PMT

SEQUENCES AND SERIES

1 Expand (1 + 4x)4 in ascending powers of x, simplifying the coefficients. (4)

2 A geometric series has first term 3 and common ratio −2.

a Find the fifth term of the series. (2)
b Find the sum of the first ten terms of the series. (2)
c Show that the sum of the first eight positive terms of the series is 65 535. (4)

3 a Expand (1 + 3x)7 in ascending powers of x up to and including the term in x4,

simplifying each coefficient in the expansion. (4)
7
b Use your series with a suitable value of x to estimate the value of 1.03 correct to
5 decimal places. (3)
12
4 Evaluate ∑ 2r . (4)
r =3

5 a Expand (2 + x)5, simplifying the coefficient in each term. (4)

5
b Hence, or otherwise, write down the expansion of (2 – x) . (1)
c Show that
(2 + 5 )5 – (2 – 5 )5 = k 5 ,
where k is an integer to be found. (4)

6 Ginny opens a savings account and decides to pay £200 into the account at the start of
each month. At the end of each month, interest of 0.5% is paid into the account.
a Find, to the nearest penny, the interest paid into the account at the end of the
third month. (4)
b Show that the total interest paid into the account over the first 12 months is £79.45
to the nearest penny. (5)

7 Find the first four terms in the expansion of (1 − 3x)8 in ascending powers of x,
simplifying each coefficient. (4)

8 a Prove that the sum, Sn , of the first n terms of a geometric series with first term a and
common ratio r is given by
a(1 − r n )
Sn = . (4)
1− r
b Find the exact sum of the first 16 terms of the geometric series with fourth term 3 and
fifth term 6. (5)

9 a Write down the first three terms in the binomial expansion of (1 + ax)n, where n is a
positive integer, in ascending powers of x. (2)
Given that the coefficient of x2 is three times the coefficient of x,
6+a
b show that n = . (4)
a
2
Given also that a = 3
,
c find the coefficient of x3 in the expansion. (3)

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 PMT

SEQUENCES AND SERIES continued

10 Find the first three terms in the expansion of (2 + 5x)6 in ascending powers of x,
simplifying each coefficient. (4)

11 The first term of a geometric series is 162 and the sum to infinity of the series is 486.
a Find the common ratio of the series. (3)
b Find the sixth term of the series. (2)
c Find, to 3 decimal places, the sum of the first ten terms of the series. (4)

12 a Expand (1 + 3x)4 in ascending powers of x, simplifying the coefficients. (4)

2
b Find the coefficient of x in the expansion of
(1 + 4x − x2)(1 + 3x)4. (3)

13 In a computer game, each player must complete the tasks set at each level within a
fixed amount of time in order to progress to the next level.
The time allowed for level 1 is 2 minutes and the time allowed for each of the other
levels is 10% less than that allowed in the previous level.
a Find, in seconds, the time allowed for completing level 4. (2)
b Find, in minutes and seconds, the maximum total time allowed for completing the first
12 levels of the game. (4)

14 Given that
x
(1 + )8(1 – x)6 ≡ 1 + Ax + Bx2 + … ,
2
find the values of the constants A and B. (7)

15 The terms of a sequence are defined by the recurrence relation

ur = 2ur–1, r > 1, u1 = 6.
a Write down the first four terms of the sequence. (1)
10
b Evaluate ∑
r =1
ur . (3)

16 a Expand (1 + x)4 in ascending powers of x. (2)

4
b Hence, or otherwise, write down the expansion of (1 – x) in ascending powers of x. (1)
c By using your answers to parts a and b, or otherwise, solve the equation
(1 + x)4 + (1 – x)4 = 82,
for real values of x. (5)

17 The common ratio of a geometric series is 1.5 and the third term of the series is 18.
a Find the first term of the series. (2)
b Find the sum of the first six terms of the series. (2)
c Find the smallest value of k such that the kth term of the series is greater than 8000. (4)

ax
18 The first two terms in the expansion of (1 + )10 + (1 + bx)10, in ascending powers of x,
2
are 2 and 90x2.
Given that a < b, find the values of the constants a and b. (9)

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