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2019 AMC 10A Problem 15

Problem 15 of 25IntermediateAlgebra

A sequence of numbers is defined recursively by a1=1,a_1 = 1, a2=37,a_2 = \frac{3}{7}, and an=an−2⋅an−12an−2−an−1a_n=\dfrac{a_{n-2} \cdot a_{n-1}}{2a_{n-2} - a_{n-1}} for all n≥3.n \geq 3. Then a2019a_{2019} can be written as pq,\frac{p}{q}, where pp and qq are relatively prime positive integers. What is p+q?p+q ?

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Solution

Taking reciprocals in the recursive formula gives 1an=2an−2−an−1an−2an−1=2an−1−1an−2. \begin{aligned} \frac1{a_n} &=\frac{2a_{n-2}-a_{n-1}}{a_{n-2}a_{n-1}}\\ &=\frac2{a_{n-1}}-\frac1{a_{n-2}}. \end{aligned} This means that 1an−1an−1=1an−1−1an−2, \dfrac{1}{a_n} - \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 1}} = \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 1}} - \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 2}}, which tells us that {1an}\left\{\dfrac{1}{a_n}\right\} is an arithmetic sequence. Using a1a_1 and a2,a_2, we get that the common difference is 137−11=73−1=43.\dfrac{1}{\frac{3}{7}} - \dfrac{1}{1} = \dfrac{7}{3} - 1 = \dfrac{4}{3}. Therefore 1a2019=1+2018⋅43=80753,\frac1{a_{2019}}=1+2018\cdot\frac43=\frac{8075}{3}, so a2019=38075.a_{2019}=\frac3{8075}. p+qp + q is therefore 8075+3=8078.8075 + 3 = 8078. Thus, E is the correct answer.
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Tagged: recursion · arithmetic sequence · substitution

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