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Difficulty: 4/102023 NMTC 2023 (QII-54)

In an arithmetic progression the times of m^th term is equal to times the n^th term, its (m + n)^th term will be ________.

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Write out the given relation algebraically using the AP term formula: .

Hint 2: Expand both sides and group the terms into the form .

Hint 3: Factor out to simplify the equation to , which is the formula for .

Solution

Step 1 (Formulate AP terms): In an AP, the -th term is . We are given that times the -th term equals times the -th term:

Step 2 (Expand and Group terms):

Step 3 (Divide by the non-zero difference): Factoring out (since ):

Dividing by :

Step 4 (Identify target term): The formula for the -th term of the AP is:

From Step 3, this term is exactly equal to 0.

Step 5 (Conclusion): The -th term is exactly 0.

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    2023 NMTC 2023 QII-54 - Olympiad Math Olympiad Question | Leminno