The infinite sequence a1, a2,…, an,… is such that a1 = 2, a2 = -3, a3 = 5, a4 = -1, and an = an-4 for n > 4. What is the sum of the first 97 terms of the sequence?
a5=1
a6=2
a7=3
We want 93 of these terms since we're already given 4 terms before. Since, this is an arithmetic sequence, we can calculate the sum of 1-93 by using sn=n/2(a1+an):
93/2(1+93)=4371<---- now we add this number to 2,-3,5,-1 and we get 4374..
That basically means that a1 = a5, a2 = a6, a3 = a7, a4 = a8.
This means that if you figure out the first sequence, then the rest will be a breeze.
Notice that a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 = 2 - 3 + 5 - 1 = 3. For every sequence of 4 items, we will get the same result i.e.:
a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 = 3
a5 + a6 + a7 + a8 = 3
a9 + a10 + a11 + a12 = 3
....
a93 + a94 + a95 + a96 = 3
You have 96/4 = 24 sequences of 3, so you get 24*3 = 72 for the first 96 items. a97 will be a1 = 2, so the total will be 72 + 2 = 74.