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Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Let be an arithmetic sequence and be a geometric sequence such that the first four terms of are , , , and , in that order. What is the next term of ?
Note: Duplicate problem
Note: Duplicate problem
Solution
Since is an arithmetic sequence, we may let for some and Since is a geometric sequence, we may let for some and Then we have The first equation gives so the remaining equations become From the equation we get and substituting in the remaining two equations gives The equation factors as Having would contradict the equation so either or But if then is a constant sequence, which means that is itself an arithmetic sequence; this is clearly impossible, because its first four terms are Thus, Then we have or so Then and We conclude that for all Then
Final answer
3