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For a finite sequence of non zero numbers

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by venmic » Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:32 pm
For a finite sequence of non zero numbers, the number of variations in the sign is defined as the number of pairs of consecutive terms of the sequence for which the product of the two consecutive terms is negative. What is the number of variations in sign for the sequence 1,-3,2,5,-4,-6?

1)1
2)2
3)3
4)4
5)5

3


Why is (1, -3) considerd a set
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Source: — Problem Solving |

by Anurag@Gurome » Fri Jan 20, 2012 8:04 pm
venmic wrote:For a finite sequence of non zero numbers, the number of variations in the sign is defined as the number of pairs of consecutive terms of the sequence for which the product of the two consecutive terms is negative. What is the number of variations in sign for the sequence 1,-3,2,5,-4,-6?

1)1
2)2
3)3
4)4
5)5

3


Why is (1, -3) considerd a set

We get a negative integer when one term is positive and the other is negative.

1 * -3 = -3
-3 * 2 = -6
5 * -4 = -20

Therefore, required number of variations = 3

The correct answer is [spoiler](3)[/spoiler].
Anurag Mairal, Ph.D., MBA
GMAT Expert, Admissions and Career Guidance
Gurome, Inc.
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by Ibrohim » Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:32 pm
Thank you very much for the solution. I had the same problem and still do. Could someone please explain why 1 and -3 are consecutive terms while 5 and -6 are not? Actually how do we identify the pair of consecutive terms.
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by tomada » Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:18 pm
In a sequence of 'N' numbers, the set of consecutive terms = (1st term and 2nd term), (2nd term and 3rd term), ......, ( Nth-1 term, Nth term)
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by Ibrohim » Tue Jan 31, 2012 10:57 pm
Thank you tomada. I meant pair of consecutive terms in this specific case. Having looked at the problem for nth time I understood the what it was asking for. Actually, easy problem with hard level clothing.
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