Difference between revisions of "2009 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 7"

(See Also)
m (Solution)
 
Line 6: Line 6:
 
== Solution ==
 
== Solution ==
  
As this is an arithmetic sequence, the difference must be constant: <math>(5x-11) - (2x-3) = (3x+1) - (5x-11)</math>. This solves to <math>x=4</math>. The first three terms then are <math>5</math>, <math>9</math>, and <math>13</math>. In general, the <math>n</math>-th term is <math>1+4n</math>. Solving <math>1+4n=2009</math> we get <math>n=\boxed{502}</math>.
+
As this is an arithmetic sequence, the difference must be constant: <math>(5x-11) - (2x-3) = (3x+1) - (5x-11)</math>. This solves to <math>x=4</math>. The first three terms then are <math>5</math>, <math>9</math>, and <math>13</math>. In general, the <math>n</math>th term is <math>1+4n</math>. Solving <math>1+4n=2009</math>, we get <math>n=\boxed{502}</math>.
 
 
  
 
== See Also ==
 
== See Also ==

Latest revision as of 09:17, 9 February 2015

Problem

The first three terms of an arithmetic sequence are $2x - 3$, $5x - 11$, and $3x + 1$ respectively. The $n$th term of the sequence is $2009$. What is $n$?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 255 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 502 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 1004 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 1506 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 8037$

Solution

As this is an arithmetic sequence, the difference must be constant: $(5x-11) - (2x-3) = (3x+1) - (5x-11)$. This solves to $x=4$. The first three terms then are $5$, $9$, and $13$. In general, the $n$th term is $1+4n$. Solving $1+4n=2009$, we get $n=\boxed{502}$.

See Also

2009 AMC 12A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 6
Followed by
Problem 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png