DS-sequence and series

This topic has expert replies
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:23 pm

DS-sequence and series

by [email protected] » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:17 am
What is the 999th term of the series S ?

(1) The first 4 four terms of S are (1 + 1)^2 , (2 + 1)^2 , (3 + 1)^2 , and (4 + 1)^2.
(2) For every x, the xth term of S is (x + 1)^2.

Legendary Member
Posts: 1448
Joined: Tue May 17, 2011 9:55 am
Location: India
Thanked: 375 times
Followed by:53 members

by Frankenstein » Wed Jun 22, 2011 6:43 am
Hi,
From(1): No information about the pattern for 999th term
Not sufficient
From(2): 999th term is (999+1)^2
Sufficient

Hence, B
Cheers!

Things are not what they appear to be... nor are they otherwise

Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 84
Joined: Thu Jan 18, 2007 10:28 pm
Thanked: 2 times

by mandeepak » Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:14 am
IMO - D

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:37 am
Thanked: 1 times

by srikanthb.69 » Thu Jun 23, 2011 8:30 am
Option 1 it clearly shows the sequence
1st term - (1+1)^2
2nd term - (2+1)^2
3rd term - (3+1)^2
.....so on hence 999th term (999+1)^2 -- SUFFICIENT

Option 2: Its equation representation of the series so 999th term is (999+1)^2
---- SUFFICIENT

[spoiler]Hence : D[/spoiler]

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2621
Joined: Mon Jun 02, 2008 3:17 am
Location: Montreal
Thanked: 1090 times
Followed by:355 members
GMAT Score:780

by Ian Stewart » Thu Jun 23, 2011 10:47 am
srikanthb.69 wrote:Option 1 it clearly shows the sequence
1st term - (1+1)^2
2nd term - (2+1)^2
3rd term - (3+1)^2
.....so on hence 999th term (999+1)^2 -- SUFFICIENT
All Statement 1 tells you is that the first four terms are 4, 9, 16 and 25. Statement 1 tells you nothing about how the sequence continues beyond the fourth term. The sequence might, for example, be a 'looping' sequence like the following:

4, 9, 16, 25, 4, 9, 16, 25, 4, 9, 16, 25, ...

or of course it could be a sequence of perfect squares:

4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, ...

among many possibilities, so Statement 1 is not sufficient.

A sequence is just a list of numbers, in order. The numbers do not *need* to follow any kind of rule or pattern. Don't 'guess' that some rule or pattern exists in a sequence just because a few terms appear to follow some pattern. If you only know the first few terms in a sequence, and you have no rule that lets you predict other terms of the sequence, then the other terms could genuinely be anything at all. In the question above, Statement 1 only tells us the first few terms, so is not sufficient, whereas Statement 2 gives us a rule that lets us predict every term, so is sufficient. The answer is B.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed May 18, 2011 9:23 pm

by [email protected] » Thu Jun 23, 2011 7:08 pm
yes, the OA is B
I made the mistake of choosing D in one of my tests. I wanted a clear explanation on this.
I realized that nothing should be assumed in GMATland :)
Thanks Ian for a wonderful explanation.

Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 12
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 6:37 am
Thanked: 1 times

by srikanthb.69 » Fri Jun 24, 2011 11:04 pm
Thanks Ian for correcting. I assumed it to be in a sequence when it doesn't say so.

Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 116
Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 7:52 pm
Location: Bangalore, India
Thanked: 2 times
Followed by:2 members

by Sanjay2706 » Mon Jun 27, 2011 12:02 am
Yes even I went for D.
But looking back, If it was mentioned that the sequence would continue to be so, then D would have been a better answer.
But I guess B is right with whatever we have.
Good one.