I'm trying to solve an arithmetic progression (find the first few elements: a1
, a2
, a3
, ...).
I'm given S4
(sum of the first 4 elements of a sequence
) = 14
and the sum of the first a1
and 2 * 5th element
, 2*a5
= 0
.
Simply put: S4 = 14
, a1 + 2a5=0
I tried using the formula (plugging in the values) for the sum of the first n-terms of an arithmetic sequence, but I can't solve it since I don't have neither a1
nor d
.
What's the correct way of solving this?
Answer
S4=14⟹2a+3d=7(1.)
a+2a5=0⟹a+2a+8d=0⟹a=−8d3(2.)
Substituting (2.) in (1.)
−16d3+3d=7⟹−7d3=7⟹d=−3(3.)
From (2.) and (3.)
a=−83.−3⟹a=8
Hence the A.P is 8,5,2,−1,−4....
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