BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0559 reviews
GMATLiveTeach Starts Oct 17
Chris Peckover, Target Test Prep GMAT expert
LIVE ONLINE CLASSES

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

with Chris Peckover, 100th-Percentile GMAT Scorer

Oct 17 · Chris Peckover
Sat · 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET
Oct 20 · Chris Peckover
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Oct 25 · Josh Braslow
Sun · 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes + 6 months of TTP OnDemand
  • Attend the first class for free
  • Every class is recorded, so you never fall behind
View classes & enroll
Limited seats availableTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeachOnDemand 5 seats left Start anytime
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Self-paced EA prep. Study on your schedule.

Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

165+ EA score guarantee
$05-day trial no automatic billing
Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll Start free 5-day trial
Limited cohort · enrollment openTrial includes full course accessTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

The sequence S1, S2, S3..., Sn ... is such that

Problem Solving — algebra and arithmetic (GMAT Focus Edition)
Expert replies
by VJesus12 » Tue Jul 17, 2018 1:10 am
The sequence S1, S2, S3..., Sn ... is such that $$S_n=\frac{1}{n}-\frac{1}{n+1} .$$ If k is a positive integer, is the sum of the first k terms of the sequence greater than 9/10?

(1) k > 10
(2) k < 19

The OA is the option A.

If the first statement is sufficient, why is not sufficient the second one? Could anyone give me a good explanation here? Please.
Join the discussion
Source: — Quantitative Reasoning |

by ceilidh.erickson » Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:03 am
Whenever a question asks about the SUM of a SEQUENCE, we have to find patterns.

First, we need to find the pattern of the terms. List out the first few terms:

$$S_1=\frac{1}{1}-\frac{1}{1+1}=\frac{1}{2}$$
$$S_2=\frac{1}{2}-\frac{1}{2+1}=\frac{1}{2}-\frac{1}{3}=\frac{1}{6}$$
$$S_3=\frac{1}{3}-\frac{1}{3+1}=\frac{1}{3}-\frac{1}{4}=\frac{1}{12}$$

Now find the pattern of the sum of terms:
$$S_1+S_2=\frac{1}{2}+\frac{1}{6}=\frac{4}{6}=\frac{2}{3}$$
$$S_1+S_2+S_3=\frac{2}{3}+\frac{1}{12}=\frac{9}{12}=\frac{3}{4}$$
We can infer that the sum of all terms up to the nth term will be
$$\frac{n}{n+1}$$
Thus, if the question is asking "is the sum of the first k terms of the sequence greater than 9/10?", we can rephrase the question as:
"is the number of terms (n) greater than 9?"

(1) k > 10
This tells us that the number of terms in our sum is greater than 10. This is sufficient to tell us that yes, it must be greater than 9.

(2) k < 19
This does not tell us whether the number of terms is greater than 9. k could be 7 or it could be 11, etc. Insufficient.

The answer is A.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Join the discussion

by MartyMurray » Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:54 pm
VJesus12 wrote:The sequence S1, S2, S3..., Sn ... is such that $$S_n=\frac{1}{n}-\frac{1}{n+1} .$$ If k is a positive integer, is the sum of the first k terms of the sequence greater than 9/10?

(1) k > 10
(2) k < 19

The OA is the option A.

If the first statement is sufficient, why is not sufficient the second one? Could anyone give me a good explanation here? Please.
A general lesson from this example is that, while one simple constraint, in this case k > 10, may be enough to define the answer to a question, another similar constraint, in this case, K < 19, may not be sufficient.

The GMAT often uses such constraints in the answers to DS questions. In this case, k > 1 would not be sufficient either, while either k < 5 or k > 20 would be sufficient.

For further practice, you could determine why k > 1 is not sufficient and why k < 5 and k > 20 are sufficient.
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
Join the discussion