Mathematics

Progression

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Table of Content

1. Introduction.
2. Definition.
3. General term of an A.P.
4. Selection of terms in an A.P.
5. Arithmetic mean.
6. Properties of A.P.
7. Definition.
8. General term of G.P.
9. Sum of first n terms of a G.P.
10. Selection of terms in a G.P.
11. Sum of infinite terms of a G.P.
12. Geometric mean.
13. Properties of G.P.
14. Definition.
15. General term of an H.P.
16. Harmonic mean.
17. Properties of H.P.
18. nth term of A.G.P.

1
19. Sum of A.G.P.
20. Method of finding sum.
21. Method of difference.
22. Special series.
23. Vn method.
24. Properties of arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means
between two given numbers.
25. Relation between A.P., G.P. and H.P.
26. Applications of progressions.

2
1. Introduction.

(1) Sequence: A sequence is a function whose domain is the set of natural numbers, N.
If f : N  C is a sequence, we usually denote it by  f (n)    f (1), f (2), f (3),.... 
It is not necessary that the terms of a sequence always follow a certain pattern or they are described by
some explicit formula for the nth term. Terms of a sequence are connected by commas. Example: 1, 1, 2,
3, 5, 8, …………. is a sequence.

(2) Series: By adding or subtracting the terms of a sequence, we get a series.

If t1 , t 2 , t 3 , ..... t n , ..... is a sequence, then the expression t1  t 2  t 3  .....  t n .... is a series.
A series is finite or infinite as the number of terms in the corresponding sequence is finite or infinite.
1 1 1 1
Example: 1      .... is a series.
2 3 4 5

(3) Progression: A progression is a sequence whose terms follow a certain pattern i.e. the terms are
arranged under a definite rule.
Example: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, …….. is a progression whose terms are obtained by the rule : Tn  2n  1 , where Tn
denotes the nth term of the progression.
Progression is mainly of three types: Arithmetic progression, Geometric progression and Harmonic
progression.

However, here we have classified the study of progression into five parts as:
 Arithmetic progression
 Geometric progression
 Arithmetico-geometric progression
 Harmonic progression
 Miscellaneous progressions

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 Arithmetic Progression (A.P)

2. Definition.

A sequence of numbers  t n  is said to be in arithmetic progression (A.P.) when the difference t n  t n 1 is

a constant for all n  N. This constant is called the common difference of the A.P., and is usually denoted
by the letter d.
If ‘a’ is the first term and ‘d’ the common difference, then an A.P. can be represented as
a, a  d, a  2d, a  3d,........
Example: 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, …… is an A.P. whose first term is 2 and common difference 5.
Algorithm to determine whether a sequence is an A.P. or not.
Step I: Obtain a n (the nth term of the sequence).
Step II: Replace n by n – 1 in a n to get an 1 .
Step III: Calculate an  an 1 .
If an  an 1 is independent of n, the given sequence is an A.P. otherwise it is not an A.P. An arithmetic
progression is a linear function with domain as the set of natural numbers N.
 t n  An  B represents the nth term of an A.P. with common difference A.

3. General Term of an A.P.

(1) Let ‘a’ be the first term and ‘d’ be the common difference of an A.P. Then its nth term is a  (n  1)d .
Tn  a  (n  1)d
(2) pth term of an A.P. from the end : Let ‘a’ be the first term and ‘d’ be the common difference of an
A.P. having n terms. Then pth term from the end is (n  p  1)th term from the beginning.
p th term from the end  T(n  p 1)  a  (n  p)d

4
Important Tips

 General term (Tn) is also denoted by l (last term).

 Common difference can be zero, +ve or –ve.
 n (number of terms) always belongs to set of natural numbers.
Tn  Tk T p  Tk
 If Tk and Tp of any A.P. are given, then formula for obtaining Tn is  .
nk p k

 If pTp = qTq of an A.P., then Tp + q = 0.

 If pth term of an A.P. is q and the qth term is p, then Tp + q = 0 and Tn = p + q – n.
If the pth term of an A.P. is and the qth term is , then its pqth term is 1.
1 1

q p

 If Tn =pn + q, then it will form an A.P. of common difference p and first term p + q.

4. Selection of Terms in an A.P.

When the sum is given, the following way is adopted in selecting certain number of terms:
Number of terms Terms to be taken
3 a – d, a, a + d
4 a – 3d, a – d, a + d, a + 3d
5 a – 2d, a – d, a, a + d, a + 2d

In general, we take a – rd, a – (r – 1)d, ……., a – d, a, a + d, ……, a + (r – 1)d, a + rd, in case we have to take
(2r + 1) terms (i.e. odd number of terms) in an A.P.
And, a  (2r  1)d, a  (2r  3)d, ......., a  d, a  d, ......., a  (2r  1)d , in case we have to take 2r terms in an

A.P.
When the sum is not given, then the following way is adopted in selection of terms.
Number of terms Terms to be taken
3 a, a  d, a  2d
4 a, a  d, a  2d, a  3d
5 a, a  d, a  2d, a  3d, a  4 d

5
Sum of n terms of an A.P. : The sum of n terms of the series a  (a  d )  (a  2d )  .......  {a  (n  1) d} is
n
given by Sn  [2a  (n  1) d ]
2
n
Also, S n  (a  l) , where l = last term = a  (n  1) d
2

Important Tips

 The common difference of an A.P is given by d  S 2  2S1 where S 2 is the sum of first two terms
and S 1 is the sum of first term or the first term.
 , when d  0
 The sum of infinite terms   .
 , when d  0
 If sum of n terms S n is given then general term Tn  S n  S n 1 , where S n 1 is sum of (n – 1) terms of
A.P.
 Sum of n terms of an A.P. is of the form An2  Bn i.e. a quadratic expression in n, in such case,
common difference is twice the coefficient of n 2 i.e. 2A.
f (2n  1)
If for the different A.P’s , then
Sn f Tn
   n 
S n n Tn  (2n  1)

 n 1 
A B
An  B  2 
If for two A.P.’s
Tn
then
Sn
  
Tn Cn  D S n  n 1 
C D
 2 
 Some standard results
n
n (n  1)
 Sum of first n natural numbers  1  2  3  ........  n  r 
r 1
2
n
 Sum of first n odd natural numbers  1  3  5  .....  (2n  1)   (2r  1)  n
r 1
2

n
 Sum of first n even natural numbers  2  4  6  ......  2n   2r  n (n  1)
r 1

  If for an A.P. sum of p terms is q and sum of q terms is p, then sum of (p + q) terms is {–
(p + q)}.
 If for an A.P., sum of p terms is equal to sum of q terms, then sum of (p + q) terms is zero.
1 1 1
 If the pth term of an A.P. is and qth term is , then sum of pq terms is given by S pq  (pq  1)
q p 2

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5. Arithmetic Mean.

(1) Definitions
(i) If three quantities are in A.P. then the middle quantity is called Arithmetic mean (A.M.) between the other
two.
If a, A, b are in A.P., then A is called A.M. between a and b.
(ii) If a, A1 , A 2 , A3 ,....., An , b are in A.P., then A1 , A 2 , A3 , ......, An are called n A.M.’s between a and b.

(2) Insertion of arithmetic means

ab
(i) Single A.M. between a and b: If a and b are two real numbers then single A.M. between a and b 
2
(ii) n A.M.’s between a and b : If A1 , A 2 , A3 , ......., An are n A.M.’s between a and b, then
b a b a b a b a
A1  a  d  a  , A 2  a  2d  a  2 , A 3  a  3d  a  3 , ……., An  a  nd  a  n
n 1 n 1 n 1 n 1

Important Tips

 Sum of n A.M.’s between a and b is equal to n times the single A.M. between a and b.
ab 
i.e. A1  A2  A3  ..........  An  n  
 2 

If A1 and A2 are two A.M.’s between two numbers a and b, then A1  (2a  b), A2  (a  2b) .
1 1

3 3

Between two numbers,

Sum of m A.M.' s m
  .
Sum of n A.M.' s n
th
n 1 
 If number of terms in any series is odd, then only one middle term exists which is   term.
 2 
th
If number of terms in any series is even then there are two middle terms, which are given by  
n

2
th
 n 
and    1 term.
 2  

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6. Properties of A.P.

(1) If a1 , a 2 , a 3 ..... are in A.P. whose common difference is d, then for fixed non-zero number K  R.
(i) a1  K, a 2  K, a3  K,..... will be in A.P., whose common difference will be d.
(ii) Ka 1 , Ka 2 , Ka 3 ........ will be in A.P. with common difference = Kd.
a1 a 2 a 3
(iii) , , ...... will be in A.P. with common difference = d/K.
K K K

(2) The sum of terms of an A.P. equidistant from the beginning and the end is constant and is equal to
sum of first and last term. i.e. a1  an  a 2  an 1  a3  an2  ....

(3) Any term (except the first term) of an A.P. is equal to half of the sum of terms equidistant from the
1
term i.e. an  (an k  an k ) , k < n.
2

(4) If number of terms of any A.P. is odd, then sum of the terms is equal to product of middle term and
number of terms.

(5) If number of terms of any A.P. is even then A.M. of middle two terms is A.M. of first and last term.

(6) If the number of terms of an A.P. is odd then its middle term is A.M. of first and last term.

(7) If a1 , a 2 , ......an and b1 , b 2 , ......b n are the two A.P.’s. Then a1  b1 , a 2  b 2 , ......an  b n are also A.P.’s
with common difference d 1  d 2 , where d 1 and d 2 are the common difference of the given A.P.’s.

(8) Three numbers a, b, c are in A.P. iff 2b  a  c .

(9) If Tn , Tn 1 and Tn  2 are three consecutive terms of an A.P., then 2Tn 1  Tn  Tn  2 .

(10) If the terms of an A.P. are chosen at regular intervals, then they form an A.P.

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 Geometric Progression (G.P.)

7. Definition.

A progression is called a G.P. if the ratio of its each term to its previous term is always constant. This
constant ratio is called its common ratio and it is generally denoted by r.
12 36 108
Example: The sequence 4, 12, 36, 108, ….. is a G.P., because    .....  3 , which is constant.
4 12 36
Clearly, this sequence is a G.P. with first term 4 and common ratio 3.
1 1 3 9 1  1 1 3
The sequence ,  , ,  , .... is a G.P. with first term and common ratio       
3 2 4 8 3  2 3 2

8. General Term of a G.P.

(1) We know that, a, ar, ar 2 , ar 3 , .....ar n 1 is a sequence of G.P.

Here, the first term is ‘a’ and the common ratio is ‘r’.
The general term or nth term of a G.P. is Tn  ar n 1
It should be noted that,
T T
r  2  3  ......
T1 T2

(2) pth term from the end of a finite G.P. : If G.P. consists of ‘n’ terms, pth term from the end
 (n  p  1)th term from the beginning  ar n  p .
n 1
1 
Also, the p term from the end of a G.P. with last term l and common ratio r is l  
th

r

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Important Tips

If a, b, c are in G.P.  or
b c
  b 2  ac
a b
 If Tk and Tp of any G.P. are given, then formula for obtaining Tn is
1 1
 Tn  n k  Tp  p k
    
T  
 k   Tk 
 If a, b, c are in G.P. then
ab b c ab a ab a
or or
b c
     
a b ab b c b c b bc b
 Let the first term of a G.P be positive, then if r > 1, then it is an increasing G.P., but if r is positive
and less than 1, i.e. 0< r < 1, then it is a decreasing G.P.
 Let the first term of a G.P. be negative, then if r > 1, then it is a decreasing G.P., but if 0< r < 1,
then it is an increasing G.P.
If a, b, c, d,… are in G.P., then they are also in continued proportion i.e.
a b c 1
    .... 
b c d r

9. Sum of First ‘n’ Terms of a G.P.

If a be the first term, r the common ratio, then sum S n of first n terms of a G.P. is given by
a(1  r n )
Sn  , |r|< 1
1r
a(r n  1)
Sn  , |r|> 1
r 1
S n  na , r=1

10
10. Selection of Terms in a G.P.

(1) When the product is given, the following way is adopted in selecting certain number of terms:

Number of terms Terms to be taken

3 a
, a, ar
r
4 a a
3
, , ar, ar 3
r r
5 a a
, , a, ar, ar 2
r2 r

(2) When the product is not given, then the following way is adopted in selection of terms

Number of terms Terms to be taken

3 a, ar, ar 2
4 a, ar, ar 2 , ar 3
5 a, ar, ar 2 , ar 3 , ar 4

11. Sum of Infinite Terms of a G.P.

(1) When |r|< 1, (or  1  r  1)

a
S 
1r
(2) If r  1, then S  doesn’t exist

11
12. Geometric Mean.

(1) Definition: (i) If three quantities are in G.P., then the middle quantity is called geometric mean (G.M.)
between the other two. If a, G, b are in G.P., then G is called G.M. between a and b.
(ii) If a, G1 , G 2 , G3 ,.... Gn , b are in G.P. then G1 , G 2 , G3 ,.... Gn are called n G.M.’s between a and b.

(2) Insertion of geometric means: (i) Single G.M. between a and b: If a and b are two real numbers
then single G.M. between a and b  ab
(ii) n G.M.’s between a and b : If G1 , G 2 , G3 , ......, Gn are n G.M.’s between a and b, then
1 2 3 n
 b  n 1  b  n 1  b  n 1  b  n 1
G1  ar  a  , G 2  ar 2  a  , G 3  ar 3  a  , ……………….., G n  ar n  a 
a a a a

Important Tips

 Product of n G.M.’s between a and b is equal to nth power of single geometric mean between a
and b.
i.e. G1 G2 G3 ...... Gn  ( ab )n
 G.M. of a1 a2 a3 ...... an is (a1 a2 a3 ..... an )1 / n
 If G1 and G2 are two G.M.’s between two numbers a and b is G1  (a2b)1 / 3 , G2  (ab2 )1 / 3 .

The product of n geometric means between a and

1
 is 1.
a
1
 b  n 1
 If n G.M.’s inserted between a and b then r 
a

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13. Properties of G.P.

(1) If all the terms of a G.P. be multiplied or divided by the same non-zero constant, then it remains a
G.P., with the same common ratio.

(2) The reciprocal of the terms of a given G.P. form a G.P. with common ratio as reciprocal of the
common ratio of the original G.P.

(3) If each term of a G.P. with common ratio r be raised to the same power k, the resulting sequence also
forms a G.P. with common ratio r k .

(4) In a finite G.P., the product of terms equidistant from the beginning and the end is always the same
and is equal to the product of the first and last term.
i.e., if a1 , a 2 , a 3 , ...... an be in G.P. Then a1 an  a 2 an1  a3 an2  an an3  ..........  ar . anr 1

(5) If the terms of a given G.P. are chosen at regular intervals, then the new sequence so formed also
forms a G.P.

(6) If a1 , a 2 , a 3 , ....., an ...... is a G.P. of non-zero, non-negative terms, then

log a1 , log a 2 , log a3 , ..... log an , ...... is an A.P. and vice-versa.

(7) Three non-zero numbers a, b, c are in G.P. iff b 2  ac .

(8) Every term (except first term) of a G.P. is the square root of terms equidistant from it.
i.e. Tr  Tr  p  Tr  p ; [r > p]

(9) If first term of a G.P. of n terms is a and last term is l, then the product of all terms of the G.P. is
(al)n / 2 .

(10) If there be n quantities in G.P. whose common ratio is r and S m denotes the sum of the first m
r
terms, then the sum of their product taken two by two is S n S n 1 .
r 1

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 Harmonic Progression (H.P.)

14. Definition.

A progression is called a harmonic progression (H.P.) if the reciprocals of its terms are in A.P.
1 1 1
Standard form:    ....
a a  d a  2d
1 1 1 1
Example: The sequence 1, , , , ,... is a H.P., because the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ….. is an A.P.
3 5 7 9

15. General Term of an H.P.

1 1 1
If the H.P. be as , , , .... then corresponding A.P. is a, a  d, a  2d, .....
a a  d a  2d
Tn of A.P. is a  (n  1) d
1
 Tn of H.P. is
a  (n  1) d
In order to solve the question on H.P., we should form the corresponding A.P.
1 1
Thus, General term: Tn  or Tn of H.P. 
a  (n  1) d Tn of A.P.

14
16. Harmonic Mean.

(1) Definition: If three or more numbers are in H.P., then the numbers lying between the first and last
are called harmonic means (H.M.’s) between them. For example 1, 1/3, 1/5, 1/7, 1/9 are in H.P. So 1/3,
1/5 and 1/7 are three H.M.’s between 1 and 1/9.
Also, if a, H, b are in H.P., then H is called harmonic mean between a and b.

(2) Insertion of harmonic means:

2ab
(i) Single H.M. between a and b 
ab
1 1 1
  ..... 
1 a a2 an
(ii) H, H.M. of n non-zero numbers a1 , a 2 , a 3 , ...., an is given by  1 .
H n
(iii) Let a, b be two given numbers. If n numbers H 1 , H 2 , ...... H n are inserted between a and b such that
the sequence a, H 1 , H 2 , H 3 ...... H n , b is an H.P., then H 1 , H 2 , ...... H n are called n harmonic means
between a and b.

1 1 1 1 1
Now, a, H 1 , H 2 , ...... H n , b are in H.P.  , , , ...... , are in A.P.
a H1 H 2 Hn b
Let D be the common difference of this A.P. Then,
1
 (n  2)th term  Tn  2
b
1 1 ab
  (n  1) D  D 
b a (n  1) ab
Thus, if n harmonic means are inserted between two given numbers a and b, then the common
ab
difference of the corresponding A.P. is given by D 
(n  1) ab
1 1 1 1 1 1 ab
Also,   D,   2 D ,…….,   nD where D 
H1 a H2 a Hn a (n  1) ab

Important Tips

If a, b, c are in H.P. then b 

2ac
 .
ac
3 ab 3 ab
 If H1 and H 2 are two H.M.’s between a and b, then H1  and H 2 
a  2b 2a  b

15
17. Properties of H.P.

(1) No term of H.P. can be zero.

ab a
(2) If a, b, c are in H.P., then  .
b c c
(3) If H is the H.M. between a and b, then
1 1 1 1 H a H b
(i)    (ii) (H  2a)(H  2b)  H 2 (iii)  2
H a H b a b H a H b

Arithmetico-Geometric Progression (A.G.P.)

18. nth Term of A.G.P.

If a1 , a2 , a3 , ......, an , ...... is an A.P. and b1 , b2 , ......, bn , ...... is a G.P., then the sequence a1 b1 , a 2 b 2 , a 3 b 3 ,
......, an b n , ..... is said to be an arithmetico-geometric sequence.

Thus, the general form of an arithmetico geometric sequence is a, (a  d ) r, (a  2d ) r 2 , (a  3d ) r 3 , .....

From the symmetry we obtain that the nth term of this sequence is [a  (n  1) d ] r n 1

Also, let a, (a  d ) r, (a  2d ) r 2 , (a  3d ) r 3 , ..... be an arithmetico-geometric sequence. Then, a  (a  d ) r

 (a  2d ) r 2  (a  3d ) r 3  ... is an arithmetico-geometric series.

16
19. Sum of A.G.P.

(1) Sum of n terms: The sum of n terms of an arithmetico-geometric sequence a, (a  d ) r, (a  2d ) r 2 ,

(a  3d ) r 3 , ..... is given by

 a (1  r n 1 ) {a  (n  1) d }r n
  dr  , when r  1
1  r (1  r ) 2
1r
Sn  
 n [2a  (n  1) d ], when r  1
 2

(2) Sum of infinite sequence: Let |r|< 1. Then r n , r n 1  0 as n   and it can also be shown that
a dr
n . r n  0 as n  . So, we obtain that S n   , as n  .
1  r (1  r) 2
a dr
In other words, when |r|< 1 the sum to infinity of an arithmetico-geometric series is S   
1  r (1  r)2

20. Method for Finding Sum.

This method is applicable for both sum of n terms and sum of infinite number of terms.
First suppose that sum of the series is S, then multiply it by common ratio of the G.P. and subtract. In this
way, we shall get a G.P., whose sum can be easily obtained.

21. Method of Difference.

If the differences of the successive terms of a series are in A.P. or G.P., we can find nth term of the series
by the following steps :
Step I: Denote the nth term by Tn and the sum of the series upto n terms by S n .
Step II: Rewrite the given series with each term shifted by one place to the right.
Step III: By subtracting the later series from the former, find Tn .
Step IV: From Tn , S n can be found by appropriate summation.

17
 Miscellaneous series

22. Special Series.

There are some series in which nth term can be predicted easily just by looking at the series.
If Tn   n 3   n 2   n  
n n n n n n
Then S n  
n 1
Tn  
n 1
( n 3   n 2   n   )   n 1
n3   
n 1
n2   
n 1
n  1
n 1

2
 n (n  1)   n (n  1)(2n  1)   n (n  1) 
      n
 2   6   2 

n
n (n  1)(2n  1)
Note: Sum of squares of first n natural numbers  1 2  2 2  3 2  .......  n 2  r
r 1
2

6
2
n
 n (n  1) 
 Sum of cubes of first n natural numbers  1 3  2 3  3 3  4 3  .......  n 3  
r 1
r3  
 2 


23. Vn Method.

1 1 1
(1) To find the sum of the series   ..... 
a1 a 2 a 3 .....ar a 2 a 3 .....ar 1 an an 1 .....an r 1
Let d be the common difference of A.P. Then an  a1  (n  1) d .
Let S n and Tn denote the sum to n terms of the series and nth term respectively.
1 1 1
Sn    ..... 
a1 a 2 .....ar a 2 a 3 .....ar 1 an an 1 .....an r 1
1
 Tn 
an an 1 .....an r 1
1 1
Let Vn  ; Vn 1 
an 1 an  2 .....an r 1 an an 1 .....an r  2
1 1 an  an r 1
 Vn  Vn 1   
an 1 an  2 .....an r 1 an an 1 .....an r  2 an an 1 .....an r 1
[a1  (n  1) d ]  [a1  {(n  r  1)  1}d ]
  d (1  r) Tn
an an 1 .....an r 1

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 n

T
1 1
 Tn  {Vn 1  Vn } ,  S n   (V0  Vn )
d (r  1) d (r  1)
n
n 1

1  1 1 
Sn    
(r  1)(a 2  a1 )  a1 a 2 ....ar 1 an 1 an  2 ......an r 1 
1 1 1 1  1 1 
Example: If a1 , a 2 , .....an are in A.P., then   ...     
a1 a 2 a 3 a 2 a 3 a 4 an an 1 an  2 2(a 2  a1 )  a1 a 2 an 1 an  2 

(2) If S n  a1 a 2 .....ar  a 2 a3 .....ar 1 ....  an an 1 ...anr 1

Tn  an an 1 .....an r 1
Let Vn  an an 1 ....an r 1 an r ,  Vn 1  an 1 an 1 ......anr 1
 Vn  Vn1  an an1 an 2 .....anr 1 (anr  an1 )  Tn {[a1  (n  r  1) d ]  [a1  (n  2) d ]}  Tn (r  1) d
Vn  Vn 1
 Tn 
(r  1) d
n n

  (V
1 1 1
Sn  Tn   Vn 1 )  (Vn  V0 )  {(an an 1 ....an r )  (a 0 a1 ....ar )}
(r  1)d (r  1) d (r  1) d
n
n 1 n 1

1
 {an an 1 ....an r  a 0 a1 .....ar }
(r  1)(a 2  a1 )
1
Example: 1.2.3.4  2.3.4.5  ......  n (n  1)(n  2)(n  3)  {n (n  1)(n  2)(n  3)  0.1.2.3}
5 .1
1
 {n (n  1)(n  2)(n  3)}
5

24. Properties of Arithmetic, Geometric and Harmonic means between Two

given Numbers.

Let A, G and H be arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means of two numbers a and b. Then,
ab 2ab
A , G  ab and H 
2 ab
These three means possess the following properties:
(1) A  G  H
ab 2ab
A , G  ab and H 
2 ab
ab ( a  b )2
 AG   ab  0
2 2

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 AG …..(i)
2ab  a  b  2 ab 
G  H  ab   ab    ab ( a  b )2  0
ab ab  ab
 
 GH …..(ii)
From (i) and (ii), we get A  G  H
Note that the equality holds only when a = b

(2) A, G, H from a G.P., i.e. G 2  AH

a  b 2ab
AH    ab  ( ab )2  G 2
2 ab
Hence, G 2  AH

(3) The equation having a and b as its roots is x 2  2 Ax  G 2  0

The equation having a and b its roots is x 2  (a  b)x  ab  0
 ab 
 x 2  2 Ax  G 2  0  A  2 and G  ab 
 
The roots a, b are given by A  A 2  G 2

(4) If A, G, H are arithmetic, geometric and harmonic means between three given numbers a, b and c,
3G 3
then the equation having a, b, c as its roots is x 3  3 Ax 2  x  G3  0
H
1 1 1
 
ab c 1 a b c
A , G  (abc)1/3
and 
3 H 3
3G 3
 a  b  c  3 A, abc  G 3 and  ab  bc  ca
H
The equation having a, b, c as its roots is x 3  (a  b  c)x 2  (ab  bc  ca)x  abc  0
3G 3
 x 3  3 Ax 2  x  G3  0
H

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25. Relation between A.P., G.P. and H.P.

 A when n  0
a n 1  b n 1 
(1) If A, G, H be A.M., G.M., H.M. between a and b, then  G when n  1 / 2
an  b n  H when n  1


(2) If A1 , A 2 be two A.M.’s; G1 , G 2 be two G.M.’s and H 1 , H 2 be two H.M.’s between two numbers a and
G1 G 2 A  A2
b then  1
H1 H 2 H1  H 2

(3) Recognization of A.P., G.P., H.P.: If a, b, c are three successive terms of a sequence.
ab a
Then if,  , then a, b, c are in A.P.
b c a
ab a
If,  , then a, b, c are in G.P.
b c b
ab a
If,  , then a, b, c are in H.P.
b c c

(4) If number of terms of any A.P./G.P./H.P. is odd, then A.M./G.M./H.M. of first and last terms is middle
term of series.

(5) If number of terms of any A.P./G.P./H.P. is even, then A.M./G.M./H.M. of middle two terms is
A.M./G.M./H.M. of first and last terms respectively.

(6) If pth, qth and rth terms of a G.P. are in G.P. Then p, q, r are in A.P.

(7) If a, b, c are in A.P. as well as in G.P. then a  b  c .

(8) If a, b, c are in A.P., then x a , x b , x c will be in G.P. (x  1)

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26. Applications of Progressions.

There are many applications of progressions is applied in science and engineering. Properties of
progressions are applied to solve problems of inequality and maximum or minimum values of some
expression can be found by the relation among A.M., G.M. and H.M.

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