Question 9

The number of common terms in the two sequences 17, 21, 25,…, 417 and 16, 21, 26,…, 466 is

Solution

The terms of the first sequence are of the form 4p + 13

The terms of the second sequence are of the form 5q + 11

If a term is common to both the sequences, it is of the form 4p+13 and 5q+11

or 4p = 5q -2. LHS = 4p is always even, so, q is also even.

or 2p = 5r - 1 where q = 2r.

Notice that LHS is again even, hence r should be odd. Let r = 2m+1 for some m.

Hence, p = 5m + 2.

So, the number = 4p+13 = 20m + 21.

Hence, all numbers of the form 20m + 21 will be the common terms. i.e 21,41,61,...,401 = 20.

Video Solution

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