General term of an Arithmetic progression

Basic Level

5 6
1. The sequence , , 7 ........ is
7 7
(a) H.P. (b) G.P. (c) A.P. (d) None of these
 1  2  3
2. p th term of the series  3 −  +  3 −  +  3 −  + ..... will be
 n  n  n

 p  p  n  n
(a)  3 +  (b)  3 −  (c)  3 +  (d)  3 − 
 n  n  p  p

3. If the 9th term of an A.P. be zero, then the ratio of its 29th and 19th term is
(a) 1 : 2 (b) 2 : 1 (c) 1 : 3 (d) 3 : 1
4. Which of the following sequence is an arithmetic sequence
1
(a) f (n) = an + b ; n ∈ N (b) f (n) = kr n ; n ∈ N (c) f (n) = (an + b) kr n ; n ∈ N (d) f (n) = ;n ∈ N
 b
a n + 
 n

5. If the p th term of an A.P. be q and q th term be p, then its rth term will be [Rajasthan PET 1999]

(a) p +q +r (b) p +q −r (c) p +r−q (d) p −q −r

th th th
6. If the 9 term of an A.P. is 35 and 19 is 75, then its 20 term will be [Rajasthan PET 1989]

(a) 78 (b) 79 (c) 80 (d) 81

th
7. If (a + 1), 3 a, (4 a + 2) are in A.P. then 7 term of the series is

(a) 10 a + 4 (b) – 33 (c) 33 (d) 10 a – 4

8. It x , y, z are in A.P., then its common difference is

(a) x 2 − yz (b) y 2 − xz (c) z 2 − xy (d) None of these

9. The 10th term of the sequence 3, 12 , 27 , ......is

(a) 243 (b) 300 (c) 363 (d) 432

10. Which term of the sequence (– 8 + 18i), (– 6+15i), (– 4 + 12i), ........is purely imaginary
th
(a) 5 (b) 7th (c) 8th (d) 6th
11. If (m +2)th term of an A.P. is (m+2)2–m2 , then its common difference is
(a) 4 (b) – 4 (c) 2 (d) – 2
12. For an A.P., T2 + T5 − T3 = 10 , T2 + T9 = 17 , then common difference is

(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) – 1 (d) 13

 Advance Level

13. If tan n θ = tan m θ , then the different values of θ will be in [Karnataka CET 1998]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
th th th
14. If the p , q and r term of an arithmetic sequence are a, b and c respectively, then the value of [a (q – r)+b(r – p)+ c (p –
q)]=
[MP PET 1985]
1
(a) 1 (b) – 1 (c) 0 (d)
2
15. If nth terms of two A.P.'s are 3n + 8 and 7n +15, then the ratio of their 12th terms will be [MP PET 1986]
4 7 3 8
(a) (b) (c) (d)
9 16 7 15
th
16. The 6 term of an A.P. is equal to 2, the value of the common difference of the A.P. which makes the product a1a4 a5 least is
given by
8 5 2
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
5 4 3
17. If p times the p th term of an A.P. is equal to q times the q th term of an A.P., then ( p + q)th term is
[MP PET 1997; Karnataka CET 2002]
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3
1 2
18. The numbers t(t 2 + 1) , − t and 6 are three consecutive terms of an A.P. If t be real, then the next two terms of A.P. are
2
(a) –2, –10 (b) 14, 6 (c) 14, 22 (d) None of these
3 1 1
19. If the pth term of the series 25, 22 , 20 , 18 ,...... is numerically the smallest, then p=
5 2 4
(a) 11 (b) 12 (c) 13 (d) 14
th
20. The second term of an A.P. is (x – y) and the 5 term is (x + y), then its first term is [AMU 1989]
1 2 4 5
(a) x− y (b) x− y (c) x− y (d) x− y
3 3 3 3
21. The number of common terms to the two sequences 17, 21, 25, ......417 and 16, 21, 26, ..... 466 is
(a) 21 (b) 19 (c) 20 (d) 91
22. In an A.P. first term is 1. If T1 T3 + T2 T3 is minimum, then common difference is
(a) –5/4 (b) –4/5 (c) 5/4 (d) 4/5
23. Let the sets A={2, 4, 6, 8,......} and B= {3, 6, 9, 12, .....}, and n(A) = 200, n(B) = 250. Then
(a) n(A ∩ B) = 67 (b) n(A ∪ B) = 450 (c) n(A ∩ B) = 66 (d) n(A ∪ B) = 384

Sum to n terms of an Arithmetic progression

Basic Level

24. The sum of first n natural numbers is [MP PET 1984; Rajasthan PET 1995]
n(n − 1) n(n + 1)
(a) n(n – 1) (b) (c) n(n + 1) (d)
2 2
1 1 1
25. The sum of the series + + + ...... to 9 terms is [MNR 1985]
2 3 6
 5 1 3
(a) − (b) − (c) 1 (d) −
6 2 2
26. The sum of all natural numbers between 1 and 100 which are multiples of 3 is [MP PET 1984]
(a) 1680 (b) 1683 (c) 1681 (d) 1682
27. The sum of 1+3+5+7+..... upto n terms is [MP PET 1984]

(a) (n + 1)2 (b) (2n)2 (c) n2 (d) (n − 1)2

28. If the sum of the series 2+ 5+ 8+11 ....... is 60100, then the number of terms are [MNR 1991; DCE 2001]
(a) 100 (b) 200 (c) 150 (d) 250
29. If the first term of an A.P. be 10, last term is 50 and the sum of all the terms is 300, then the number of terms are [Rajasthan PET 1987]
(a) 5 (b) 8 (c) 10 (d) 15
30. The sum of the numbers between 100 and 1000 which is divisible by 9 will be [MP PET 1982]
(a) 55350 (b) 57228 (c) 97015 (d) 62140
31. If the sum of three numbers of a arithmetic sequence is 15 and the sum of their squares is 83, then the numbers are [MP PET 1985]
(a) 4, 5, 6 (b) 3, 5, 7 (c) 1, 5, 9 (d) 2, 5, 8
32. If the sum of three consecutive terms of an A.P. is 51 and the product of last and first term is 273, then the numbers are
[MP PET 1986]
(a) 21, 17, 13 (b) 20, 16, 12 (c) 22, 18, 14 (d) 24, 20, 16
33. There are 15 terms in an arithmetic progression. Its first term is 5 and their sum is 390. The middle term is [MP PET 1994]
(a) 23 (b) 26 (c) 29 (d) 32
1
34. If S n = nP + n (n − 1)Q, where S n denotes the sum of the first n terms of an A.P. then the common difference is
2
[JEE West Bengal 1994]
(a) P + Q (b) 2P + 3Q (c) 2Q (d) Q
35. The sum of numbers from 250 to 1000 which are divisible by 3 is [Rajasthan PET 1997]
(a) 135657 (b) 136557 (c) 161575 (d) 156375
36. Four numbers are in arithmetic progression. The sum of first and last term is 8 and the product of both middle terms is 15.
The least number of the series is [MP PET 2001]
(a) 4 (b) 3 (c) 2 (d) 1
37. The number of terms of the A.P. 3, 7, 11, 15 ...... to be taken so that the sum is 406 is [Kerala (Engg.) 2002]
(a) 5 (b) 10 (c) 12 (d) 14
2 2
38. The consecutive odd integers whose sum is 45 – 21 are
(a) 43, 45, ....., 75 (b) 43, 45,...... 79 (c) 43, 45, ......, 85 (d) 43, 45, ....., 89
th
39. If common difference of m A.P.'s are respectively 1, 2,...... m and first term of each series is 1, then sum of their m terms is
1 1 1
(a) m (m + 1) (b) m (m 2 + 1) (c) m (m 2 − 1) (d) None of these
2 2 2
40. The sum of all those numbers of three digits which leave remainder 5 after division by 7 is
(a) 551 × 129 (b) 550 × 130 (c) 552 × 128 (d) None of these
41. If S n = n p and S m = m p, m ≠ n, in A.P., then S p is
2 2

2
(a) p (b) p3 (c) p4 (d) None of these
42. An A.P. consists of n (odd terms) and its middle term is m. Then the sum of the A.P. is
1 2
(a) 2 mn (b) mn (c) mn (d) mn
2
43. The minimum number of terms of 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + ..... that add up to a number exceeding 1357 is
 (a) 15 (b) 37 (c) 35 (d) 17

Advance Level

44. If the ratio of the sum of n terms of two A.P.'s be (7n+1) : (4n+27), then the ratio of their 11th terms will be [AMU 1996]
(a) 2 : 3 (b) 3 : 4 (c) 4 : 3 (d) 5 : 6
45. The interior angles of a polygon are in A.P. If the smallest angle be 120° and the common difference be 5, then the number of
sides is
[IIT 1980]
(a) 8 (b) 10 (c) 9 (d) 6
46. The sum of integers from 1 to 100 that are divisible by 2 or 5 is [IIT 1984]
(a) 3000 (b) 3050 (c) 4050 (d) None of these
47. If the sum of first n terms of an A.P. be equal to the sum of its first m terms, (m ≠ n), then the sum of its first (m + n) terms will
be
[MP PET 1984]
(a) 0 (b) n (c) m (d) m + n
48. If a1, a2 ,......., an are in A.P. with common difference d, then the sum of the following series is
sin d (coses a1 . cosec a 2 + cosec a 2 .cosec a 3 + ....... + cosec an − 1 cosec an ) [Rajasthan PET 2000]

(a) sec a1 − sec an (b) cot a1 − cot an (c) tan a1 − tan an (d) cosec a1 − cosec an
49. The odd numbers are divided as follows
1 3
5 7 9 11
13 15 17 19 21 23
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . . .
. . . . th . .
Then the sum of n row is
1
(a) 2n − 2 [2n + 2n −1 − 1] (b) (2n + 1) (c) 2n (d) 4n 3
2
50. If the sum of n terms of an A.P. is 2 n 2 + 5 n, then the n th term will be [Rajasthan PET 1992]

(a) 4n + 3 (b) 4 n + 5 (c) 4n + 6 (d) 4 n + 7

51. The nth term of an A.P. is 3 n − 1 . Choose from the following the sum of its first five terms [MP PET 1983]
(a) 14 (b) 35 (c) 80 (d) 40
52. If the sum of two extreme numbers of an A.P. with four terms is 8 and product of remaining two middle term is 15, then
greatest number of the series will be [Roorkee 1965]
(a) 5 (b) 7 (c) 9 (d) 11
2 2 th th
53. The ratio of sum of m and n terms of an A.P. is m : n , then the ratio of m and n term will be [Roorkee 1963; MP PET 1995]

m −1 n −1 2m − 1 2n − 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
n −1 m −1 2n − 1 2m − 1
a+1
54. The value of x satisfying log a x + log a
x + log 3 a x + ..... + log n a x = will be
2

(a) x=a (b) x = aa (c) x = a −1 / a (d) x = a1 / a

55. Sum of first n terms in the following series cot −1 3 + cot −1 7 + cot −1 13 + cot −1 21 + ..... is given by
  n  n+2
(a) tan −1   (b) cot −1   (c) tan −1 (n + 1) − tan −1 1 (d) All of these
n+2  n 
S 3n
56. Let S n denotes the sum of n terms of an A.P. If S 2 n = 3 S n , then ratio = [MNR 1993; UPSEAT 2001]
Sn
(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 8 (d) 10
57. If the sum of the first n terms of a series be 5 n + 2n, then its second term is
2
[MP PET 1996]

(a) 7 (b) 17 (c) 24 (d) 42

58. All the terms of an A.P. are natural numbers. The sum of its first nine terms lies between 200 and 220. If the second term is
12, then the common difference is
(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) None of these
59. If S 1 = a2 + a4 + a6 + .....up to 100 terms and S 2 = a1 + a3 + a5 + ...... up to 100 terms of a certain A.P. then its common difference
d is
S1 − S 2
(a) S1 − S 2 (b) S 2 − S 1 (c) (d) None of these
2
60. In the arithmetic progression whose common difference is non-zero, the sum of first 3n terms is equal to the sum of the next n
terms. Then the ratio of the sum of the first 2n terms to the next 2n terms is
1 2 3
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
5 3 4

61. If the sum of n terms of an A.P. is nA + n 2 B, where A, B are constants, then its common difference will be [MNR 1977]

(a) A – B (b) A + B (c) 2A (d) 2B

Arithmetic mean

Basic Level

13
62. A number is the reciprocal of the other. If the arithmetic mean of the two numbers be , then the numbers are
12
1 4 3 4 2 5 3 2
(a) , (b) , (c) , (d) ,
4 1 4 3 5 2 2 3
63. The arithmetic mean of first n natural number [Rajasthan PET 1986]
n −1 n +1 n
(a) (b) (c) (d) n
2 2 2
64. The four arithmetic means between 3 and 23 are [MP PET 1985]
(a) 5, 9, 11, 13 (b) 7, 11, 15, 19 (c) 5, 11, 15, 22 (d) 7, 15, 19, 21
65. The mean of the series a, a + nd, a + 2nd is [DCE 2002]
(a) a + (n − 1)d (b) a + nd (c) a + (n + 1)d (d) None of these
66. If n A.M. s are introduced between 3 and 17 such that the ratio of the last mean to the first mean is 3 : 1, then the value of n is
(a) 6 (b) 8 (c) 4 (d) None of these

Advance Level

67. The sum of n arithmetic means between a and b, is [Rajasthan PET 1986]
n(a + b ) (n + 1) (a + b)
(a) (b) n (a + b ) (c) (d) (n + 1) (a + b )
2 2
68. Given that n A.M.'s are inserted between two sets of numbers a, 2b and 2a, b, where a, b ∈ R. Suppose further that m th mean
between these sets of numbers is same, then the ratio a : b equals
 (a) n – m + 1 : m (b) n – m + 1 : n (c) n : n – m + 1 (d) m : n – m + 1
69. Given two number a and b. Let A denote the single A.M. and S denote the sum of n A.M.'s between a and b, then S/A depends
on
[Pb. CET 1992]
(a) n, a, b (b) n, b (c) n, a (d) n
70. The A.M. of series a + (a + d ) + (a + 2 d ) + ..... + (a + 2 nd ) is [Pb. CET 1998]

(a) a + (n − 1)d (b) a + nd (c) a + (n − 1)d (d) None of these

71. If 11 AM's are inserted between 28 and 10, then three mid terms of the series are [MNR 1997]

41 35 41 43 61 62
(a) , 19 , (b) 20 , , (c) 20 , , (d) 20 , 22 , 24
2 2 2 2 2 3
72. If f (x + y, x − y ) = xy , then the arithmetic mean of f ( x , y ) and f (y , x ) is [AMU 2002]

(a) x (b) y (c) 0 (d) 1

8 8
73. If A.M. of the roots of a quadratic equation is and the A.M. of their reciprocals is , then the quadratic equation is
5 7

(a) 7 x 2 + 16 x + 5 = 0 (b) 7 x 2 − 16 x + 5 = 0 (c) 5 x 2 − 16 x + 7 = 0 (d) 5 x 2 − 8 x + 7 = 0

74. If a1=0 and a1, a2, a3,.....an are real numbers such that | ai | = |ai–1+1| for all i, then A.M. of the numbers a1, a2, ......an has the
value x where
1 1 1
(a) x<1 (b) x<− (c) x≥− (d) x=
2 2 2

75. If A.M. of the numbers 5 1 + x and 5 1− x is 13 then the set of possible real values of x is
1
(a) {5 , } (b) {1, − 1} (c) {x | x 2 − 1 | = 0, x ∈ R} (d) None of these
5

Properties of A.P.

Basic Level

76. If 2x, x+ 8, 3x + 1 are in A.P., then the value of x will be [MP PET 1984]

(a) 3 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) – 2

 7
If log32, log3(2 –5) and log3  2 x −  are in A.P., then x is equal to
x
77. [IIT 1990]
 2

1 1 3
(a) 1, (b) 1, (c) 1, (d) None of these
2 3 2

78. If am denotes the m th term of an A.P., then am =

am + k + am − k am + k − am − k 2
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
2 2 am + k + am − k

79. If 1, logy x, logz y, – 15 logxz are in A.P., then

(a) z3 = x (b) x = y −1 (c) z −3 = y (d) x = y −1 = z 3
(e) All of these
1 1 1
80. If , , are in A.P., then [Rajasthan PET 1995]
p+q r+ p q+r
 1 1 1
(a) p, q, r are in A.P. (b) p 2 , q 2 , r 2 are in A.P. (c) , , are in A.P. (d) None of these
p q r

81. If a, b, c, are in A.P., then b 2 − ac is equal to [Roorkee 1975]

1 1 1 1
(a) (a + c)2 (b) (a − c)2 (c) (a + c)2 (d) (a − c)2
4 4 2 2
82. If a1 , a2 , a3 ,..... are in A.P. then a p , aq , ar are in A.P. if p, q, r are in

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

Advance Level

83. If the sum of the roots of the equation ax 2 + bx + c =0 be equal to the sum of the reciprocals of their squares, then bc 2 , ca 2 , ab 2
will be in [IIT 1976]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
1 1 1
84. If , , be consecutive terms of an A.P., then (b – c)2, (c – a)2, (a – b)2 will be in
b −c c −a a−b
(a) G.P. (b) A.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
−1 −1
If a , b , c are in A.P., then (b+ c) , (c + a) and (a + b)
2 2 2 –1
85. will be in [Roorkee 1968; Rajasthan PET 1996]

(a) H.P. (b) G.P. (c) A.P. (d) None of these

86. If the sides of a right angled triangle are in A.P., then the sides are proportional to [Roorkee 1974]
(a) 1, 2, 3 (b) 2, 3, 4 (c) 3, 4, 5 (d) 4, 5, 6
87. If a, b, c are in A.P., then the straight line ax + by + c = 0 will always pass through the point [IIT 1984]
(a) (−1, − 2 ) (b) (1, − 2) (c) (−1, 2) (d) (1, 2)

(a − c)2
88. If a, b, c are in A.P. then = [Roorkee 1975]
(b 2 − ac)
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 4
89. If a, b, c, d, e, f are in A.P., then the value of e – c will be [Pb. CET 1989, 91]
(a) 2 (c – a) (b) 2 (f – d) (c) 2 (d – c) (d) d – c
2
90. If p, q, r are in A.P. and are positive, the roots of the quadratic equation px + qx + r = 0 are all real for [IIT 1995]

r p
(a) −7 ≥ 4 3 (b) −7 < 4 3 (c) All p and r (d) No p and r
p r

1 1 1
91. If a1 , a2 , a3 , ....... an are in A.P., where ai > 0 for all i, then the value of + + ........ + = [IIT 1982]
a1 + a2 a2 + a3 an −1 + an

n −1 n +1 n −1 n +1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
a1 + an a1 + an a1 − an a1 − an

92. Given a + d > b + c where a, b, c, d are real numbers, then [Kurukshetra CEE 1998]
1 1 1 1
(a) a, b, c, d are in A.P. (b) , , , are in A.P.
a b c d
1 1 1 1
(c) (a + b ), (b + c), (c + d ), (a + d ) are in A.P. (d) , , , are in A.P.
a+b b +c c +d a+d
93. If a, b, c are in A.P., then (a + 2b – c) (2b+ c – a) (c + a – b) equals [Pb. CET 1999]
 1
(a) abc (b) abc (c) 2 abc (d) 4 abc
2

94. If the roots of the equation x 3 − 12 x 2 + 39 x − 28 = 0 are in A.P., then their common difference will be
[UPSEAT 1994, 99, 2001; Rajasthan PET 2001]
(a) ± 1 (b) ± 2 (c) ± 3 (d) ± 4
1− x
95. If 1, log 9 (3 + 2), log 3 (4 . 3 − 1) are in A.P., then x equals
x
[AIEEE 2002]

(a) log 3 4 (b) 1 − log 3 4 (c) 1 − log 4 3 (d) log 4 3

96. If a, b, c, d, e are in A.P. then the value of a+b+4c – 4d + e in terms of a, if possible is [Rajasthan PET 2002]
(a) 4a (b) 2a (c) 3 (d) None of these
a −a a − a2 a −a
97. If a1 , a2 , a3 , ....... a2 n +1 are in A.P. then 2 n +1 1 + 2 n + ......... + n + 2 n is equal to
a 2n +1 + a1 a 2 n + a2 an + 2 + an
n(n + 1) a 2 − a1 n(n + 1)
(a) . (b) (c) (n + 1) (a 2 − a 1 ) (d) None of these
2 a n +1 2

98. If the non-zero numbers x, y, z are in A.P. and tan −1 x , tan −1 y , tan −1 z are also in A.P., then

(a) x =y=z (b) xy = yz (c) x 2 = yz (d) z 2 = xy

99. If three positive real numbers a, b, c are in A.P. such that abc =4, then the minimum value of b is
(a) 21 / 3 (b) 2 2 / 3 (c) 21 / 2 (d) 2 3 / 2
100. If sin α , sin2 α , 1, sin4 α and sin 5 α are in A.P., where −π < α < π , then α lies in the interval
(a) (−π / 2, π / 2) (b) (−π / 3, π / 3) (c) (−π / 6, π / 6 ) (d) None of these
101. If the sides of a triangle are in A.P. and the greatest angle of the triangle is double the smallest angle, the ratio of the sides of
the triangle is
(a) 3 : 4 : 5 (b) 4 : 5 : 6 (c) 5 : 6 : 7 (d) 7 : 8 : 9
c
102. If a, b, c of a ∆ABC are in A.P., then cot = [T.S. Rajendra 1990]
2
A B A B
(a) 3 tan (b) 3 tan (c) 3 cot (d) 3 cot
2 2 2 2
103. If a, b, c are in A.P. then the equation (a − b )x 2 + (c − a)x + (b − c) = 0 has two roots which are
(a) Rational and equal (b) Rational and distinct (c) Irrational conjugates (d) Complex conjugates
a
104. The least value of 'a' for which 5 1 + x + 5 1 − x , , 25 x + 25 − x are three consecutive terms of an A.P. is
2
(a) 10 (b) 5 (c) 12 (d) None of these
x +α x +β x +α −γ

∫
2
105. α , β , γ , δ are in A.P. and f ( x )dx = −4 , where f (x ) = x + β x +γ x − 1 , then the common difference d is
0
x +γ x +δ x − β +δ
(a) 1 (b) –1 (c) 2 (d) – 2
106. If the sides of a right angled triangle form an A.P. then the sines of the acute angles are

3 4 1 5 −1 5 +1 3 1
(a) , (b) 3, (c) , (d) ,
5 5 3 2 2 2 2
107. If x, y, z are positive numbers in A.P., then
(a) y 2 ≥ xz (b) y ≥ 2 xz
x+y y+z x +y y+z
(c) + has the minimum value 2 (d) + ≥4
2y − x 2 y − z 2y − x 2y − z
 General term of Geometric progression

Basic Level

108. If the 4 th, 7 th and 10 th terms of a G.P. be a, b, c respectively, then the relation between a, b, c is
[MNR 1995; Karnataka CET 1999]
a+c
(a) b= (b) a 2 = bc (c) b 2 = ac (d) c 2 = ab
2
th
109. 7 term of the sequence 2 , 10 , 5 2 , ....... is

(a) 125 10 (b) 25 2 (c) 125 (d) 125 2

th 1 th 16 th
110. If the 5 term of a G.P. is and 9 term is , then the 4 term will be [MP PET 1982]
3 243
3 1 1 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
4 2 3 5
th th th
111. If the 10 term of a geometric progression is 9 and 4 term is 4, then its 7 term is [MP PET 1996]
4 9
(a) 6 (b) 36 (c) (d)
9 4
th
112. The third term of a G.P. is the square of first term. If the second term is 8, then the 6 term is [MP PET 1997]
(a) 120 (b) 124 (c) 128 (d) 132
th th
113. The 6 term of a G.P. is 32 and its 8 term is 128, then the common ratio of the G.P. is [Pb. CET 1999]
(a) – 1 (b) 2 (c) 4 (d) – 4
114. The first and last terms of a G.P. are a and l respectively, r being its common ratio; then the number of term in this G.P. is
log l − log a log l − log a log a − log l log l − log a
(a) (b) 1 − (c) (d) 1 +
log r log r log r log r

3 +i th
115. If first term and common ratio of a G.P. are both . The absolute value of n term will be
2
(a) 2n (b) 4n (c) 1 (d) 4
th
116. In any G.P. the last term is 512 and common ratio is 2, then its 5 term from last term is
(a) 8 (b) 16 (c) 32 (d) 64
117. Given the geometric progression 3, 6, 12, 24, ...... the term 12288 would occur as the [SCRA 1999]
th th th th
(a) 11 term (b) 12 term (c) 13 term (d) 14 term
118. Let {tn } be a sequence of integers in GP in which t4 : t6 = 1 : 4 and t2 + t5 = 216 . Then t1 is

(a) 12 (b) 14 (c) 16 (d) None of these

Advance Level

119. α, β are the roots of the equation x 2 − 3 x + a = 0 and γ , δ are the roots of the equation x 2 − 12 x + b = 0 . If α , β , γ , δ form an
increasing G.P., then (a, b ) = [DCE 2000]

(a) (3, 12) (b) (12, 3) (c) (2, 32) (d) (4, 16)
If ( p + q)th term a G.P. be m and (p – q) term be n, then the p term will be
th th
120. [Rajasthan PET 1997; MP PET 1985, 99]

(a) m / n (b) mn (c) mn (d) 0

121. If the third term of a G.P. is 4 then the product of its first 5 terms is [IIT 1982; Rajasthan PET 1991]
 (a) 43 (b) 4 4 (c) 45 (d) None of these
122. If the first term of a G.P. a1 , a2 , a3 ,......... is unity such that 4 a2 + 5 a3 is least, then the common ratio of G.P. is

2 3 2
(a) − (b) − (c) (d) None of these
5 5 5
123. Fifth term of a G.P. is 2, then the product of its 9 terms is [Pb. CET 1990, 94; AIEEE 2002]

(a) 256 (b) 512 (c) 1024 (d) None of these

5 5 5 5
124. If the nth term of geometric progression 5 ,− , ,− ,..... is , then the value of n is [Kerala (Engg.) 2002]
2 4 8 1024
(a) 11 (b) 10 (c) 9 (d) 4

Sum to n terms of Geometric progression

Basic Level

125. The sum of 100 terms of the series .9+ .09 + .009...... will be
100 106 106 100
 1   1   1   1 
(a) 1 −   (b) 1 +   (c) 1 −   (d) 1 +  
 10   10   10   10 

126. If the sum of three terms of G.P. is 19 and product is 216, then the common ratio of the series is [Roorkee 1972]

3 3
(a) − (b) (c) 2 (d) 3
2 2

127. If the sum of first 6 terms is 9 times to the sum of first 3 terms of the same G.P., then the common ratio of the series will be
[Rajasthan PET 1985]

1
(a) – 2 (b) 2 (c) 1 (d)
2

128. If the sum of n terms of a G.P. is 255 and nth term is 128 and common ratio is 2, then first term will be [Rajasthan PET 1990]

(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 7 (d) None of these

129. The sum of 3 numbers in geometric progression is 38 and their product is 1728. The middle number is [MP PET 1994]

(a) 12 (b) 8 (c) 18 (d) 6

130. The sum of few terms of any ratio series is 728, if common ratio is 3 and last term is 486, then first term of series will be
[UPSEAT 1999]

(a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 3 (d) 4

3 n +1
131. The sum of n terms of a G.P. is 3 − , then the common ratio is equal to
4 2n
3 3 39
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
16 256 256

132. The value of n for which the equation 1 + r + r 2 ..... + r n = (1 + r) (1 + r 2 )(1 + r 4 ) (1 + r 8 ) holds is

(a) 13 (b) 12 (c) 15 (d) 16

13
133. The value of the sum ∑ (i
n =1
n
+ in +1 ), where i = − 1 , equals [IIT 1998]
 (a) i (b) i – 1 (c) – i (d) 0
20

∑a
an + 1 1
134. For a sequence a1 , a 2 ......... an given a1 = 2 and = . Then r is
an 3 r =1

20  1 
(a) [4 + 19 × 3 ] (b) 3  1 − 20  (c) 2(1 – 3–20) (d) None of these
2  3 

135. The sum of (x + 2)n −1 + (x + 2)n − 2 (x + 1) + ( x + 2)n − 3 ( x + 1)2 + .....( x + 1)n −1 is equal to [IIT 1990]

(a) ( x + 2)n − 2 − ( x + 1)n (b) ( x + 2)n −1 − (x + 1)n −1

(c) (x + 2)n − ( x + 1)n (d) None of these

Advance Level

1 3 7 15
136. The sum of the first n terms of the series + + + + ........ is
2 4 8 16
[IIT 1988; MP PET 1996; Rajasthan PET 1996, 2000; Pb. CET 1994; DCE 1995, 96]
−n
(a) 2 − n − 1
n
(b) 1 − 2 (c) n + 2 −n − 1 (d) 2 n − 1
137. If the product of three consecutive terms of G.P. is 216 and the sum of product of pair – wise is 156, then the numbers will be
[MNR 1978]
(a) 1, 3, 9 (b) 2, 6, 18 (c) 3, 9, 27 (d) 2, 4, 8
n
138. If f (x ) is a function satisfying f (x + y ) = f ( x ) f (y ) for all x , y ∈ N such that f (1) = 3 and ∑ f (x ) = 120 . Then the value of n is
x =1

[IIT 1992]
(a) 4 (b) 5 (c) 6 (d) None of these
139. The first term of a G.P. is 7, the last term is 448 and sum of all terms is 889, then the common ratio is [MP PET 2003]
(a) 5 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 2
140. The sum of a G.P. with common ratio 3 is 364, and last term is 243, then the number of terms is [MP PET 2003]
(a) 6 (b) 5 (c) 4 (d) 10
141. A G.P. consists of 2n terms. If the sum of the terms occupying the odd places is S 1 , and that of the terms in the even places is
S 2 , then S 2 / S 1 is
(a) Independent of a (b) Independent of r (c) Independent of a and r (d) Dependent on r
2 8 26 80
142. Sum of the series + + + + ..... to n terms is [Karnataka CET 2001]
3 9 27 81
1 n 1 n 1 1 −n
(a) n− (3 − 1) (b) n + (3 − 1) (c) n+ (1 − 3 − n ) (d) n + (3 − 1)
2 2 2 2
143. If the sum of the n terms of G.P. is S product is P and sum of their inverse is R, then P 2 is equal to [IIT 1966; Roorkee 1981]
n n
R S R S 
(a) (b) (c)   (d)  
S R S  R

144. The minimum value of n such that 1 + 3 + 3 2 + ..... + 3 n > 1000 is

(a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d) None of these
145. If every term of a G.P. with positive terms is the sum of its two previous terms, then the common ratio of the series is
[Rajasthan PET 1986]

2 5 −1 5 +1
(a) 1 (b) (c) (d)
5 2 2
 49
146. If (1 .05 )50 = 11 . 658 , then ∑ (1.05 )
n =1
n
equals [Roorkee 1991]

(a) 208.34 (b) 212.12 (c) 212.16 (d) 213.16

a1a 2 a a a a a a
147. If a1 , a2 , a3 ..... an are in G.P. with first term 'a' and common ratio 'r' then + 2 3 + 3 4 + ....... + 2 n −1 n 2 is equal
a12 − a22 a22 − a32 a32 − an2 an −1 − an
to
nr (n − 1)r nr (n − 1)r
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1 − r2 1 − r2 1−r 1−r
148. The sum of the squares of three distinct real numbers which are in G.P. is S 2 . If their sum is α S , then
1 1
(a) 1 < α 2 < 3 (b) < α2 < 1 (c) 1 < α < 3 (d) <α <1
3 3

Sum to infinite terms

Basic Level

2 4 8
149. If the sum of the series 1 + + + 3 + .... ∞ is a finite number, then [UPSEAT 2002]
x x2 x
1
(a) x>2 (b) x > −2 (c) x> (d) None of these
2

150. If y = x − x 2 + x 3 − x 4 + .....∞ , then value of x will be [MNR 1975; Rajasthan PET 1988; MP PET 2002]

1 y 1 y
(a) y+ (b) (c) y− (d)
y 1+y y 1−y
151. If the sum of an infinite G.P. be 9 and the sum of first two terms be 5, then the common ratio is
1 3 3 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 2 4 3
. . .
152. 2. 3 5 7 = [IIT 1983; Rajasthan PET 1995]

2355 2370 2355

(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
1001 997 999
153. The first term of a G.P. whose second term is 2 and sum to infinity is 8, will be [MNR 1979; Rajasthan PET 1992, 95]
(a) 6 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 1
154. The sum of infinite terms of a G.P. is x and on squaring the each term of it, the sum will be y, then the common ratio of this
series is
[Rajasthan PET 1988]

x −y 2 2
x +y2 2
x −y2
x +y2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
x2 + y2 x2 − y2 x2 + y x2 − y
45
155. If 3 + 3α + 3α 2 + ........ ∞ = , then the value of α will be [Pb. CET 1989]
8
15 7 7 15
(a) (b) (c) (d)
23 15 8 7
156. The sum can be found of a infinite G.P. whose common ratio is r [AMU 1982]
(a) For all values of r (b) For only positive value of r (c) Only for 0 < r < 1 (d) Only for – 1 < r < 1(r ≠ 0)
4 3
157. The sum of infinity of a geometric progression is and the first term is . The common ratio is [MP PET 1994]
3 4
 7 9 1 7
(a) (b) (c) (d)
16 16 9 9

158. The value of 4 1 / 3. 4 1 / 9. 4 1 / 27 .....∞ is [Rajasthan PET 2003]

(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 9

159. 0.14189189189…. can be expressed as a rational number [AMU 2000]
7 7 525 21
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3700 50 111 148
160. The sum of the series 5.05 + 1.212 + 0.29088 + ... ∞ is [AMU 2000]

(a) 6.93378 (b) 6.87342 (c) 6.74384 (d) 6.64474

161. Sum of infinite number of terms in G.P. is 20 and sum of their square is 100. The common ratio of G.P. is [AIEEE 2002]
(a) 5 (b) 3/5 (c) 8/5 (d) 1/5
162. If in an infinite G.P. first term is equal to the twice of the sum of the remaining terms, then its common ratio is [Rajasthan PET 2002]
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 1/3 (d) – 1/3
2 +1 1 1
163. The sum of infinite terms of the geometric progression , ..... is, [Kerala (Engg.) 2002]
2 −1 2 − 2 2

(a) 2 ( 2 + 1) 2 (b) ( 2 + 1) 2 (c) 5 2 (d) 3 2 + 5

−x −2 x −3 x
164. If x > 0, then the sum of the series e − e +e ...... ∞ is [AMU 1989]
1 1 1 1
(a) −x
(b) (c) (d)
1−e e −1
x
1 + e−x 1 + ex
165. The sum of the series 0 .4 + 0 . 004 + 0 .00004 + ....... ∞ is [AMU 1989]
11 41 40 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
25 100 99 5
th
166. A ball is dropped from a height of 120 m rebounds (4/5) of the height from which it has fallen. If it continues to fall and
rebound in this way. How far will it travel before coming to rest ?
(a) 240 m (b) 140 m (c) 1080 m (d) ∞
C2 C3 C4
167. The series C + + + + ..... has a finite sum if C is greater than
1 + C (1 + C)2
(1 + C )3
(a) – 1/2 (b) – 1 (c) – 2/3 (d) None of these

Advance Level

168. If A = 1 + r z + r 2 z + r 3 z + .....∞, then the value of r will be

1/z 1/z
 A −1 1 
(a) A(1 − A)z (b)   (c)  − 1 (d) A(1 − A)1 / z
 A  A 
1 1 1 1 1 1
169. The sum to infinity of the following series 2 + + + + + + + ....., will be [AMU 1984]
2 3 2 2 3 2 23 3 3
7 9
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) (d)
2 2
170. x = 1 + a + a 2 + ....... ∞(a < 1) , y = 1 + b + b 2 + ....... ∞(b < 1) . Then the value of 1 + ab + a 2 b 2 + ...... ∞ is [MNR 1980; MP PET 1985]
xy xy xy xy
(a) (b) (c) (d)
x + y −1 x + y +1 x − y −1 x − y +1
1 1 1
171. The value of alog b x , where a = 0 .2, b = 5 , x = + + + ...... to ∞ is
4 8 16
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 1/2 (d) 4
172. The sum of an infinite geometric series is 3. A series, which is formed by squares of its terms have the sum also 3. First
series will be \
[Rajasthan PET 1999; Roorkee 1972; UPSEAT 1999]
3 3 3 3 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
(a) , , , ,..... (b) , , , ,..... (c) , , , ,..... (d) 1,− , ,− ,.....
2 4 8 16 2 4 8 16 3 9 27 81 3 32 33
173. If 1 + cos α + cos 2 α + ....... ∞ = 2 − 2, then α , (0 < α < π ) is [Roorkee 2000]

(a) π / 8 (b) π / 6 (c) π / 4 (d) 3π / 4

174. Consider an infinite G.P. with first term a and common ratio r, its sum is 4 and the second term is 3/4 , then
[IIT Screening 2000; DCE 2001]
7 3 3 1 3 1
(a) a = ,r = (b) a = , r = (c) a = 2, r = (d) a = 3, r =
4 7 2 2 8 4
175. Let n (> 1) be a positive integer, then the largest integer m such that (n m + 1) divides (1 + n + n 2 + ..... + n127 ), is [IIT 1995]

(a) 32 (b) 63 (c) 64 (d) 127

176. If |a|<1 and |b|<1, then the sum of the series a(a + b) + a (a + b ) + a (a + b ) + ..... upto ∞ is
2 2 2 3 3 3

a ab a2 ab b a b2 ab
(a) + (b) + (c) + (d) +
1 − a 1 − ab 1 − a 2 1 − ab a−b 1−a 1 − b 2 1 − ab
177. If S is the sum to infinity of a G.P., whose first term is a, then the sum of the first n terms is [UPSEAT 2002]

 a
n   a
n   a
n
(a) S 1 −  (b) S 1 −  1 −   (c) a 1 −  1 −   (d) None of these
 S    S     S  

1 1 1 1
178. If S denotes the sum to infinity and S n the sum of n terms of the series 1 + + + + ....., such that S − S n < , then the
2 4 8 1000
least value of n is
(a) 8 (b) 9 (c) 10 (d) 11
cos x π
If exp. {(sin x+sin x+sin x+....+∞) loge2} satisfies the equation x 2 − 9 x + 8 = 0, then the value of
2 4 4
179. ,0 < x < is
cos x + sin x 2
1 1
(a) ( 3 + 1) (b) ( 3 − 1) (c) 0 (d) None of these
2 2

Geometric mean

Basic Level

1 1
180. If G be the geometric mean of x and y, then + 2 =
G −x
2 2
G − y2
1 2
(a) G 2 (b) (c) (d) 3G 2
G2 G2
th
181. If n geometric means be inserted between a and b, then the n geometric mean will be
n n −1 n 1
 b  n −1 b n  b  n +1  b n
(a) a  (b) a  (c) a  (d) a  
a a a a
an + b n
182. If be the geometric mean of a and b, then n=
a n −1 + b n −1
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 1/2 (d) None of these
183. The G.M. of roots of the equation x − 18 x + 9 = 0 is
2
[Rajasthan PET 1997]
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 2 (d) 1
184. If five G.M.'s are inserted between 486 and 2/3 then fourth G.M. will be [Rajasthan PET 1999]
(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 12 (d) – 6
185. If 4 G.M’s be inserted between 160 and 5 them third G.M. will be
(a) 8 (b) 118 (c) 20 (d) 40
1
186. The product of three geometric means between 4 and will be
4
(a) 4 (b) 2 (c) – 1 (d) 1
187. The geometric mean between –9 and –16 is
(a) 12 (b) – 12 (c) – 13 (d) None of these

Advance Level

188. If n geometric means between a and b be G1 , G2 , ..... Gn and a geometric mean be G, then the true relation is

(a) G1 . G2 ...... Gn = G (b) G1 . G2 ...... Gn = G1 / n (c) G1 . G2 ...... Gn = G n (d) G1 . G2 ...... Gn = G 2 / n

189. If x and y be two real numbers and n geometric means are inserted between x and y. now x is multiplied by k and y is
1
multiplied and then n G.M’s. are inserted. The ratio of the n tn G.M’s. in the two cases is
k
n −1 1
(a) k n +1 : 1 (b) 1 : k n + 1 (c) 1 : 1 (d) None of these

Properties of G.P.

Basic Level

190. If a, b, c are in G.P., then

(a) a(b 2 + a 2 ) = c(b 2 + c 2 ) (b) a(b 2 + c 2 ) = c(a2 + b 2 ) (c) a 2 (b + c) = c 2 (a − b) (d) None of these

191. If x is added to each of numbers 3, 9, 21 so that the resulting numbers may be in G.P., then the value of x will be [MP PET 1986]
1 1
(a) 3 (b) (c) 2 (d)
2 3

192. If log x a, a x / 2 and log b x are in G.P., then x =

(a) − log a (log b a) (b) − log a (log a b ) (c) log a (log e a) − log a (log e b ) (d) log a (log e b ) − log a (log e a)
n n n

∑ ∑ ∑n
10
193. If n, . n 2, 3
are in G.P. then the value of n is
n =1
3 n =1 n =1

(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) Nonexistent

th th th
194. If p, q, r are in A.P., then p , q and r terms of any G.P. are in
(a) AP (b) G.P.
(c) Reciprocals of these terms are in A.P. (d) None of these
195. If a, b, c are in G.P., then [Rajasthan PET 1995]

(a) a 2 , b 2 , c 2 are in G.P. (b) a 2 (b + c), c 2 (a + b ), b 2 (a + c) are in G.P.

a b c
(c) , , are in G.P. (d) None of these
b+c c+a a+b

196. Let a and b be roots of x 2 − 3 x + p = 0 and let c and d be the roots of x 2 − 12 x + q = 0, where a, b, c, d form an increasing G.P.
Then the ratio of (q + p) : (q – p) is equal to
(a) 8 : 7 (b) 11 : 10 (c) 17 : 15 (d) None of these
197. If the roots of the cubic equation ax 3 + bx 2 + cx + d = 0 are in G.P., then

(a) c 3 a = b 3d (b) ca 3 = bd 3 (c) a 3b = c 3d (d) ab 3 = cd 3

198. If x1 , x 2 , x 3 as well as y1 , y 2 , y 3 are in G.P. with the same common ratio, then the points (x 1 , y1 ), ( x 2 , y 2 ) and (x 3 , y 3 ) [IIT 1999]

(a) Lie on a straight line (b) Lie on an ellipse (c) Lie on a circle (d) Are vertices of a triangle
199. Let f (x ) = 2 x + 1 . Then the number of real values of x for which the three unequal numbers f (x ), f (2 x ), f (4 x ) are in GP is

(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 0 (d) None of these

200. Sr denotes the sum of the first r terms of a G.P. Then S n , S 2 n − S n , S 3 n − S 2 n are in

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

201. If a 1/x
=b 1/y
=c 1/z
and a, b , c are in G.P., then x, y, z will be in [IIT 1969; UPSEAT 2001]

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

202. If x, y, z are in G.P. and a x = b y = c z , then [IIT 1966, 1968]

(a) log a c = log b a (b) log b a = log c b (c) log c b = log a c (d) None of these

General term of Harmonic progression

Basic Level

203. Three consecutive terms of a progression are 30, 24, 20. The next term of the progression is
1
(a) 18 (b) 17 (c) 16 (d) None of these
7
1 1
204. The 5th term of the H.P., 2, 2 , 3 ,...... will be [MP PET 1984]
2 3
1 1
(a) 5 (b) 3 (c) 1 / 10 (d) 10
5 5
th 1 th 1 th
205. If 5 term of a H.P. is and 11 term is , then its 16 term will be [Rajasthan PET 1987, 97]
45 69
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
89 85 80 79
th 1 th 1 th
206. If the 7 term of a H.P. is and the 12 term is , then the 20 term is [MP PET 1997]
10 25
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
37 41 45 49
th 1 1
207. If 6 term of a H.P. is and its tenth term is , then first term of that H.P. is [Karnataka CET 2001]
61 105
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
28 39 6 17

Advance Level

2 6
208. The 9th term of the series 27+ 9 + 5 + 3 + ..... will be [MP PET 1983]
5 7
 10 10 16 17
(a) 1 (b) (c) (d)
17 17 27 27
209. In a H.P., pth term is q and the qth term is p. Then pqth term is [Karnataka CET 2002]
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) pq (d) pq ( p + q )
bc ca ab
210. If a, b, c be respectively the p , q and r terms of a H.P., then ∆ = p
th th th
q r equals
1 1 1
(a) 1 (b) 0 (c) – 1 (d) None of these

Harmonic mean

Basic Level

a n +1 + b n +1
211. If be the harmonic mean between a and b, then the value of n is [Assam PET 1986]
an + b n
(a) 1 (b) – 1 (c) 0 (d) 2
H +a H +b
212. If the harmonic mean between a and b be H, then + [AMU 1998]
H −a H −b
(a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 1 (d) a + b
H H
213. If H is the harmonic mean between p and q, then the value of + is [MNR 1990; UPSEAT 2000; 2001]
p q
pq p+q
(a) 2 (b) (c) (d) None of these
p+q pq

214. H. M. between the roots of the equation x 2 − 10 x + 11 = 0 is [MP PET 1995]

1 5 21 11
(a) (b) (c) (d)
5 21 20 5
a a
215. The harmonic mean of and is [MP PET 1996]
1 − ab 1 + ab
a a 1
(a) (b) (c) a (d)
1−a b 2 2 1 − a 2b 2 a − a2b 2

6
216. The sixth H.M. between 3 and is [Rajasthan PET 1996]
13
63 63 126 120
(a) (b) (c) (d)
120 12 105 63

Advance Level

1
217. If there are n harmonic means between 1 and and the ratio of 7th and (n − 1)th harmonic means is 9 : 5, then the value of n
31
will be
[Rajasthan PET 1986]
(a) 12 (b) 13 (c) 14 (d) 15
218. If m is a root of the given equation (1 − ab)x 2 − (a 2 + b 2 )x − (1 + ab ) = 0 and m harmonic means are inserted between a and b,
then the difference between last and the first of the means equals
(a) b – a (b) ab (b – a) (c) a (b – a) (d) ab(a – b)

Properties of Harmonic progression

Basic Level
 1 1 1 1
219. If + = + , then a, b, c are in [MNR 1984; MP PET 1997; UPSEAT 2000]
b −a b −c a c
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) In G.P. and H.P. both
a b c
220. If a, b, c are in H.P., then , , are in [Roorkee 1980]
b+c c+a a+b
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
a+b b +c c+d
221. If a, b, c, d are any four consecutive coefficients of any expanded binomial, then , , are in
a b c
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
222. log 3 2, log 6 2, log 12 2 are in [Rajasthan PET 1993, 2001]

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

223. If a, b, c are in H.P., then for all n ∈ N the true statement is [Rajasthan PET 1995]

(a) a + c < 2b
n n n
(b) a + c > 2 b
n n n
(c) a + c = 2b
n n n
(d) None of these
224. Which number should be added to the numbers 13, 15, 19 so that the resulting numbers be the consecutive term of a H.P.
(a) 7 (b) 6 (c) – 6 (d) – 7

Advance Level

225. If b 2 , a 2 , c 2 are in A.P., then a + c, b + c, c + a will be in [AMU 1974]

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
226. If a, b, c, d be in H.P., then
(a) a 2 + c 2 > b 2 + d 2 (b) a 2 + d 2 > b 2 + c 2 (c) ac + bd > b 2 + c 2 (d) ac + bd > b 2 + d 2
227. If a1 , a 2 , a3 ,......, an are in H.P., then a1a2 + a2 a3 + ........ + an −1an will be equal to [IIT 1975]
(a) a1an (b) na1an (c) (n − 1)a1 an (d) None of these
228. If x, y, z are in H.P., then the value of expression log( x + z ) + log( x − 2 y + z ) will be [Rajasthan PET 1985, 2000]
(a) log( x − z ) (b) 2 log( x − z ) (c) 3 log( x − z ) (d) 4 log( x − z )
x+y y+z
229. If , y, are in H.P., then x, y, z are in [Rajasthan PET 1989; MP PET 2003]
2 2
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
230. If a, b, c, d are in H.P., then [Rajasthan PET 1991]
(a) a + d > b + c (b) ad > bc (c) Both (a) and (b) (d) None of these

Arithmetio-geometric progression

Basic Level

231. If |x| <1, then the sum of the series 1 + 2 x + 3 x 2 + 4 x 3 + ........ ∞ will be
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
1−x 1+x (1 + x )2 (1 − x )2
232. The sum of 0.2+0.004 + 0.00006 + 0.0000008+...... to ∞ is
200 2000 1000
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
891 9801 9801
233. The n th term of the sequence 1.1, 2.3, 4.5, 8.7,...... will be
(a) 2 n (2n − 1) (b) 2n −1 (2n + 1) (c) 2n −1 (2n − 1) (d) 2n (2n + 1)

Advance Level

4 7 10
234. The sum of infinite terms of the following series 1 + + + + .....will be
5 5 2 53
[MP PET 1981; Rajasthan PET 1997; Roorkee 1992; DCE 1996, 2000]
3 35 35 35
(a) (b) (c) (d)
16 8 4 16
235. The sum of the series 1+ 3x+ 6x +10x3+.......∞ will be
2

1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(1 − x )2 1−x (1 + x )2 (1 − x )3
236. 21 / 4 . 4 1 / 8. 8 1 / 16 .16 1 / 32 ....... is equal to [MNR 1984; MP PET 1998; AIEEE 2002]
3 5
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) (d)
2 2
2 3 4
237. The sum of 1 + + + + ........ upto n terms is [MP PET 1982]
5 5 2 53
25 4n + 5 3 2n + 5 3 3n + 5 1 5n + 1
(a) − (b) − (c) − (d) −
16 16 × 5 n −1 4 16 × 5 n +1 7 16 × 5 n −1 2 3 × 5n+ 2
238. The sum of i – 2 – 3i + 4 + ....... upto 100 terms, where i = − 1 is
(a) 50 (1 − i) (b) 25 i (c) 25 (1 + i) (d) 100 (1 − i)

Method of Difference

Basic Level

1. nth term of the series 2 + 4 + 7 + 11 + ...... will be [Roorkee 1977]

n2 + n + 1 n2 + n + 2 n 2 + 2n + 2
(a) (b) n 2 + n + 2 (c) (d)
2 2 2
2. If tn denotes the nth term of the series 2 + 3 + 6 + 11 + 18 + .... then t50 is

(a) 49 2 − 1 (b) 49 2 (c) 50 2 + 1 (d) 49 3 + 2

3. First term of the 11th group in the following groups (1), (2, 3, 4), (5, 6, 7, 8, 9), ..... is
(a) 89 (b) 97 (c) 101 (d) 123
4. The sum of the series 6 + 66 + 666 + ...... upto n terms is [IIT 1974]
n −1 n+1
(a) (10 − 9 n + 10 ) / 81 (b) 2 (10 − 9 n − 10 ) / 27 (c) 2 (10 − 9 n − 10 ) / 27
n
(d) None of these

5. Sum of n terms of series 12 + 16 + 24 + 40 + ..... will be [UPSEAT 1999]

(a) 2 (2 n − 1) + 8 n (b) 2(2 n − 1) + 6n (c) 3(2 n − 1) + 8 n (d) 4(2 n − 1) + 8 n

6. If |a|<1 and |b|<1, then the sum of the series 1 + (1 + a)b + (1 + a + a 2 )b 2 + (1 + a + a 2 + a3 )b 3 + ...... is
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(1 − a) (1 − b) (1 − a) (1 − ab) (1 − b ) (1 − ab ) (1 − a)(1 − b )(1 − ab )

nth Term of Special series

Basic Level
 13 13 + 2 3 13 + 2 3 + 3 3
7. n th term of the series + + + .......will be [Pb. CET 2000]
1 1+ 3 1+3+5

n 2 + 2n + 1 n 2 + 2n + 1 n 2 − 2n + 1
(a) n 2 + 2 n + 1 (b) (c) (d)
8 4 4

th 1 1+2 1+2+3
8. The n term of series + + + ......... will be [AMU 1982]
1 2 3

n +1 n −1 n2 + 1 n2 − 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
2 2 2 2
9. If a1 = a2 = 2, an = an −1 − 1(n > 2), then a5 is

(a) 1 (b) – 1 (c) 0 (d) – 2

Advance Level

10. The number 111.......1 (91 times) is a

(a) Even number (b) Prime number (c) Not prime (d) None of these
11. The difference between an integer and its cube is divisible by [MP PET 1999]

(a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 9 (d) None of these

th
12. In the sequence 1, 2, 2, 4, 4, 4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8,......, where n consecutive terms have the value n , the 1025 term is
9 10 11 8
(a) 2 (b) 2 (c) 2 (d) 2

13. Observe that 1 3 = 1, 2 3 = 3 + 5, 3 3 = 7 + 9 + 11, 4 3 = 13 + 15 + 17 + 19 . Then n3 as a similar series is

  n(n − 1)     (n + 1)n     (n + 1)n  

(a) 2 + 1 − 1 +  2  + 1 + 1 + ...... +  2  + 1 + 2 n − 3 
  2     2     2  

(b) (n 2 + n + 1) + (n 2 + n + 3) + (n 2 + n + 5) + ..... + (n 2 + 3 n − 1)

(c) (n 2 − n + 1) + (n 2 − n + 3) + (n 2 − n + 5) + ..... + (n 2 + n − 1)

(d) None of these

Sum to n terms and infinite number of terms

Basic Level

14. The sum of the series 3 . 6 + 4 . 7 + 5 . 8 +....... upto (n – 2) terms [EAMCET 1980]

1
(a) n 3 + n 2 + n + 2 (b) (2n 3 + 12 n 2 + 10 n − 84 ) (c) n3 + n 2 + n (d) None of these
6

15. The sum of the series 1 + (1 + 2) + (1 + 2 + 3) + ...... upto n terms, will be [MP PET 1986]

n(n + 1) (2n − 1) n(n + 1) (n + 2)

(a) n 2 − 2 n + 6 (b) (c) n 2 + 2n + 6 (d)
6 6

16. The sum to n terms of the series 2 2 + 4 2 + 6 2 + ....... is [MP PET 1994]
 n(n + 1) (2n + 1) 2n(n + 1) (2n + 1) n(n + 1) (2n + 1) n(n + 1) (2n + 1)
(a) (b) (c) (d)
3 3 6 9

17. 11 2 + 12 2 + 13 2 + ....... + 20 2 = [MP PET 1995]

(a) 2481 (b) 2483 (c) 2485 (d) 2487

18. The sum to n terms of (2n − 1) + 2 (2n − 3 ) + 3 (2n − 5) + ..... is [AMU 2001]

(a) (n + 1)(n + 2) (n + 3) / 6 (b) n (n + 1)(n + 2) / 6 (c) n (n + 1) (2n + 3 ) (d) n (n + 1) (2n + 1) / 6

1 3 + 2 3 + 3 3 + 4 3 + ..... + 12 3
19. = [MP PET 1998]
1 2 + 2 2 + 3 3 + 4 2 + ..... + 12 2
234 243 263
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
25 35 27
20. Sum of the squares of first n natural numbers exceeds their sum by 330, then n= [Karnataka CET 1998]

(a) 8 (b) 10 (c) 15 (d) 20

1 1 1 1
21. + + + ..... + equals [AMU 1995; Rajasthan PET 1996; UPSEAT 1999, 2001]
1 . 2 2 .3 3 .4 n. (n + 1)

1 n 2n 2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
n (n + 1) n +1 n +1 n (n + 1)

22. The sum to n terms of the infinite series 1 . 3 2 + 2 .5 2 + 3 . 7 2 + ..... ∞ is [AMU 1982]

n n
(a) (n + 1) (6 n 2 + 14 n + 7 ) (b) (n + 1) (2n + 1) (3 n + 1) (c) 4 n3 + 4 n 2 + n (d) None of these
6 6

Advance Level

23. The sum of all the products of the first n natural numbers taken two at a time is
1 n2 1
(a) n (n − 1) (n + 1) (3 n + 2) (b) (n − 1) (n − 2) (c) n (n + 1) (n + 2) (n + 5 ) (d) None of these
24 48 6
24. The sum of the series 1. 3. 5 + 2. 5. 8 +3. 7. 11+.....up to 'n' terms is [Dhanbad Engg. 1972]

n(n − 1) (9 n + 23 n + 13 )
2
n(n − 1) (9 n + 23 n + 12 )
2
(n + 1) (9 n + 23 n + 13 )
2
n (9 n + 23 n + 13 )
2
(a) (b) (c) (d)
6 6 6 6
n(n + 1)2
25. The sum of first n terms of the given series 1 2 + 2 .2 2 + 3 2 + 2 . 4 2 + 5 2 + 2 .6 2 + ....... is , when n is even. When n is odd,
2
the sum will be [IIT 1988; AIEEE 2004]

n(n + 1) 2
1 2
(a) (b) n (n + 1) (c) n(n + 1)2 (d) None of these
2 2
n
 ar 
26. The value of ∑ log  b
r =1
 is
r −1 


n a n  n  an +1  n  a n +1  n  an +1 
(a) log  n 
 (b) log  2  (c) log  n −1 
 (d) log  n +1 
2 b  2  b  2 b  2 b 
1 2 3
27. The sum of the series + + ......... to n terms is
1 + 1 2 + 14 1 + 2 2 + 2 4 1 + 32 + 34
n(n 2 + 1) n(n + 1) n(n 2 − 1)
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
n2 + n + 1 2(n 2 + n + 1) 2(n 2 + n + 1)
28. For any odd integer n ≥ 1 , n 3 − (n − 1)3 + ...... + (−1)n −1 13 = [IIT 1996]

1 1 1 1
(a) (n − 1)2 (2 n − 1) (b) (n − 1)2 (2 n − 1) (c) (n + 1)2 (2n − 1) (d) (n + 1)2 (2n − 1)
2 4 2 4
5 9 13
29. The sum of the infinite terms of the sequence + + + ..... is
3 2. 7 2 7 2.11 2 11 2. 15 2
1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
18 36 54 72
30. The sum of the infinite series 1 2 + 2 2 x + 3 2 x 2 + ..... is
(a) (1 + x ) /(1 − x )3 (b) (1 + x ) /(1 − x ) (c) x /(1 − x )3 (d) 1 /(1 − x )3
20

∑t
n
31. If in a series t n = , then n is equal to
(n + 1)! n =1

20 !−1 21 !−1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
20 ! 21 ! 2(n − 1) !
n n m
32. ∑ ∑ ∑ r is equal to
r= 1
r2 −
m =1 r =1

1   1  
n n n n
(a) 0 (b)
2  r =1

∑ ∑
r2 +
r =1
r


(c) ∑ ∑ r 
2  r =1

r2 −
r =1
(d) None of these

33. For all positive integral values of n, the value of 3 . 1 . 2 + 3 . 2 . 3 + 3 .3 .4 + ..... + 3 .n.(n + 1) is [Rajasthan PET 1999]

(n − 1) n (n + 1)
(a) n (n + 1)(n + 2) (b) n (n + 1)(2 n + 1) (c) (n − 1) n (n + 1) (d)
2
1 1 1
34. The sum of (n + 1) terms of + + + ...... is [Rajasthan PET 1999]
1 1+2 1+2+3
n 2n 2 2 (n + 1)
(a) (b) (c) (d)
n +1 n +1 n (n + 1) n+2
35. The sum of (n − 1) terms of 1 + (1 + 3) + (1 + 3 + 5 ) + ....... is [Rajasthan PET 1999]

n (n + 1)(2n + 1) n (n + 1)
2
n (n − 1) (2 n − 1)
(a) (b) (c) (d) n 2
6 4 6
36. The sum 1(1 ! ) + 2(2 ! ) + 3(3 ! ) + ..... + n(n ! ) equals [AMU 1999]

(a) 3(n ! ) + n − 3 (b) (n + 1) ! − (n − 1) ! (c) (n + 1) ! − 1 (d) 2(n ! ) − 2 n − 1

3 5 7
37. Sum of the n terms of the series + + + ... is [Pb. CET 1999; Rajasthan PET 2001]
12 12 + 2 2 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2
2n 4n 6n 9n
(a) (b) (c) (d)
n +1 n +1 n +1 n +1
1.3 1.3.5
38. The sum of the series 1 + + + .... ∞ is [UPSEAT 2001]
6 6 .8
(a) 1 (b) 0 (c) ∞ (d) 4
39. 11 + 12 + .... + 20
3 3 3
[Pb. CET 1997; Rajasthan PET 2002]
(a) Is divisible by 5 (b) Is an odd integer divisible by 5
(c) Is an even integer which is not divisible by 5 (d) Is an odd integer which is not divisible by 5
40. The sum of all numbers between 100 and 10,000 which are of form n 3 (n ∈ N ) is equal to [IIT 1989]
(a) 55216 (b) 53261 (c) 51261 (d) 53216
41. The cubes of the natural numbers are grouped as 1 3 , (2 3 ,3 3 ), (4 3 ,5 3 ,6 3 ),..... then sum of the numbers in the nth group is
 1 3 2 1 3 2 n3 2
(a) n (n + 1)(n 2 + 3) (b) n (n + 16 )(n 2 + 12 ) (c) (n + 2)(n 2 + 4 ) (d) None of these
8 16 12
42. The value of the expression 2(1 + ω )(1 + ω 2 ) + 3(2ω + 1)(2ω 2 + 1) + 4 (3ω + 1)(3ω 2 + 1) + ..... + (n + 1)(n ω + 1)(n ω 2 + 1) is
2 2 2
 n(n + 1)   n(n + 1)   n(n + 1) 
(a)  2  (b)   +n (c)  2  −n (d) None of these
   2   
1 1 1 π2 1 1 1
43. If 2
+ 2 + 2 + ....up to ∞ = , then 2 + 2 + 2 + ..... equals to
1 2 3 6 1 3 5
(a) π 2 / 6 (b) π 2 / 16 (c) π 2 / 8 (d) None of these
n

∑
1
44. The value of is
r =1 a + rx + a + (r − 1)x

n a + nx − a n( a + nx − a)
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
a + a + nx x x
n n
45. Let ∑
n =1
r 4 = f (n) . Then ∑ (2r − 1)
r =1
4
is equal to

 n −1 
(a) f (2 n) − 16 f (n) ,for all n ∈ N (b) f (n) − 16 f   , when n is odd
 2 
n
(c) f (n) − 16 f   , when n is even (d) None of these
2
1 1 1
46. The sum to n terms of the series + + + ..... is
1. 2 . 3 . 4 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 3 . 4 . 5 . 6
1 1 15
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
3(n + 1)(n + 2)(n + 3 ) 6 (n + 2)(n + 3 )(n + 4 ) 4 n(n + 1)(n + 5 )

Relation between A.P., G.P. and H.P.

Basic Level

47. If a and b are two different positive real numbers, then which of the following relations is true [MP PET 1982,2002]

(a) 2 ab > (a + b ) (b) 2 ab < (a + b ) (c) 2 ab = (a + b ) (d) None of these

48. If a, b, c are in A.P. as well as in G.P., then [MNR 1981; AMU 1998]
(a) a=b≠c (b) a ≠ b = c (c) a≠b≠c (d) a = b = c
49. If three numbers be in G.P., then their logarithms will be in [BIT 1992]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
50. If the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means between two distinct positive real numbers be A, G and H respectively, then
the relation between them [MP PET 1984; Roorkee 1995]
(a) A>G>H (b) A>G<H (c) H >G>A (d) G > A > H
51. If the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means between two positive real numbers be A, G and H, then
[AMU 1979,82; MP PET 1993]

(a) A 2 = GH (b) H 2 = AG (c) G = AH (d) G 2 = AH

a 1 2
52. If a, b, c are in A.P. then , , are in [MNR 1982; MP PET 2002]
bc c b
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
53. The geometric mean of two numbers is 6 and their arithmetic mean is 6.5. The numbers are [MP PET 1994]
(a) (3, 12) (b) (4, 9) (c) (2, 18) (d) (7, 6)
54. In the four numbers first three are in G.P. and last three in A.P. whose common difference is 6. If the first and last numbers
are same, then first will be [IIT 1974]
(a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6 (d) 8
55. If A1 , A 2 are the two A.M.'s between two numbers a and b and G1 , G 2 be two G.M.'s between same two numbers, then
A1 + A 2
=
G1 . G 2
[Roorkee 1983; DCE 1998]
a+b a+b 2 ab ab
(a) (b) (c) (d)
ab 2 ab a+b a+b
56. If the A.M. and H.M. of two numbers is 27 and 12 respectively, then G.M. of the two numbers will be [Rajasthan PET 1987,95]
(a) 9 (b) 18 (c) 24 (d) 36
144
57. The A.M., H.M. and G.M. between two numbers are , 15 and 12, but necessarily in this order. Then H.M., G.M. and A.M.
15
respectively are
144 144 144 144
(a) 15 ,12, (b) ,12 ,15 (c) 12,15 , (d) ,15 ,12
15 15 15 15
58. If G.M. =18 and A.M.=27, then H.M. is [Rajasthan PET 1996]
1 1
(a) (b) (c) 12 (d) 9 6
18 12
59. If sum of A.M. and H.M. between two numbers is 25 and their G.M. is 12, then sum of numbers is
(a) 9 (b) 18 (c) 32 (d) 18 or 32
a + bx b + cx c + dx
60. If = = (x ≠ 0 ), then a, b, c, d are in [Rajasthan PET 1986]
a − bx b − cx c − dx
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
61. The numbers 1,4, 16 can be three terms (not necessarily consecutive) of
(a) No A.P. (b) Only one G.P. (c) Infinite number of A.P’s. (d) Infinite numbers of G.P’s.
62. In a G.P. of alternately positive and negative terms, any terms is the A.M. of the next two terms . Then the common ratio is
1
(a) – 1 (b) – 3 (c) – 2 (d) −
2
1 1 1
63. If a, b, c are in A.P., then a + ,b + ,c + are in
bc ca ab
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
64. The A.M. of two given positive numbers is 2. If the larger number is increased by 1, the G.M. of the numbers becomes equal
to the A.M. of the given numbers. Then the H.M. of the given numbers is
3 2 1
(a) (b) (c) (d) None of these
2 3 2

Advance Level

th th th th
65. If p , q , r and s terms of an A.P. be in G.P., then ( p − q ), (q − r), (r − s) will be in
(a) G.P. (b) A.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
66. If a, b, c are the positive integers, then (a + b )(b + c)(c + a) is [DCE 2000]

(a) < 8 abc (b) > 8 abc (c) = 8 abc (d) None of these
a b c
67. If a, b, c are in A.P., then 3 ,3 ,3 shall be in [Pb. CET 1990]
 (a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
68. If a, b, c, d and p are different real numbers such that (a + b + c )p − 2(ab + bc + cd )p + (b + c 2 + d 2 ) ≤ 0, then a, b, c, d are
2 2 2 2 2

in
[IIT 1987]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) ab = cd
69. If the first and (2n − 1) th th
terms of an A.P., G.P. and H.P. are equal and their n terms are respectively a, b and c, then [IIT 1985,88]

(a) a≥b≥c (b) a + c = b (c) ac − b 2 = 0 (d) (a) and (c) both

70. If the (m + 1) , (n + 1)
th th
and (r + 1) th
terms of an A.P. are in G.P. and m, n, r in H.P., then the value of the ratio of the common
difference to the terms of the A.P. is [MNR 1989; Roorkee 1994]
2 2 n n
(a) − (b) (c) − (d)
n n 2 2
71. Given a x = b y = c z = d u and a, b, c, d are in G.P., then x, y, z, u are in [Dhanbad Engg. 1972; Roorkee 1984; Rajasthan PET 2001]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
72. If a, b, c are in G.P. and log a − log 2b , log 2b − log 3 c and log 3 c − log a are in A.P., then a, b, c are the length of the sides of a
triangle which is
(a) Acute angled (b) Obtuse angled (c) Right angled (d) Equilateral
73. If a, b, c are in A.P., b, c, d are in G.P. and c, d, e are in H.P., then a, c, e are in [AMU 1988,2001; MP PET 1993]
(a) No particular order (b) A.P. (c) G.P. (d) H.P.
2 2 2
74. If a, b, c are in A.P. and a , b , c are in H.P., then [MNR 1986,88; IIT 1977,2003]

(a) a=b=c (b) 2 b = 3 a + c (c) b 2 = (ac / 8 ) (d) None of these

75. The harmonic mean of two numbers is 4 and the arithmetic and geometric means satisfy the relation 2 A + G 2 = 27 , the
numbers are
[MNR 1987; UPSEAT 1999,2000]
(a) 6, 3 (b) 5, 4 (c) 5, – 2.5 (d) – 3, 1
76. In a G.P. the sum of three numbers is 14, if 1 is added to first two numbers and subtracted from third numbers, the series
becomes A.P., then the greatest number is [Roorkee 1973]
(a) 8 (b) 4 (c) 24 (d) 16
a c
77. If a, b, c are in G.P. and x, y are the arithmetic means between a, b and b, c respectively, then + is equal to [Roorkee 1969]
x y
1
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d)
2
78. If a, b, c are in A.P. and a, b, d in G.P., then a, a – b, d – c will be in [Ranchi BIT 1968]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
79. If x, 1, z are in A.P. and x, 2, z are in G.P., then x, 4, z will be in [IIT 1965]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
1 1 1 5
80. x + y + z = 15 , if 9 , x , y , z , a are in A.P.; while + + = if 9 , x , y , z , a are in H.P., then the value of a will be [IIT 1978]
x y z 3
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 9
81. If 9 A.M.'s and H.M.'s are inserted between the 2 and 3 and if the harmonic mean H is corresponding to arithmetic mean A,
6
then A + = [Dhanbad Engg. 1987]
H
(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 5 (d) 6
th th th
82. If the p , q and r term of a G.P. and H.P. are a, b, c, then a(b − c) log a + b (c − a) log b + c(a − b ) log c = [Dhanbad Engg. 1976]
(a) – 1 (b) 0 (c) 1 (d) Does not exist
83. If the product of three terms of G.P. is 512. If 8 added to first and 6 added to second term, so that number may be in A.P., then
the numbers are [Roorkee 1964]
(a) 2, 4, 8, (b) 4, 8, 16 (c) 3, 6, 12 (d) None of these
84. If the ratio of H.M. and G.M. between two numbers a and b is 4 : 5 , then ratio of the two numbers will be [IIT 1992; MP PET 2000]
(a) 1 : 2 (b) 2 : 1 (c) 4 :1 (d) 1 : 4
85. If the A.M. and G.M. of roots of a quadratic equations are 8 and 5 respectively, then the quadratic equation will be [Pb.CET 1990]
(a) x 2 − 16 x − 25 = 0 (b) x2 −8x + 5 = 0 (c) x 2 − 16 x + 25 = 0 (d) x 2 + 16 x − 25 = 0
86. Let a1 , a 2 ,..... a10 be in A.P. and h1 , h 2 ,....., h10 be in H.P. If a1 = h1 = 2 and a10 = h10 = 3, then a 4 h7 is [IIT 1999]

(a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 5 (d) 6

87. If ln(a + c), ln(c − a), ln(a − 2 b + c) are in A.P., then [IIT Screening 1994; Rajasthan PET 1999]

(a) a, b, c are in A.P. (b) a 2 , b 2 , c 2 are in A.P. (c) a, b, c are in G.P. (d) a, b, c are in H.P.
G1 G2 H 1 + H 2
88. If A1 , A 2 ; G1 , G 2 and H 1 , H 2 be two A.M’s, G.M’s and H.M’s between two numbers respectively, then × equals
H1 H 2 A1 + A2
[Rajasthan PET 1997; AMU 2000]
(a) 1 (b) 0 (c) 2 (d) 3
1 1 1
89. If x > 1, y > 1, z > 1 are in G.P., then , , are in [IIT 1998; UPSEAT 2001]
1 + ln x 1 + ln y 1 + ln z
(a) A.P. (b) H.P. (c) G.P. (d) None of these
90. If p, q, r are in one geometric progression and a, b, c in another geometric progression, then cp , bq , ar are in
[Roorkee Qualifying 1998]
(a) A.P. (b) H.P. (c) G.P. (d) None of these
1 1
91. If first three terms of sequence , a, b, are in geometric series and last three terms are in harmonic series, then the value
16 6
of a and b will be [UPSEAT 1999]
1 1 1
(a) a=− ,b = 1 (b) a = ,b = (c) (a) and (b) both are true (d) None of these
4 12 9
92. If a x = b y = c z and a, b, c are in G.P., then x , y , z are in [Pb. CET 1993; DCE 1999; AMU 1999]

(a) A. P. (b) G. P. (c) H. P. (d) None of these

93. If G1 and G 2 are two geometric means and A the arithmetic mean inserted between two numbers, then the value of
G12 G 22
+ is
G2 G1
[DCE 1999]
A
(a) (b) A (c) 2 A (d) None of these
2
a b c
94. If , , are in H.P., then a, b, c are in [Rajasthan PET 1999]
b+c c+a a+b
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
1 1 1
95. If a, b, c are in A.P., then , , are in [Roorkee 1999]
a+ b a+ c b+ c
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
96. The sum of three decreasing numbers in A.P. is 27. If −1, − 1, 3 are added to them respectively, the resulting series is in G.P.
The numbers are [AMU 1999]
(a) 5, 9, 13 (b) 15, 9, 3 (c) 13, 9, 5 (d) 17, 9, 1
 c a b
97. If in the equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0, the sum of roots is equal to sum of square of their reciprocals, then , , are in
a b c
[Rajasthan PET 2000]
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
ax +1 bx +1 cx +1
98. If a, b, c are in A.P., then 2 ,2 ,2 , x ≠ 0 are in [DCE 2000; Pb. CET 2000]

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. only when x > 0 (c) G.P. if x < 0 (d) G.P. for all x ≠ 0
a b c
99. If b + c, c + a, a + b are in H.P., then , , are in [Rajasthan PET 2000]
b+c c+a a+b
(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these
100. The common difference of an A.P. whose first term is unity and whose second, tenth and thirty fourth terms are in G.P., is
[AMU 2000]

1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) (d)
5 3 6 9
101. The sum of three consecutive terms in a geometric progression is 14. If 1 is added to the first and the second terms and 1 is
subtracted from the third, the resulting new terms are in arithmetic progression. Then the lowest of the original term is
[MP PET 2001]
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 4 (d) 8
102. a, g, h are arithmetic mean, geometric mean and harmonic mean between two positive numbers x and y respectively. Then
identify the correct statement among the following [Karnataka CET 2001]

(a) h is the harmonic mean between a and g (b) No such relation exists between a, g and h
(c) g is the geometric mean between a and h (d) a is the arithmetic mean between g and h
103. Let the positive numbers a, b, c, d be in A.P., then abc, abd, acd, bcd are [IIT Screening 2001]

(a) Not in A.P./G.P./H.P. (b) In A.P. (c) In G.P. (d) In H.P.

104. If (y − x ), 2(y − a) and (y − z ) are in H.P., then x − a, y − a, z − a are in [Rajasthan PET 2001]

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

105. If A and G are arithmetic and geometric means and x 2 − 2 Ax + G 2 = 0 , then [UPSEAT 2001]

(a) A=G (b) A>G (c) A<G (d) A = −G

106. If A is the A.M. of the roots of the equation x 2 − 2 ax + b = 0 and G is the G.M. of the roots of the equation x 2 − 2bx + a 2 = 0,
then
[UPSEAT 2001]

(a) A>G (b) A≠G (c) A=G (d) None of these

107. If a,b, c are three unequal numbers such that a, b, c are in A.P. and b – a, c – b, a are in G.P., then a : b : c is [UPSEAT 2001]

(a) 1 : 2 : 3 (b) 2: 3 : 1 (c) 1 : 3 : 2 (d) 3 : 2 : 1

108. If a, b , c are in A.P. and a 2 , b 2 , c 2 are in H.P., then [UPSEAT 2001]

c2 −a
(a) a ≠ b ≠ c (b) a 2 = b 2 = (c) a, b, c are in G.P. (d) , b, c are in G.P.
2 2

109. Let a1 , a 2 , a 3 be any positive real numbers, then which of the following statement is not true [Orissa JEE 2002]

a1 a 2 a 3
(a) 3 a1a 2 a3 ≤ a13 + a23 + a33 (b) + + ≥3
a 2 a 3 a1
 3
 1 1 1   1 1 1 
(c) (a1 + a 2 + a 3 ) + + ≥9
 (d) (a1 + a 2 + a 3 ) + +  ≤ 27

 a1 a 2 a 3   a1 a 2 a 3 

110. If a1 , a 2 ,.... a n are positive real numbers whose product is a fixed number c, then the minimum value of a1 + a 2 + ... + a n −1 + 2 a n is

[IIT Screening 2002]

(a) n(2c)1 / n (b) (n + 1) c 1 / n (c) 2 nc 1 / n (d) (n + 1)(2c)1 / n

3
111. Suppose a, b, c are in A.P. and a 2 , b 2 , c 2 are in G.P. If a < b < c and a + b + c = , then the value of a is
2

[IIT Screening 2002]

1 1 1 1 1 1
(a) (b) (c) − (d) −
2 2 2 3 2 3 2 2
n
 5 n +1    5 
112. Two sequences {t n } and {s n } are defined by tn = log  n −1 , sn = log    , then [AMU 2002]
 3    3 

(a) {t n } is an A.P., {s n } is a G.P. (b) {t n } and {s n } are both G.P.

(c) {t n } and {s n } are both A.P. (d) {s n } is a G.P., {t n } is neither A.P. nor G.P.

a b aα − b
113. If b c b α − c = 0 and α ≠ 1 / 2, then a, b, c are in
2 1 0

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

114. If x, y, z are in G.P. and tan −1 x , tan −1 y, tan −1 z are in A.P., then

(a) x = y = z or y ≠ 1 (b) z = 1 / x

(c) x = y = z , but their common value is not necessarily zero (d) x =y=z=0

115. If in a progression a1 , a 2 , a 3 ....., etc., (a r − a r +1 ) bears a constant ratio with a r .a r +1 then the terms of the progression are in

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

a 2 a3 a + a3  a − a3 
116. If = 2 = 3  2  then a1 , a 2 , a 3 , a 4 are in

a1 a 4 a1 + a 4  a1 − a 4 

(a) A.P. (b) G.P. (c) H.P. (d) None of these

117. If a, a1 , a 2 , a 3 ,..... a 2 n −1 , b are in A.P., a, b 1 , b 2 , b 3 ,..... b 2 n −1 , b are in G.P. and a, c 1 , c 2 , c 3 ,..... c 2 n −1 , b are in H.P., where a, b are

positive, then the equation a n x 2 − b n x + c n = 0 has its roots

(a) Real and unequal (b) Real and equal (c) Imaginary (d) None of these

118. If a, x, b, are in A.P., a, y, b are in G.P. and a, z, b are in H.P. such that x = 9 z and a > 0 , b > 0 then

(a) | y | = 3 z (b) x = 3| y| (c) 2y = x + z (d) None of these

119. If a, b, c are in G.P. and a, p, q in A.P. such that 2 a, b + p , c + q are in G.P. then the common difference of the A.P. is

(a) 2a (b) ( 2 + 1)(a − b ) (c) 2 (a + b ) (d) ( 2 − 1)(b − a)

 Applications of Progressions

Basic Level

120. If x, y, z are positive then the minimum value of x log y − log z + y log z −log x + z log x − log y is

(a) 3 (b) 1 (c) 9 (d) 16

1
121. a, b, c are three positive numbers and abc 2 has the greatest value . Then
64

1 1 1 1 1
(a) a=b = ,c = (b) a = b = ,c = (c) a=b =c= (d) None of these
2 4 4 2 3

122. If a > 0 , b > 0 , c > 0 and the minimum value of a(b 2 + c 2 ) + b(c 2 + a 2 ) + c(a 2 + b 2 ) is λabc , then the λ is

(a) 2 (b) 1 (c) 6 (d) 3

x y z
123. If x, y, z are three real numbers of the same sign then the value of + + lies in the interval
y z x

(a) [2,+∞) (b) [3,+∞) (c) (3,+∞ ) (d) (−∞,3 )

124. The sum of the products of the ten numbers ±1, ± 2, ± 3, ± 4 , ± 5 taking two at a time is

(a) 165 (b) – 55 (c) 55 (d) None of these

125. Let S 1 , S 2 ..... be squares such that for each n ≥ 1, the length of a side of S n equals the length of a diagonal of S n +1 . If the length
of a side of S 1 is 10 cm, then for which of the following values of n is the area of S n less then 1 sq cm [IIT 1999]

(a) 7 (b) 8 (c) 9 (d) 10

126. Jairam purchased a house in Rs. 15000 and paid Rs. 5000 at once. Rest money he promised to pay in annual installment of
Rs. 1000 with 10% per annum interest. How much money is to be paid by Jairam [UPSEAT 1999]

(a) Rs. 21555 (b) Rs. 20475 (c) Rs. 20500 (d) Rs. 20700

127. The sum of the integers from 1 to 100 which are not divisible by 3 or 5 is [MP PET 2000]

(a) 2489 (b) 4735 (c) 2317 (d) 2632

128. The product of n positive numbers is unity. Their sum is

1
(a) A positive integer (b) Equal to n + (c) Divisible by n (d) Never less than n
n

129. If a, b , c, d are positive real numbers such that a + b + c + d = 2, then M = (a + b )(c + d ) satisfies the relation [IIT Screening 2000]

(a) 0 < M ≤ 1 (b) 1 ≤ M ≤ 2 (c) 2≤M ≤3 (d) 3 ≤ M ≤ 4

130. The sum of all positive divisors of 960 is [Karnataka CET 2000]

(a) 3048 (b) 3087 (c) 3047 (d) 2180

131. 2 sin θ + 2 cos θ is greater than [AMU 2000]

 1  1 
 1− 
1  2 
2 
(a) (b) 2 (c) 2 (d) 2
2

132. If the altitudes of a triangle are in A.P., then the sides of the triangle are in [EAMCET 2002]

(a) A.P. (b) H.P.

(c) G.P. (d) Arithmetico-geometric progression
133. A boy goes to school from his home at a speed of x km/hour and comes back at a speed of y km/hour, then the average speed
is given by
(a) A.M. (b) G.M. (c) H.M. (d) None of these
134. A monkey while trying to reach the top of a pole height 12 metres takes every time a jump of 2 metres but slips 1 metre while
holding the pole. The number of jumps required to reach the top of the pole, is
(a) 6 (b) 10 (c) 11 (d) 12
135. Balls are arranged in rows to form an equilateral triangle. The first row consists of one ball, the second row of two balls and
so on. If 669 more balls are added then all the balls can be arranged in the shape of a square and each of the sides then
contains 8 balls less than each side of the triangle did. The initial number of balls is [Roorkee 1985]

(a) 1600 (b) 1500 (c) 1540 (d) 1690

b+c c+a a+b
136. If a, b and c are three positive real numbers, then the minimum value of the expression + + is
a b c
(a) 1 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 6
1 1 1
137. If x 1 > 0, i = 1,2,....., 50 and x 1 + x 2 + ..... + x 50 = 50 , then the minimum value of + + ..... + equals to
x1 x 2 x 50

(a) 50 (b) (50 ) 2 (c) (50 ) 3 (d) (50 ) 4

1 1 1
138. If a, b and c are positive real numbers, then least value of (a + b + c) + +  is
a b c

(a) 9 (b) 3 (c) 10/3 (d) None of these

139. In the value of 100 ! the number of zeros at the end is
(a) 11 (b) 22 (c) 23 (d) 24
p
140. If (1 − p )(1 + 3 x + 9 x 2 + 27 x 3 + 81 x 4 + 243 x 5 ) = 1 − p 6 , p ≠ 1 then the value of is
x
(a) 1/3 (b) 3 (c) 1/2 (d) 2
100
1
∑ f (n) is
n 
141. Let f (n) =  +  where[x] denotes the integral part of x. Then the value of
 2 100  n =1

(a) 50 (b) 51 (c) 1 (d) None of these

142. A r ; r = 1, 2,3,....., n are n points on the parabola y = 4 x in the first quadrant. If A r = (x r , y r ), where x 1 , x 2 , x 3 ,....., x n are in
2

G.P. and x 1 = 1, x 2 = 2, then y n is equal to

n +1 n
(a) −2 2 (b) 2 n +1 (c) ( 2 )n +1 (d) 2 2

143. The lengths of three unequal edges of a rectangular solid block are in G.P. The volume of the block is 216 cm 3 and the total

surface area is 252 cm 2 . The length of the longest edge is

 (a) 12 cm (b) 6 cm (c) 18 cm (d) 3 cm
144. ABC is right-angled triangle in which ∠B = 90 ° and BC = a. If n points L1 , L2 ,....., Ln on AB are such that AB is divided in
n + 1 equal parts and L1 M1 , L2 M 2 ,....., Ln M n are line segments parallel to BC and M1 , M 2 ,....., M n are on AC then the sum of the
lengths of L1 M1 , L2 M 2 ,....., Ln M n is

a(n + 1) a(n − 1)
(a) (b)
2 2

an
(c) (d) Impossible to find from the given data
2

***

ANSWERS

Progressions

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
c b b a b b a b b a a c a c a c a c b d
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40
c a c,d d d b c b c a b a b d d d d d b a
41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60
b c b c c b a b d a d b c d d b b c d a
61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80
d d b b b b a d d b a c c c b c d a e b
81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100
b a a b c c b d c a a b d c b d a a b d
101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120
b a a c a a a,d c d b a c b b c c c a c b
121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140
c a b a a b b a a a a c b b c c b a d a
141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160
d d d d d c b a,b a d d c c c b d a a d d
161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180
b c a d c c a b c a d a d d c b b c b b
181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200
c c a b c d b c a b a c c b a c a a c b
201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220
a b b d a d c a b b b b a d c a c b c c
221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240
c c b d c c c b b c d b c d d b a a c d
241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260
c b d c c a b c b b c b d b c d a b b a
261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280
a a b c b d d a b c a d c c c d b b a b
281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300
c a,b a d b d a a d d b d a b b c c b a c
301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320
a a a b b b d a c b c a a a c b c a c b
321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340
b c,d c d d a b c c c c c a d a d a b b c
341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360
d b b c a d d a d a b a c c c b b,d a b c
361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380
b b b,c, c d d a a d b c c c d a a d b b c
d
381 382
a c