the sum of the first 7 terms of an ap is 49 and some of the first 17 times is 289 find the sum of the first 25 terms
Answer: 625
Step-by-step solution
Step 1: State the formula for the sum of first n terms
Let be the first term and be the common difference of the given AP. The sum of the first terms of an arithmetic progression is given by the formula .
Step 2: Form equation using the sum of the first 7 terms
We are given that the sum of the first terms is . Substituting into the sum formula gives . Dividing both sides by and multiplying by yields , which simplifies to .
Step 3: Form equation using the sum of the first 17 terms
We are also given that the sum of the first terms is . Substituting into the formula gives . Since , dividing by and multiplying by gives , which simplifies to .
Step 4: Solve the system of linear equations for a and d
Subtracting equation (1), , from equation (2), , eliminates and leaves , so . Substituting back into gives , which gives .
Step 5: Calculate the sum of the first 25 terms
Now we find the sum of the first terms by setting , , and in the formula . We get . Note that for this AP, .