The number of terms in an A . P . is even, the sum of the odd terms in it is 24 and that the even terms is…

The number of terms in an A.P. is even, the sum of the odd terms in it is 24 and that the even terms is 30. If the last term exceeds the first term by 1012, then the number of terms in the A.P. is 
  1. 4
  2. 8
  3. 16
  4. 12

Solution

We know that the nth term and sum of nterms of an A.P. with first term a and common difference d are respectively a+n-1d and n22a+n-1d.

Let, the number of terms in the given A.P. be 2n then there are 2n2=n even terms and n odd terms.

Then, T1=a and T2n=a+(2n-1)d

Given T2n-T1=212

2n-1d=212

2nd-d=212   ...i

Also, the sum of odd terms i.e. a+a+2d+a+4d+... is

n22a+n-12d=24

2a+n-12d=48n   ...ii

And, the sum of even terms i.e. a+d+a+3d+a+5d+... is

n22a+d+n-12d=30

n22a+n-12d+2d=30

Put the value from equation ii to get

n248n+2d=30

24+dn=30

nd=6   ...iii

Put this value in the equation i, to get

2×6-d=212

d=24-212=32

Now, put d in the equation iii, to get

n×32=6

n=4

2n=8

Thus, the number of terms in the given A.P. is 8.

Asked in: JEE Main 2014 (19 Apr Online)

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