All SSAT Upper Level Math Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #11 : Arithmetic Sequences
The first two terms of an arithmetic sequence are 1,000 and 997, in that order. What is the seventieth term?
The first term is .
The common difference is
.
The seventieth term is
.
Example Question #2 : Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
The first two terms of an arithmetic sequence are 4 and 9, in that order. Give the one-hundredth term of that sequence.
The first term is ; the common difference is
.
The hundredth term is
.
Example Question #3 : Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following terms is the first positive term in the sequence?
The thirty-seventh term
The sequence has no positive terms.
The thirty-ninth term
The fortieth term
The thirty-eighth term
The fortieth term
The common difference of the sequence is
,
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The first positive term is the fortieth term.
Example Question #4 : Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following is the first term greater than 100?
The fortieth term
The forty-third term
The forty-first term
The forty-fourth term
The forty-second term
The forty-first term
The common difference of the sequence is
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The forty-first term is the correct response.
Example Question #12 : Arithmetic Sequences
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following terms is the first negative term in the sequence?
The one hundred fourteenth term
The one hundred thirteenth term
The one hundred eleventh term
The one hundred twelfth term
The one hundred tenth term
The one hundred thirteenth term
The common difference of the sequence is
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The first negative term is the one hundred thirteenth term.
Example Question #6 : How To Find The Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following terms is the first negative term in the sequence?
The seventy-fourth term
The seventy-sixth term
The seventy-seventh term
The seventy-fifth term
The seventy-eighth term
The seventy-sixth term
The common difference of the sequence is
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The seventy-sixth term is the first negative term.
Example Question #5 : Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following terms is the first positive term in the sequence?
The twenty-seventh term
The thirtieth term
The twenty-eighth term
The twenty-ninth term
The sequence has no positive terms.
The twenty-ninth term
The common difference of the sequence is
,
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The first positive term in the sequence is the twenty-ninth term.
Example Question #7 : Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence begins as follows:
Which of the following is the first term greater than 100?
The forty-eighth term
The forty-ninth term
The fifty-first term
The forty-seventh term
The fiftieth term
The forty-eighth term
The common difference of the sequence is
so the th term of the sequence is
To find out the minimum value for which , set up this inequality:
The correct response is the forty-eighth term.
Example Question #3 : How To Find The Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
The tenth and twelfth terms of an arithmetic sequence are 8.4 and 10.2. What is its first term?
The th term of an arithmetic sequence with initial term and common difference is defined by the equation
Since the tenth and twelfth terms are two terms apart, the common difference can be found as follows:
Now, we can set in the sequence equation to find :
Example Question #10 : How To Find The Nth Term Of An Arithmetic Sequence
The eleventh and thirteenth terms of an arithmetic sequence are, respectively, 11 and 14. Give its first term.
The th term of an arithmetic sequence with initial term and common difference is defined by the equation
Since the eleventh and thirteenth terms are two terms apart, the common difference can be found as follows:
Now, we can set in the sequence equation to find :