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AMC 12 Mock Exam 3 Problem 11

Problem 11 of 25

The sum of the first 1010 terms of an arithmetic sequence is 155155, and the sum of the first 2020 terms is 610610. What is the sum of the 2121st through 3030th terms of the sequence?

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Solution

Let the first term be aa and the common difference dd. Then 5(2a+9d)=1555(2a+9d)=155 and 10(2a+19d)=61010(2a+19d)=610, i.e., 2a+9d=312a+9d=31 and 2a+19d=612a+19d=61, so d=3d=3 and a=2a=2; the nnth term is 3n−13n-1.

The terms 2121 through 3030 sum to ∑n=2130(3n−1)=3(21+22+⋯+30)−10=3⋅255−10=755\sum_{n=21}^{30}(3n-1)=3(21+22+\cdots+30)-10=3\cdot255-10=\boxed{755}.

(Alternatively, the sums of consecutive blocks of 1010 terms form an arithmetic sequence: 155155, 610−155=455610-155=455, so the next block is 755755.)

Tagged: arithmetic sequences and partial sums