1991 Mathcounts State Sprint and Target Rounds Solutions

Problem 5. Solution: 28.

Method 1: The number of squares in each figure forms an arithmetic sequence with the
common difference 3.
The 10th term in the sequence is a10 a1 (n 1)d 1 (10 1) 3 28.
Method 2:
1
1

2
4
3

3
7
3

4
10
3

5
13
3

6
16
3

7
19
3

The 10th term in the sequence is 28.

12

8
22
3

9
25
3

10
28
3