PMMT100 – A Level Mathematics 1

Tutorial Sheet 5 Solutions

J. Musonda, PhD
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
University of Lusaka
June 22, 2020

Mark allocations are shown in brackets for time management (1 mark ≈ 1.2 minutes)

Nature not only suggests to us problems,

she suggests their solution.
- Henri Poincaré (1854–1912).

1. (a) A sequence of numbers u1 , u2 , u3 , . . . satisfies

un+1 = 2un − 6, n ≥ 1.
Given that u1 = 2,
(i) find the value of u3 , (2)
4
X
(ii) evaluate uj . (3)
j=1

Solution. We are given that u1 = 2. Therefore,

u2 = 2u1 − 6 = 2(2) − 6 = −2
u3 = 2u2 − 6 = 2(−2) − 6 = −10
u4 = 2u3 − 6 = 2(−10) − 6 = −26
For part (ii), add the first four terms:
4
X
uj = u1 + u2 + u3 + u4
j=1

= 2 + (−2) + (−10) + (−26)

= −36
and the solution is complete.

1
(b) A sequence a1 , a2 , a3 , . . . is defined by the recurrence relation

a1 = k,
an+1 = 2an − 7, n ≥ 1,

where k is a constant.

(i) Write down an expression for a2 in terms of k. (1)

(ii) Show that a3 = 4k − 21. (2)

4
X
(iii) Given that ar = 43, find the value of k. (4)
r=1

Solution. We are given that a1 = k. Therefore,

a2 = 2a1 − 7
= 2k − 7

and for part (ii), we have

a3 = 2a2 − 7
= 2(2k − 7) − 7
= 4k − 14 − 7
= 4k − 21

as required. For part (iii), first find a4 , that is,

a4 = 2a3 − 7
= 2(4k − 21) − 7
= 8k − 42 − 7
= 8k − 49

Then add the first four terms and equate the result to 43, that is,
4
X
ar = 43
r=1
a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 = 43
k + (2k − 7) + (4k − 21) + (8k − 49) = 43
15k − 77 = 43
15k = 120
k=8

and the solution is complete.

Page 2
(c) A sequence is given by the recurrence relation
x1 = 1,
xn+1 = xn (p + xn ),
where p is a nonzero constant.
(i) Find x2 in terms of p. (1)

(ii) Show that x3 = 1 + 3p + 2p2 . (2)

(iii) Given that x3 = 1, find the value of p. (3)

(iv) Write down the value of x2008 . (2)

Solution. We are given that x1 = 1. Therefore,
x2 = x1 (p + x1 )
= 1(p + 1)
=p+1
and for part (ii), we have
x3 = x2 (p + x2 )
= (p + 1)(p + p + 1)
= (p + 1)(2p + 1)
= 2p2 + p + 2p + 1
= 2p2 + 3p + 1
as required. For part (iii), if x3 = 1, then
2p2 + 3p + 1 = 1
2p2 + 3p = 0
p(2p + 3) = 0
3
p=−
2
Note that p 6= 0 since p is a nonzero constant. Therefore the pattern is as follows:
x1 = 1
3 1
x2 = p + 1 = − + 1 = −
2 2
x3 = 1
1
x4 = −
2
x5 = 1

We observe that all odd terms are 1 and all even terms are − 12 . Thus, x2008 = − 12

Page 3
 (d) The sequence u1 , u2 , u3 , . . . is defined by the recurrence relation

un+1 = (−1)n un + d, u1 = 2, where d is a constant.

(i) Show that u5 = 2. (4)

(ii) Deduce an expression for u10 , in terms of d. (1)

(iii) Given that u3 = 3u2 , find the value of d. (2)

Solution. We are given that u1 = 2. Therefore,

u2 = (−1)1 u1 + d = −1(2) + d = −2 + d
u3 = (−1)2 u2 + d = +1(−2 + d) + d = −2 + 2d
u4 = (−1)3 u3 + d = −1(−2 + 2d) + d = 2 − d
u5 = (−1)4 u4 + d = +1(2 − d) + d = 2

We observe that the terms recur every 4 steps, thus u10 = u6 = u2 = −2 + d. Next,

u3 = 3u2
−2 + 2d = 3(−2 + d)
−2 + 2d = −6 + 3d
d=4

and the solution is complete.

2. (a) (i) Prove that the sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic series is given by the
formula
n 
Sn = 2a + (n − 1)d
2
where a is the first term of the series and d is the common difference. (4)
Solution. The sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic series is



Sn = a + (a + d) + (a + 2d) + · · · + a + (n − 2)d + a + (n − 1)d

Reversing the sum,

Sn = a + (n − 1)d + a + (n − 2)d + a + (n − 3)d + · · · + (a + d) + a

Adding the two sums,

     
Sn + Sn = 2a + (n − 1)d + 2a + (n − 1)d + · · · + 2a + (n − 1)d
 
2Sn = n 2a + (n − 1)d
n 
Sn = 2a + (n − 1)d
2
where the second equality follows since there are n lots of 2a + (n − 1)d.

Page 4
 (ii) Find the sum of the integers which are divisible by 7 and lie between 1 and 500 (3)
Solution. The integers which are divisible by 7 are
7, 14, 21, 28, . . .
The first term is a = 7, the common difference is d = 7, and the number of
terms are n = 500/7 = 71, thus
n  71  
Sn = 2a + (n − 1)d = 2(7) + 70(7) = 17, 892
2 2
is the sum of the integers which are divisible by 7 and lie between 1 and 500.

(b) An arithmetic sequence has first term 6 and common difference 10.
(i) Find the 15th term of the sequence. (2)

(ii) Find the sum of the first 20 terms of the sequence. (2)
Solution. The nth term of an arithmetic sequence is
Tn = a + (n − 1)d
where a is the first term and d is the common difference. Thus, the 15th term is
T15 = 6 + 14(10) = 146
For part (ii), the sum of the first 20 terms of the sequence is
n  20  
Sn = 2a + (n − 1)d = 2(6) + 19(10) = 2, 020
2 2
and the solution is complete.

(c) An arithmetic series has first term a and common difference d.

Given that the sum of the first 9 terms is 54,

(i) show that a + 4d = 6. (2)

(ii) Given also that the 8th term is half the 7th term, find the values of a and d. (4)
Solution. Using the formula for the sum of an arithmetic sequence, we have
9
[2a + 8d] = 54 or a + 4d = 6,
2
and using the formula for the nth term of an arithmetic sequence, we have
1
a + 7d = (a + 6d)
2
2a + 14d = a + 6d
a = −8d
Substituting into the first equation, we obtain −8d + 4d = 6 or d = −3/2 so that
a = −8d = −8(−3/2) = 12.

Page 5
 (d) The 4th term of an arithmetic sequence is 3 and the sum of the first 6 terms is 27.

Find the first term and the common difference of this sequence. (6)
Solution. Using the formula for the nth term of an arithmetic sequence, we have

a + 3d = 3
a = 3 − 3d

and using the formula for the sum of an arithmetic sequence, we have
6
[2a + 5d] = 27
2
2a + 5d = 9
2(3 − 3d) + 5d = 9
d = −3

so that a = 3 − 3d = 3 − 3(−3) = 12, and the solution is complete.

3. (a) The second and third terms of a geometric series are 192 and 144 respectively. Find

(i) the common ratio, (2)

(ii) the first term, (2)

(iii) the sum to infinity, (2)

(iv) the smallest value of n for which the sum of the first n terms exceeds 1000. (3)
Solution. The nth term of a geometric series is given by

Tn = arn−1

where a is the first term and r is the common ratio. Thus, ar = 192 and

ar2 = 144
arr = 144
192r = 144
r = 0.75

192 192
Thus, the first term is a = = = 256, and the sum to infinity is
r 0.75
a 256
S∞ = = = 1024
1−r 1 − 0.75

Page 6
 The sum of the first n terms of a geometric series is given by
a(1 − rn )
Sn =
1−r
Thus, in part (iv), we seek the smallest integer n such that
a(1 − rn )
> 1000
1−r
1024(1 − 0.75n ) > 1000
1000
0.75n < 1 −
1024 
1000
n log(0.75) < log 1 −
1024
1000


log 1 − 1024
n> = 13.0471
log(0.75)
This implies that the n we seek is n = 14.

(b) A company predicts a yearly profit of K1,200,000 in the year 2020. The company
predicts that the yearly profit will rise each year by 5%. The predicted yearly profit
forms a geometric sequence with common ratio 1.05
(i) Show that the predicted profit in the year 2023 is K1,389,150 (1)

(ii) Find the first year in which the yearly predicted profit exceeds K2,000,000 (5)

(iii) Find the total predicted profit for the years 2020 to 2030 inclusive, giving your
answer to the nearest kwacha. (3)
Solution. We are given the first term a = 1, 200, 000 and common ratio r = 1.05
For the year 2023, we have n = 4 and thus
T4 = arn−1 = 1, 200, 000(1.05)3 = 1, 389, 150
For part (ii), we need to first find the smallest integer n such that
1, 200, 000(1.05)n−1 > 2, 000, 000
 
20
(n − 1) log(1.05) > log
12
log 20


12
n>1+ = 11.47
log(1.05)
This implies that n = 12 and the year is 2020 + (12 − 1) = 2031.

For part (iii), we have n = 2030 − 2010 + 1 = 11, thus

a(1 − rn ) 1, 200, 000(1 − 1.0511 )
Sn = = = K17, 048, 145
1−r 1 − 1.05
is the total predicted profit for the years 2020 to 2030 inclusive.

Page 7
(c) The first three terms of a geometric series are 4p, (3p+15) and (5p+20) respectively,
where p is a positive constant.

(i) Show that 11p2 − 10p − 225 = 0 (4)

(ii) Hence show that p = 5 (2)

(iii) Find the common ratio of this series. (2)

(iv) Find the sum of the first ten terms of the series. (3)
Solution. To get the common ratio, divide two consecutive terms, that is,
5p + 20 3p + 15
=
3p + 15 4p
4p(5p + 20) = (3p + 15)(3p + 15)
20p2 + 80p = 9p2 + 90p + 225
11p2 − 10p − 225 = 0

For part (ii), we solve this quadratic equation:

11p2 − 10p − 225 = 0

11p2 − 55p + 45p − 225 = 0
11p(p − 5) + 45(p − 5) = 0
(11p + 45)(p − 5) = 0
p = 5, since p is positive

Thus the common ratio of this series is

3p + 15 3(5) + 15
r= = = 1.5
4p 4(5)

and the first term of this series is a = 4p = 4(5) = 20. Thus,

a(1 − rn ) 20(1 − 1.510 )

Sn = = = 2, 266.6
1−r 1 − 1.5
is the sum of the first ten terms of the series.

Page 8
(d) The adult population of a town is 25,000 at the end of Year 1. A model predicts
that the adult population of the town will increase by 3% each year.
(i) Show that the predicted adult population at the end of Year 2 is 25,750. (1)

(ii) Write down the common ratio of the geometric sequence. (1)

(iii) The model predicts that Year N will be the first year in which the adult pop-
ulation of the town exceeds 40,000. Show that (N − 1) log 1.03 > log 1.6 (3)

(iv) Find the value of N . (2)

(v) At the end of each year, each member of the adult population of the town will
give K10 to a charity fund. Assuming the population model, find the total
amount that will be given to the charity fund for the 10 years from the end of
Year 1 to the end of Year 10, giving your answer to the nearest K10,000. (4)
Solution. We are given the first term a = 25, 000 and common ratio r = 1.03,
thus the predicted adult population at the end of Year 2 is
Tn = arn−1 = 25, 000(1.03)1 = 25, 750
If Year N will be the first year in which the adult population exceeds 40,000, then
arN −1 > 40, 000
25, 000(1.03)N −1 > 40, 000
1.03N −1 > 1.6
(N − 1) log 1.03 > log 1.6
For part (iv), we solve this inequality:
(N − 1) log 1.03 > log 1.6
log 1.6
N −1>
log 1.03
log 1.6
N >1+ = 16.9
log 1.03
which implies that N = 17.

For part (v), we have first term a = 25, 000(10) = 250, 000, thus
a(rn − 1)
Sn =
r−1
250, 000(1.0310 − 1)
=
1.03 − 1
= 2, 865, 970
To the nearest K10,000, this becomes K2,870,000

End of Solutions

Page 9