if the the fifth time of an ap is 18 and 11th term is 42 the first time is

Answer: The first term is 2.

Step-by-step solution

Step 1: Set up equations using the nthn^{\text{th}} term formula

Let aa be the first term and dd be the common difference of the arithmetic progression. Using the formula an=a+(n−1)da_n = a + (n - 1)d, the 5th term is a5=a+(5−1)d=a+4d=18a_5 = a + (5 - 1)d = a + 4d = 18, and the 11th term is a11=a+(11−1)d=a+10d=42a_{11} = a + (11 - 1)d = a + 10d = 42.

Step 2: Solve for the common difference dd

Subtract equation (1) from equation (2) to eliminate the variable aa. This gives 6d=246d = 24, which simplifies to d=4d = 4.

Step 3: Substitute dd to find the first term aa

Substitute d=4d = 4 back into equation (1). We get a+4(4)=18a + 4(4) = 18, which simplifies to a+16=18a + 16 = 18, giving a=2a = 2.

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