OG13 126

This topic has expert replies
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:35 am
Followed by:2 members

OG13 126

by TheAnuja55 » Sun Nov 04, 2012 9:40 am
p, r, s, t, u
An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which each term after the first term is equal to the sum of the preceding term and a constant. If the list of numbers shown above is an arithmetic sequence, which of the following must also be an arithmetic sequence?

1.) 2p, 2r, 2s, 2t, 2u
2.) p-3, r-3, s-3, t-3, u-3
3.) p square, r square, s square, t square, u square.

(A)1 only
(B)2 only
(C)3 only
(D)1 and 2
(E)2 and 3


Here constant c such that:
p+c=r, and r+c=s, and s+c=t, and t+c=u.
Rewriting this, there is a constant c such that
c=r-p=s-r=t-s=u-t

1. C1=2r-2p=2s-2r=2t-2s=2u-2t
therefore, C1=2c
Hence this is not true.

2. C2=(r-3)-(p-3)=(s-3)-(r-3)=(t-3)-(s-3)=(u-3)-(t-3)

Clearly, (r-3)-(p-3) = r-p = c
Hence this is true as well

3. C3=(r^2)-(p^2)=(s^2)-(r^2)=(t^2)-(s^2)=(u^2)-(t^2)

The answer here is NO.
Since, if we take (r^2)-(p^2). We know that r=p+c, so r^2=p^2 + 2pc + c^2. That means (r^2)-(p^2) = 2pc + c^2.

So I do have 2 questions:
1. Why the answer is D?
2. Is there any easy way to solve such question?
Source: — Problem Solving |

User avatar
MBA Admissions Consultant
Posts: 2279
Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 am
Location: New York
Thanked: 660 times
Followed by:266 members
GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Nov 05, 2012 9:04 am
The idea is that an arithmetic sequence is evenly spaced between each set of terms. 1) is true because if you multiply all of the terms by 2, then the resulting sequence is still evenly spaced - just the spacing is twice as big.
GMAT Answers provides a world class adaptive learning platform.
-- Push button course navigation to simplify planning
-- Daily assignments to fit your exam timeline
-- Organized review that is tailored based on your abiility
-- 1,000s of unique GMAT questions
-- 100s of handwritten 'digital flip books' for OG questions
-- 100% Free Trial and less than $20 per month after.
-- Free GMAT Quantitative Review

Image

User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 359
Joined: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:37 am
Location: Kolkata, India
Thanked: 50 times
Followed by:2 members

by Abhishek009 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:12 am
Another method for solving such problems quickly is by plugging in some numbers...


Let the arithmetic progression be 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 ,11....

Where p = 3 , q = 7 , r =9 , s = 11 etc...

1.) 2p, 2r, 2s, 2t, 2u

=> 6 , 10 , 14 , 18 , 22 ...

Here the common difference is 2

2.) p-3, r-3, s-3, t-3, u-3

=> 0 , 2 , 4 , 6 .....

Here the common difference is again 2

3.) p square, r square, s square, t square, u square.

=> 9 , 25 , 49 , 81 , 121 ....

Here the series does not follow an arithmetic progression...

Hence only 1 and 2 follows , so Conclusion D follows..
Abhishek

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 35
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 12:35 am
Followed by:2 members

by TheAnuja55 » Mon Nov 05, 2012 10:46 am
Abhishek009 wrote:Another method for solving such problems quickly is by plugging in some numbers...


Let the arithmetic progression be 3 , 5 , 7 , 9 ,11....

Where p = 3 , q = 7 , r =9 , s = 11 etc...

1.) 2p, 2r, 2s, 2t, 2u

=> 6 , 10 , 14 , 18 , 22 ...

Here the common difference is 2

2.) p-3, r-3, s-3, t-3, u-3

=> 0 , 2 , 4 , 6 .....

Here the common difference is again 2

3.) p square, r square, s square, t square, u square.

=> 9 , 25 , 49 , 81 , 121 ....

Here the series does not follow an arithmetic progression...

Hence only 1 and 2 follows , so Conclusion D follows..
Abhishek,

Choosing evenly spaced numbers is pretty easy way of solving such problem.
Thanks for the reply.