2010 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 10

Problem

The first four terms of an arithmetic sequence are $p$, $9$, $3p-q$, and $3p+q$. What is the $2010^\text{th}$ term of this sequence?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 8041 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 8043 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 8045 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 8047 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 8049$

Solution 1

$3p-q$ and $3p+q$ are consecutive terms, so the common difference is $(3p+q)-(3p-q) = 2q$.

\begin{align*}p+2q &= 9\\ 9+2q &= 3p-q\\ q&=2\\ p&=5\end{align*}

The common difference is $4$. The first term is $5$ and the $2010^\text{th}$ term is

\[5+4(2009) = \boxed{\textbf{(A) }8041}\]

Solution 2

Since all the answer choices are around $2010 \cdot 4 = 8040$, the common difference must be $4$. The first term is therefore $9 - 4 = 5$, so the $2010^\text{th}$ term is $5 + 4 \cdot 2009 = \boxed{\textbf{(A) }8041}$.

Video Solution 1

https://youtu.be/3gsf_XbOhhY

~Education, the Study of Everything

See also

2010 AMC 12A (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 9
Followed by
Problem 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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