2002 AIME I Problems/Problem 4

Revision as of 08:07, 5 May 2008 by 1=2 (talk | contribs)

Problem

Consider the sequence defined by $a_k =\dfrac{1}{k^2+k}$ for $k\geq 1$. Given that $a_m+a_{m+1}+\cdots+a_{n-1}=\dfrac{1}{29}$, for positive integers $m$ and $n$ with $m<n$, find $m+n$.

Solution

$\dfrac{1}{k^2+k}=\dfrac{1}{k(k+1)}=\dfrac{1}{k}-\dfrac{1}{k+1}$. Thus,

$a_m+a_{m+1}+a_{m+2}+\cdots +a_{n-1}=\dfrac{1}{m}-\dfrac{1}{m+1}+\dfrac{1}{m+1}-\dfrac{1}{m+2}+\cdots +\dfrac{1}{n-1}-\dfrac{1}{n-2}=\dfrac{1}{m}-\dfrac{1}{n-2}$

Which is

$\dfrac{n-2-m}{m(n-2)}=\dfrac{1}{29}$

We cross-multiply to get

$mn-2m=29n-58-29m\Rightarrow mn+27m-29n+58=0\Rightarrow (m-29)(n+27)=-725$

Thus $m$ is an integer less than 29. We try $m=4$ to get $n=2$. $m=24, n=118$. $m+n=\boxed{142}$

See also

2002 AIME I (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 3
Followed by
Problem 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
All AIME Problems and Solutions