2B Geometric sequences and series 37

Exercise 2B
For questions 1 to 3, use the method demonstrated in Worked Example 2.10 to find the required term of the geometric
sequence.
1 a u1 = 5, r = 4. Find u12. 2 a u1 = 5, r = −5. Find u6.
1
3 a u1 = 32, r = − . Find u11.
2
b u1 = 2, r = 3. Find u7. b u1 = 11, r = −2. Find u18. 1
b u1 = 54, r = − . Find u10.
3
For questions 4 to 6, use the method demonstrated in Worked Example 2.11 to find all possible values of the first term
and common ratio for the following geometric sequences.
4 a u3 = 28, u8 = 896 5 a u3 = 12, u9 = 768 6 a u2 = 6, u6 = −96

b u5 = 108, u8 = 2916 b u5 = 45, u7 = 405 b u8 = 56, u12 = 3.5

For questions 7 and 8, use the method demonstrated in Worked Example 2.12 to find the number of terms in each of the
geometric sequences described.

7 a u1 = 3, r = 5, un = 9375 8 a 3, 6, 12,…, 12 288

b u1 = 17, r = 2, un = 2176 b 5, 15, 45,…, 10 935

For questions 9 to 11, use the method demonstrated in Worked Example 2.13 to find the required sum of the geometric
sequence described.

9 a u1 = 5, r = 3. Find S7. 10 a u1 = 96, r = 0.5. Find S7. 11

1
a u1 = 192, r = − . Find S5.
4
b u1 = 3, r = 4 . Find S6. 1
b u1 = 162, r = . Find S5.
1
b u1 = 216, r = − . Find S6 .
3 3
For questions 12 to 15, use the formula for the sum of terms from a geometric sequence and the method demonstrated in
Worked Example 2.14 to evaluate the following expressions.
5 8

12 a ∑ 3r 13 a ∑2 × 5 r

r =1 r =1

4 9

b ∑ 7r b ∑11 × 3 r

r =1 r =1

∑ ( )
8 7
r
14 a ∑ 7 × 3r 15 a
r =2
72 × − 1
2
r =3
11

( )
10
r
b ∑ 8 × 5r b
∑ 24 057 × − 1
3
r =4 r =6

16 A geometric sequence has first term 128 and common ratio 0.5.
a Find the eighth term of the sequence.
b Find the sum of the first eight terms.
17 The first term of a geometric sequence is 3 and the second term is 6.
a Write down the common ratio.
b Find the sixth term.
c Find the sum of the first 10 terms.
18 In a geometric sequence the second term is 24 and the fifth term is 81.
a Find the common ratio.
b Find the value of the seventh term.
19 A student studies the amount of algae in a pond over time. She estimates the area of algae on the pond on day 1 of
her study is 15 cm 2, and she predicts that the area will double every eight days.
According to her projection, what area will the algae cover at the start of the ninth week?
38 2 Core: Sequences

20 A yeast culture is grown in a sugar solution. The concentration of sugar in the solution at the start of the culture is
1.2 mg ml−1, and halves every 2 days. What is the concentration of the sugar solution after 12 days?
21 The first term of a geometric sequence is 8 and the sum of the first two terms is 12. Find the sum of the first five
terms.
22 The time taken for a computer learning program to identify a face decreases by 20% every time it sees that face.
The first time the face is observed it takes 5 seconds to identify it. How long does it take to identify a face on the
10th attempt?
23 During a drought, the volume of water in a reservoir decreases by 8% every day. At the beginning of day one of
the drought it contains 5000 m3:
a Find the volume at the start of the fifth day.
b How many days does it take to use up 3000 m3 of water?
S8
24 The fifth term of a geometric sequence is eight times larger than the second term. Find the ratio .
u1

25 According to a common legend, the game of chess was invented by Sissa ben Dahir of the court
of King Shiram in India. The King was so impressed he asked Sissa to name his reward. Sissa
asked for one grain of wheat on the first square of the chessboard, 2 on the second, 4 on the third and
so on. The King thought that Sissa was being very foolish to ask for so little.
a How many grains would be on the 64th square of the chessboard?
b How many grains would be on the chessboard in total?
c The annual worldwide production of wheat is approximately 7.5 × 1014 g. If one grain of wheat has a mass of
0.1 g, how many years would it take to produce enough wheat to satisfy Sissa’s reward? Give your answer to the
nearest 50 years.

TOK Links
How useful is your intuition as a way of knowing for dealing with very large numbers?
Does relating new knowledge to established knowledge to put big numbers in some more
meaningful context (such as in part c of this question) improve your understanding?

26 Find an expression for the nth term of the geometric sequence xy 2 , y 3 , x −1 y 4 …

10

27 If u1 = 3 and un+1 = 2un find ∑u . r

r =1
28 The first three terms of a geometric sequence are 1, x , 2 x 2 + x.
Find the value of the 10th term.
10

∑ 62 .
r
29 Evaluate
r
r =1
30 A basketball is dropped vertically. The first bounce reaches a height of 0.6 m and subsequent bounces are 80% of
the height of the previous bounce.
a Find the height of the fifth bounce.
b Find the total distance travelled by the ball from top of the first bounce to the top of the fifth bounce.
c Suggest why this model is no longer accurate by the 20th bounce.