Annex C

AP/GP and Sigma-Notation

S/No Topic Answers(includes comments and graph)
1 AJC Smallest value of n = 15
2 ACJC
13(a) 1.6 ; 224624.4
(b) (i)
7 14
2
n
c n
U
+
; (ii)
1
7
n n
U U
+

(c) (i) 64 m ; (ii)
538
2
729
m
S ; (iii)
3 S

.
3 CJC (i) $121800 (ii) $43686
4 DH No question on AP/GP/Summation
5 HCI
7 (i) 4 8 n ; (ii) k = 8;
(iii) GP with
4
e r

and 1 r < convergent;

4
4
e
1 e

8 (a) (ii) 22000

3
4

_
,

n
+ 21000
6 IJC
4 (b)
1
2
7 JJC
9 (a) 49 (b)(i)
1

(ii) 1 or 1 < >

8 MI (i) $70711, (ii) 92
9 MJC
11 (a) least 83 n
(b)
1
2
N
u
10 NYJC
( ) 5 299
n
S n n +
(i) 0.652 r (ii) least
n
is 54
11 NJC
5 (i) $24112 (ii) $ ( )
326400 1.05 1
n

29 years
12 PJC
10 (i)
12 & 6 a d
(ii)
3
2
r (iii) least value of 10 n
13 RI(JC)
2)
( ) ( ) ( )
2
2 2 2
4 2
(4 1) 1 2 1
3 3
+ +
n
n n n
5)
3 r
, does not exist
14 RVH
7 (a)
1
6
n n
U U


(b) 6
15 SAJC
(a) (i) 23
rd
year (ii) 33
th
year.
(b) Proving type of question (Please refer to solution)
(c) (i)
30 metres.

(ii) Waves in the sea will change the height of the
ball above the water.
16 SRJC 8.57
n = 11
17 TPJC
(a) 26
(b) (i) 43,700
(ii) 2034
18 TJC 1) 0
19 VJC
5 (ii) ] 1 ) 3 ( 2 [ 3
n n
n
10)
)
2
) 1 3 (
, 1 3 (
1
+

+
n n
P
n
; least value of k = 9
20 YJC
Annex D
1 AJC/Q9
A geometric series has first term
a
and its sum to infinity is 5. The first and second terms of
this geometric series are the second and third terms of an arithmetic series respectively. Given
that the sum of the first ten even-numbered terms of the arithmetic series is 8, show that
a

= 1. [6]
Hence find the smallest value of n such that the product of the first n terms of the geometric
series is less than
10
10

. [3]
2 ACJC/Q13
(a)The first term of an arithmetic progression is 1100 and the common difference is -2.7.
Find the exact value of the first negative term and the sum of all positive terms. [4]
(b)The sum,
n
S
, of the first n terms of a sequence
1
U
,
2
U
,
3
U
, is given by
( ) 7
2
n
n
S c n ,
where c is a constant.
(i) Find
n
U
in terms of c and n. [2]
(ii) Find a recurrence relation of the form ( )
1
f
n n
U U
+

. [2]
(c)
1 1 1 1 1 1
1, , , , , , ,.....
3 3 9 9 9 9
is a sequence where
1
1
3
k
appears
1
2
k
times successively for
,.... 3 , 2 , 1 k
.
(i)
1
729
appears for the first time as the m
th
term, find m and the exact sum of the first m
terms. [4]
(ii) Find the sum to infinity. [2]
3 CJC/Q5
On 1 January 2011, Jimmy took a $120 000 housing loan from a bank, which charges a
compound interest at a rate of 5% on the last day of every year. He decides to repay the loan
by paying $10 000 on the first day of each subsequent year.
4
(i) How much in total will Jimmy owe the bank, after two years, on 31 December 2012?
(ii) How much in total will Jimmy owe the bank on 31 December 2025? Give your answer to
the nearest dollar.
DHS(No question on AP/GP/Summation)
[2]
[4]
5 HCI /Q7
The sum of the first n terms of a sequence {u
n
} is given by the formula
2 ( 3)
n
S n n
, where
n
+
.
(i) Express u
n
in terms of n, and show that the sequence {u
n
} follows an arithmetic
progression. [3]
(ii) Three terms
3 38
, and
k
u u u
of this sequence are consecutive terms in a geometric
sequence. Find the value of k. [3]
(iii) Explain why
1
e
r
r
u

exists, and determine the value of

1
e
r
r
u

, leaving your answer in

exact form. [4]
HCI /Q8(a)
At the end of December 2010, the amount of water in a large tank was 43 000 litres.
The tank was filled with 7000 litres of water at the start of every month. It was observed that
25% of the amount at the start of any month was lost by the end of that month.
(i) Show that at the end of February 2011, the amount of water in the tank was 33 375
litres. [1]
(ii) Find the amount of water in the tank, measured in litres, at the end of the n
th
month
after the end of December 2010, expressing your answer in the form A
3
4

_
,

n
+B, where
A and B are positive integers to be determined.
[4]
6 IJC/Q4
1-Jan-11
1-Jan-12 1-Jan-13 1-Jan-14 1-Jan-23 1-Jan-24 1-Jan-25 31-Dec-25
$10,000
returned
$10,000
returned
$10,000
returned
$10,000
returned
$10,000
returned
$10,000
returned
$120,000
borrowed
5%
int.
5%
int.
5%
int.
5%
int.
5%
int.
5%
int.
(a) S
1
is the sum of integers from 2k to 8k inclusive where k
+
Z . S
2
is the sum of the
even integers between 2k to 8k inclusive. Show that
1
2
6 1
.
3 1
S k
S k
+

+
[3]
[3]
(b) The first term of a geometric series is 8. The sum of the reciprocals of the first eight
terms is twice the sum of the first eight terms. Find the common ratio. [4]
[4]
7 JJC/Q9
(a) A rope of length 200 cm is cut into pieces to form circles, whose radii follow an
arithmetic progression with common difference 0.25cm. Given that the smallest circle
has an area of
2
cm , find the area of the largest circle in terms of

. [5]
(b) The sum of the first n terms of a sequence is given by
1
n
n
S

, where

is a non-zero constant.
(i) Show that the sequence is a geometric progression and state its common ratio in terms
of

. [4]
(ii) Find the set of values of

for which the sum to infinity of the sequence exists. [2]

8 MI/Paper 1/Q3
Peter bought a new car at $90000. At the end of each month, the value of the car would
depreciate by 1%.
(i) Calculate, to the nearest dollar, the value of Peters car at the end of the second year.
[2]
(ii) Given that the value of Peters car depreciated to less than 40% of its original cost by the
end of the n
th
month. Find the least value of n. [3]
9 MJC/11
(a) A runner wants to train for the marathon. He runs 8 km during the first day, and increases
the distance he runs each subsequent day by 400 m. Find the minimum number of days,
n, that he needs to take to complete at least 2000 km. [4]
(b) A sequence of real numbers { }
1 2 3
, , , u u u K
, where
1
0 u
, is defined such that the
( ) 1 th n +
term of the sequence is equal to the sum of the first
n
terms, where n
+
.
Prove that the sequence { }
2 3 4
, , , u u u K
follows a geometric progression. [3]
Hence find
1
1
N
r
r
u
+

in terms of
1
and . u N
[2]
1
0
NYJC/Q7
Amanda is considering between two different savings plans. Under savings plan A, she saves
$1500 in the first month and in each subsequent month, she saves $10 more than in the
previous month, that is, she saves $1500 in the first month, $1510 in the second month, and
so on. Find an expression in terms of
n
for the total amount of money she would have saved
after
n
months. [2]
Under savings plan B, she saves $1500 in the first month and in each subsequent month; she
saves % r more than in the previous month. Show that the total amount of money she has
saved after
n
months is given by
150000
1 1
100
n
r
r
1
_
+
1

,
1
]
. [2]
[2]
(i) Given that after one year, the amount of money saved under savings plan A or savings
plan B is the same, find the value of
r
. [3]
[3]
(ii) Given that 0.6 r , find the least number of months for the total amount saved under
savings plan B to exceed the total amount saved under savings plan A. [3]
1
1
NJC/Q5
A junior college student has a goal of saving at least $1 000 000 (in Singapore dollars). She
begins working at the start of the year 2017. In order to achieve her goal, she saves 40% of
her annual salary at the end of each year. If her annual salary in the year 2017 is $40800 and it
increases by 5% (of her previous years annual salary) every year, find
(i) her annual savings in 2025 (to the nearest dollar), [2]
(ii) her total savings at the end of n years. [2]
What is the minimum number of complete years for which the student has to work in order to
achieve her goal? [3]
1
2
PJC/Q10
An arithmetic series and a geometric series each have the first term a and the second term 18.
The third term of the geometric series exceeds the third term of the arithmetic series by 3. The
arithmetic series has a positive common difference d.

(i) Find the values of a and d. [6]
(ii) Find the common ratio of the geometric series.
[1]
(iii) Find the least value of n for which the sum of the first n terms of the geometric
series exceeds 1000.
[3]
1
3
RI(JC)/Q2
Find
( )
2
2 2
1
2 4 ,
n
r
r
r

giving your answer in terms of n.
[You may use the result
2
1
1
( 1)(2 1).]
6
n
r
r n n n

+ +

[3]
RI(JC)/Q5
The sums of the first
n
terms of an arithmetic progression and a geometric progression are
denoted by
n
A

and
n
G respectively.
If
n n
A G
for 1, 2 and 4 n , show that the common ratio of the geometric progression,
r

satisfies the equation
3 2
5 3 0 r r r + + .
Given
3 3
A G
, find
r
.
State, with a reason, if the sum to infinity of the geometric progression exists. [6]
1
4
RVH/Q7
(a) If the sum of the first n terms of a series is
n
S
, where
2
3
n
S n n , write down an
expression for
1 n
S

. Hence prove that the series is an arithmetic series. [3]
(b) Each time a ball falls vertically onto a horizontal surface, it rebounds to two-thirds of the
height from which it fell. The ball is initially dropped from a point 12 m above the
surface.
Show that the total distance the ball has travelled just before it touches the surface for the
nth time is
2
60 72
3
n
_

,
.
Hence find the least number of times the ball has bounced to travel a total distance of
more than 52 m. [5]
1
5
SAJC/Q11
(a) Steve and Bill want to donate money towards charitable causes every year. Steve
donated $9500 in the first year and increased the amount donated by $500 every year
from the second year onwards. Bill donated $8000 in the first year. From the second
year onwards, Bill increased his donation by 3% per year over the previous years
donation.
(i) After how many years would Bills annual donation first exceed $15,000? [3]
(ii) Find the least number of years it will take for the two men to donate more than $1
million in total? [3]
(b) The sum of the first n terms of a series is
2
37n n + . Prove that the series is in
arithmetic progression. [3]

(c) The Babowa ball is able to bounce on water. Its bounces follow a strange pattern: When
it falls from a height of h metres, it bounces straight back up by the same h metres.
When it touches the water the second time, it bounces back to a height of
3
4
h metres.
This pattern repeats itself every two bounces. Similarly, when it touches the water
surface for the fourth time, it bounces back to a height of
2
3
4
h
_

,
metres. The bounce of
the Babowa ball is shown in the diagram below.
(i) A Babowa ball is dropped from 2 metres onto the water surface. Find the total
vertical distance that it will travel if nobody touches it. [3]
(ii) Ignoring the effects of air resistance, explain why your answer in (i) may not be
accurate if the ball had been dropped into the sea. [1]
1
6
SRJC/Q8
(a) The first three terms of a geometric progression G with non-zero first term a,
common ratio r, are the first, thirteenth and eleventh term respectively of an
arithmetic progression. Given that r 1, show that the geometric progression G
converges. If a = 10, find the sum to infinity of G. [5]
(b) A man cut n pieces of rope (of varying length) from a coil of rope of length 41 m.
The first piece is of length 4.4 m and the length of each subsequent piece is 0.2 m
shorter than the length of the previous piece. Find the smallest value of n such
that the length of the remaining rope is less than 5 m. [4]
1
7
TPJC/Q9
(a) An arithmetic progression has first term 10 and common difference
1
4
.
Find the least value of n such that the difference between the sum of the first 2n terms
and the sum of the first n terms of the progression is more than 500. [5]
(b) At the end of year 2000, the population of a town was 28,950 and by the end of year
2005, the population had risen to 34,900. It can be assumed that the populations at the
end of each year form a geometric progression. Find
(i) the population at the end of year 2011, [2]
(ii) the year in which the population reaches 100,000. [3]
h

Water
1
8
TJC/Q1
In an arithmetic progression, the sum of the first five terms is twice the sum of the next five
terms. Given that the first term is 60, find the 13
th
term. [4]
TJC/Q14(b)
A sequence of real numbers {u
n
} satisfies the recurrence relation
1
1
1
2
n n
u u
+
+ for n
+
.
(b) Another sequence {v
n
} is such that
2
n n
v u
for n
+
.
(i) Show that {v
n
} is a geometric progression. [3]
(ii) If
1
3 u
, show that
1
1
2
2
n
n
u

_
+

,
. [2]
1
9
VJC/Q5
(i) Prove by induction that

2 1
3 (5 3) (7 3 ) (2 3)3 ( 1)3
n n
n n
+
+ + + + + + L
for all integers n 0. [4]
(ii) Hence find
2 1
(2 3)3
n
r
r n
r

, expressing your answer in the form 3 [g( )],

n
n n where g(n) is a
function of n which is to be determined. [2]
VJC/Q10
Starting from the origin O, a particle P moves in the positive x-direction and then in the
positive y-direction alternatively (see Fig.1). Hence, at the end of the (2k)
th
move, P has made
k horizontal moves and k vertical moves.
th
(2 1) move k
Fig.2
11
1O
A
B
th
(2 ) move k
O
y
x
O
Fig.1
11
1O
The distance in the first horizontal move is 2 units, second horizontal move is 6 units, and
each successive horizontal move is multiplied by 3.
The distance in the first vertical move is 2 units, second vertical move is 5 units, and each
successive vertical move is increased by 3 units.
Find, in terms of n, the coordinates of P at the end of the
th
(2 1) n + move. [4]
P moves from A to B in the
th
(2 1) k and
th
(2 ) k moves (see Fig.2). Find the least value of k
such that the gradient of AB is less than 0.002. [4]
2
0
YJC/