1997 AMC 12 Problem 6

Attempt Problem 6 of the 1997 AMC 12 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 1997 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

6.

Consider the sequence 1,−2,3,−4,5,−6,…, 1,-2,3,-4,5,-6,\ldots, whose nnth term is (−1)n+1n.(-1)^{n+1}n. What is the average of the first 200200 terms of the sequence?
−1-1
−0.5-0.5
00
0.50.5
11
Answer: B
Concepts:sequencesarithmetic mean
Small hint:
Group consecutive terms into odd-even pairs
Big hint:
Each pair has the same sum, and there are 100100 pairs
Solution:
Each pair (2k−1)−2k(2k-1)-2k has sum −1.-1. The 100100 pairs therefore total −100,-100, and their 200200-term average is −100200=−0.5.-\frac{100}{200}=-0.5. The correct answer is B.
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