Open Chapter 5 EQ PDF
Open Chapter 5 EQ PDF
Open Chapter 5 EQ PDF
P2 Sequences
Date:
Time:
Mr Salim
Questions
Q1.
Ben is saving for the deposit for a house over a period of 60 months.
Ben saves £100 in the first month and in each subsequent month, he saves £5 more than the previous
Ben saves £100 in the first month and in each subsequent month, he saves £5 more than the previous
month, so that he saves £105 in the second month, £110 in the third month, and so on, forming an
arithmetic sequence.
Lina saves £600 in the first month and in each subsequent month, she saves £10 less than the previous
month, so that she saves £590 in the second month, £580 in the third month, and so on, forming an
arithmetic sequence.
Given that, after n months, Lina will have saved exactly £18 200 for her deposit,
n2 − 121n + 3640 = 0
(3)
(d) Solve the equation in part (c).
(2)
(e) State, with a reason, which of the solutions to the equation in part (c) is not a sensible value for n.
(1)
Q2.
(i)
(2)
(ii)
(2)
(iii)
(3)
Q3.
Model A assumes that her annual salary will increase by the same amount each year.
(b) According to model B, determine Kim's annual salary in year 2. Give your answer to the nearest £10
(3)
(c) Calculate, according to the two models, the difference between the total amounts that Kim is predicted
to earn from year 1 to year 10 inclusive. Give your answer to the nearest £10
(3)
Examiner's Report
Q1.
Q2.
Candidates made good progress with this question, although a significant number struggled with applying
the laws of logarithms correctly.
Part (a) was usually answered correctly with full marks being achieved by the vast majority. Those who
made errors in this part often scored nothing in all parts.
Part (b) was much more challenging for candidates. Most were able to score the method mark for some
evidence of applying the laws of logarithms correctly, however, there were a significant number who
incorrectly thought that . There were a pleasing number who did score full marks, although some made
errors with simplifying their expression and lost the accuracy mark.
In part (c), most candidates understood the notation and were able to write out the first few terms. The
combination of logarithms with the sum of an arithmetic sequence proved challenging for a number of
candidates who were unable to split up summation appropriately. A good number of candidates did
proceed to achieve the correct final answer, although some omitted the k in their expression which lost
both accuracy marks.
Q3.
Methods used to answer this question were generally well formed but a significant number of candidates
lost marks due to a lack of accuracy in their calculations. Some candidates were confused about when to
use a geometric series or an arithmetic series and attempted (a) and (b) with incorrect processes.
Strangely for such a question, part (b) was attempted more successfully with part (a) less so. In part (c) a
significant number of candidates failed to recognise that the sum of series was required or used a
rounded value of r leading to inaccuracy.
rounded value of r leading to inaccuracy.
In part (a) many candidates recognised it as an AP but the formula for the nth term was often incorrectly
stated as 16200 + 10d = 31500. This usually led to the incorrect answer of £17 730. In part (b) the
majority of the candidates were able to score two out of the three marks. The value of r was calculated
correctly and applied well to find the second term. Most of the candidates lost the accuracy mark from
using 1.08. A significant number of candidates did not recognise this as a GP and tried to work
unsuccessfully with an percentage increase.
Fully correct answers in part (c) were rare. Where candidates applied the correct method throughout, the
last mark was often lost due to use of rounded value of 'r' from (b). There were numerous cases where 11
was used as the value for n instead of the correct value of 10. It was pleasing to note however that 17%
of the candidates achieved full marks on this question.
Mark Scheme
Q1.
Q2.
Q3.