the resulting
sequence is also a G.P.
(ii) If each term of a G.P. raised the same power then resulting sequence is also a G.P.
(iii) Any 3 consecutive terms of a G.P. can be taken as a/r, a, ar ; any 4 consecutive terms of a G.P.
can be taken as a/r3, a/r, ar, ar3 & so on.
(iv) In a finite G.P. the product of the terms equidistant from the beginning and the end are equal.
a1an = a2an – 1 = a3an – 2 = ............

 GEOMETRIC MEANS (MEAN PROPORTIONAL) (G.M.)

If a, b, c are in G.P., b is the G.M. between a & c.
b² = ac, therefore b = a c ; a > 0, c > 0.

 n-GEOMETRIC MEANS BETWEEN a, b :

If a, b are two given numbers & a, G1, G2,....., Gn, b are in G.P.. Then,
G1, G2, G3,...., Gn are n-G.M.s between a & b.

G1 = a(b/a)1/n+1, G2 = a(b/a)2/n+1,......, Gn = a(b/a)n/n+1

HARMONIC PROGRESSION (H.P.)

A sequence is said to be H.P. if the reciprocals of its terms are in A.P. If the sequence a1, a2, a3,....,
an is an H.P. then 1/a1, 1/a2,...., 1/an is an A.P. Here we do not have the formula for the sum of the
n terms of a H.P. For H.P. whose first term is a and second term is b, the nth term is an
ab
an = .
b  (n  1)(a  b)

 HARMONIC MEAN (H.M.)

2ac a ab
If a, b, c are in H.P., b is the H.M. between a & c, then b = or  .
a c c bc

RELATION BETWEEN MEANS :

If A, G, H are respectively A.M., G.M., H.M. between a & b both being unequal & positive then,
G² = AH i.e. A, G, H are in G.P.

A.M. ³ G.M. ³ H.M.

Let a1, a2, a3, .......an be n positive real numbers, then we define their
a1  a 2  a 3  .......  a n
A.M. = ,
n
G.M. = (a1 a2 a3 .........an)1/n and
n
H.M. = .
1 1 1
  ....... 
a1 a 2 an
It can be shown that A.M.  G.M.  H.M. and equality holds at either places iff a1 = a2 = a3 = .......= an.

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 PRACTICE PROBLEMS

Q.1 If a, b, c are in A.P., then b + c, c + a, a + b are in

(1) A.P. (2) G.P. (3) H.P. (4) can’t say

Q.2 Which term of the AP : 3, 8, 13, 18, ........ is 78.

(1) 12 (2) 14 (3) 15 (4) 16

Q.3 Find the 31st term of an A.P. whose 11th term is 38 and the 16th term is 73.
(1) 160 (2) 162 (3) 178 (4) 180

Q.4 The 17th term of an A.P. exceeds its 10th term by 7. Find the common difference.
(1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4

Q.5 How many three-digit numbers are divisible by 7 ?

(1) 127 (2) 128 (3) 129 (4) 130

Q.6 Find the 20th term from the last term of the AP : 3, 8, 13,......., 253.
(1) 144 (2) 158 (3) 160 (4) 174

Q.7 Subba Rao started work in 1995 at an annual salary of M5000 and received an increment of M200 each
year. In which year did his income reach M7000?
(1) 11th year (2) 10th year (3) 9th year (4) 8th year

Q.8 How many terms of the AP: 9, 17, 25,........ must be taken to give a sum of 636?
(1) 8 (2) 10 (3) 12 (4) 14

Q.9 The 5th, 8th, and 11th, terms of a G.P. are p,q and s, respectively, then.
(1) q2 = ps (2) p2 = qs (3) s2 = pq (4) q = ps

Q.10 If the 4th,10th and 16th terms of a G.P. are x, y and z respectively, then x, y, z are in
(1) G.P. (2) H.P. (3) A.P (4) can’t say

Q.11 If x, y, z are in A.P. then find value of (x + 2y – z) (2y + z – x) (z + x – y) =

(1) 3xyz (2) xyz (3) 16xyz (4) 4xyz

Q.12 If there are (2n + 1) terms in an A.P., then the ratio of the sum of odd terms and the sum of even
terms is
n n 1
(1) (n + 1) : n (2) (3) (4) None of these
n 1 n2

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 a n 1  b n 1
Q.13 If is theA.M. between a & b then n =
a n  bn

1
(1) –1 (2)  (3) 1 (4) 0
2

a n  bn
Q.14 If arithmetic mean of a and b is n –1 then value of n is–
a  b n –1
(1) –1 (2) 0 (3) 1 (4) None of those

Q.15 If m arithmetic means are inserted between 1 and 31, so that the ratio of the 7th and (m – 1)th means is
5 : 9, then the value of m is
(1) 12 (2) 14 (3) 16 (4) None of these

Q.16 If n is odd, then the sum of n terms of the series 1 – 2 + 3 – 4 + 5 – 6 + ......... will be
n n 1 n 1 2n  1
(1)  (2) (3) (4)
2 2 2 2

Q.17 If S1, S2, S3 are the sum of n, 2n, 3n terms of an A.P. find the value of 3(S2 – S1)
(1) S2 (2) S1 (3) S3 (4) S1S2

Q.18 Sum of first 24 terms of the A.P. a1, a2, a3 ........, if it is known that a1 + a5 + a10 + a15 + a20 + a24 = 225 is
(1) 450 (2) 900 (3) 1350 (4) None of these

Q.19 Consider the sequence 1, – 2, 3, –4, 5, –6, .........., n (– 1)n + 1. What is the average of the first 300 terms
of the sequence ?
(1) – 1 (2) 0.5 (3) 0 (4) – 0.5

Q.20 If Sn denotes the sum of n terms of an A.P. and if S1 = 6, S7 = 105 then Sn : Sn – 3 =

(1) (2n + 3) : (n + 3) (2) (n – 3) : (n + 3) (3) (n + 3) : (2n – 3) (4) (n + 3) : (n – 3)

Q.21 If the ratio of the sum of n terms of twoA.P.s be (7n + 1) : (4n + 27) then the ratio of their 11th terms will
be
(1) 2 : 3 (2) 3 : 4 (3) 4 : 3 (4) 5 : 6

Q.22 If a1 = 1 and an + 1 = 2an + 5, n = 1, 2..., then a100 is equal to

(1) (5 × 299 – 6) (2) (5 × 299 + 6) (3) (6 × 299 – 5) (4) (6 × 299 + 5)

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Q.23 Find the sum to n term of series : 6 + 27 + 128 + 629 +....
5 n n ( n  1) 5 n n ( n  1)
(1) (5  1)  (2) (5  1) 
4 2 4 2

5 n n (n  1) 5 n
(3) (5  1)  (4) (5  1)  n (n  1)
4 2 2

Q.24 The second, first and third term of an arithmetic progression form a geometric progression in that order.
Which of the following can be the common ratio of the geometric progression ?
(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 2 (4*) –2

Q.25 In an infinite geometric progression, each term is equal to twice the sum of all other terms that follow it.
If the sum of first two terms is 12, the sum of the entire progression is
9 27 88
(1) (2) (3) (4) 15
2 2 7

Q.26 Find the sum of 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 +.... upto 8 terms

(1) 255 (2) 256 (3) 260 (4) 280

Q.27 Find the sum of n terms of the serie : 3 + 33 + 333 + .....

3 n 1 3
(1) [10  9n  10] (2) [10 n 1  9n  10]
9 81

81 n 1 81 n 1
(3) [10  9n  10] (4) [10  9n  10]
3 3

7 5 21 87 357
Q.28 Find the sum of the series ‘S’ , where S =     + ..... .
2  3 1 6 3  12 9  24 27  48

13 11 25 23
(1) (2) (3) (4)
3 3 6 6

Q.29 If A.M. and G.M. of two numbers is 10 and 8 respectively then find their H.M.
(1) 9 (2) 12 (3) 6 (4) 6.4

Q.30 Given x = 1 + a + a2 + .........  and y = 1 + b + b2 + ......  where a and b are proper functions.
1 + ab + a2b2 + .....  equal to

xy x 2 y2 xy xy
(1) (2) (3) (4)
x  y 1 xy xy x  y2
2

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Q.31 If X + Y + Z = 30, (X,Y, Z > 0), then the value of (X – 2) (Y– 3) (Z – 4) will be
(1)  1000 (2)  800 (3)  500 (4)  343

Q.32 In a convex polygon, the degree measures of the interior angles form an arithmetic progression.
If the smallest angle is 159° and the largest angle is 177°, then the number of sides in the polygon, is
(1) 21 (2) 27 (3) 30 (4) 31

Q.33 A sum of M700 is to be used to give seven cash prizes to students of a school for their overall academic
performance . If each prize is M20 less than its preceding prize, find the value of each of the prizes.

Q.34 The sum of first three terms of a G.P. is 16 and the sum of the next three terms is 128.
(i) Determine the first term (ii) common ratio (iii) sum to n terms of the G.P.

Q.35 The sum of first three terms of a G.P. is 16 and the sum of the next three terms is 128.
(i) Determine the first term (ii) common ratio (iii) sum to n terms of the G.P.

ANSWER KEY

Q.1 1 Q.2 4 Q.3 3 Q.4 1 Q.5 2 Q.6 2 Q.7 1

Q.8 3 Q.9 1 Q.10 1 Q.11 4 Q.12 1 Q.13 4 Q.14 3
Q.15 2 Q.16 3 Q.17 3 Q.18 2 Q.19 2 Q.20 4 Q.21 3
Q.22 3 Q.23 1 Q.24 4 Q.25 2 Q.26 1 Q.27 2 Q.28 4
Q.29 4 Q.30 1 Q.31 4 Q.32 30
Q.35 I prize = Rs. 160, II prize = Rs. 140, III prize = Rs. 120, IV prize = Rs. 100
V prize = Rs. 80, VI prize = Rs. 60, VII prize = Rs. 40

Q.34 (i)
16
7
; (ii) 2 ; (iii)
7

16 n
2 1 

Q.35 (i)
16
7
; (ii) 2 ; (iii)
7

16 n
2 1 

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