2003 AIME II Problem 8

Attempt Problem 8 of the 2003 AIME II below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2003 AIME II solutions, or check the answer key.

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8.

Find the eighth term of the sequence 1440,1440, 1716,1716, 1848,,1848, \ldots, whose terms are formed by multiplying the corresponding terms of two arithmetic sequences.

Answer: 348
Concepts:arithmetic sequencequadraticsystem of equations
Difficulty rating: 2340
Solution:

The nnth term of an arithmetic sequence is linear in n,n, so the product of corresponding terms of two arithmetic sequences is a quadratic tn=an2+bn+c.t_n = an^2 + bn + c. Indexing the given terms by n=0,1,2:n = 0, 1, 2: c=1440,a+b+c=1716,4a+2b+c=1848, \begin{aligned} c &= 1440, \\ a + b + c &= 1716, \\ 4a + 2b + c &= 1848, \end{aligned} which give a+b=276a + b = 276 and 2a+b=204,2a + b = 204, so a=72,a = -72, b=348,b = 348, c=1440.c = 1440.

The eighth term is t7=7249t_7 = -72 \cdot 49 +3487+ 348 \cdot 7 +1440=348.+ 1440 = 348. (Indeed tn=(18024n)(8+3n),t_n = (180 - 24n)(8 + 3n), a product of two arithmetic sequences matching the given terms.)

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