Difference between revisions of "2012 AIME I Problems/Problem 2"

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Problem 2

The terms of an arithmetic sequence add to $715$ . The first term of the sequence is increased by $1$ , the second term is increased by $3$ , the third term is increased by $5$ , and in general, the $k$ th term is increased by the $k$ th odd positive integer. The terms of the new sequence add to $836$ . Find the sum of the first, last, and middle terms of the original sequence.

Solutions

Solution 1

If the sum of the original sequence is $\sum_{i=1}^{n} a_i$ then the sum of the new sequence can be expressed as $\sum_{i=1}^{n} a_i + (2i - 1) = n^2 + \sum_{i=1}^{n} a_i.$ Therefore, $836 = n^2 + 715 \rightarrow n=11.$ Now the middle term of the original sequence is simply the average of all the terms, or $\frac{715}{11} = 65,$ and the first and last terms average to this middle term, so the desired sum is simply three times the middle term, or $\boxed{195.}$

Solution 2

After the adding of the odd numbers, the total of the sequence increases by $836 - 715 = 121 = 11^2$ . Since the sum of the first $n$ positive odd numbers is $n^2$ , there must be $11$ terms in the sequence, so the mean of the sequence is $\dfrac{715}{11} = 65$ . Since the first, last, and middle terms are centered around the mean, our final answer is $65 \cdot 3 = \boxed{195}$

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 ===Solution 2===
-After the adding of the odd numbers, the total of the sequence increases by <math>836 - 715 = 121 = 11^2</math>. Since the sum of the first <math>11</math> positive odd numbers is <math>11^2</math>, there must be <math>11</math> terms in the sequence, so the mean of the sequence is <math>\dfrac{715}{11} = 65</math>. Since the first, last, and middle terms are centered around the mean, our final answer is <math>65 \cdot 3 = \boxed{195}</math>
+After the adding of the odd numbers, the total of the sequence increases by <math>836 - 715 = 121 = 11^2</math>. Since the sum of the first <math>n</math> positive odd numbers is <math>n^2</math>, there must be <math>11</math> terms in the sequence, so the mean of the sequence is <math>\dfrac{715}{11} = 65</math>. Since the first, last, and middle terms are centered around the mean, our final answer is <math>65 \cdot 3 = \boxed{195}</math>
 == See also ==
 {{AIME box|year=2012|n=I|num-b=1|num-a=3}}
 {{MAA Notice}}

2012 AIME I (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
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