Sequence and SeriesMCQMTP May 20Question 1879 of 213
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Three numbers are in AP and their sum is $21$. If $1, 5, 15$ are added to them respectively, they form a G.P. The numbers are

Select Your Answer (Keyboard: A, B, C, D)
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Correct Answer

✅ Option a — $5, 7, 9$

All Options:

  • A$5, 7, 9$
  • B$9, 5, 7$
  • C$7, 5, 9$
  • DNone of these

Detailed Solution & Explanation

Let the three numbers in A.P. be a−d,a,a+d\displaystyle a-d, a, a+d.
Since their sum is $21:<br><spanclass="katex−display"><spanclass="katex"><spanclass="katex−mathml"><mathxmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"display="block"><semantics><mrow><mostretchy="false">(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>d</mi><mostretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>+</mo><mostretchy="false">(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>d</mi><mostretchy="false">)</mo><mo>=</mo><mn>21</mn><mtext>  </mtext><mo>⟹</mo><mtext>  </mtext><mn>3</mn><mi>a</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>21</mn><mtext>  </mtext><mo>⟹</mo><mtext>  </mtext><mi>a</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>7</mn></mrow><annotationencoding="application/x−tex">(a−d)+a+(a+d)=21  ⟹  3a=21  ⟹  a=7</annotation></semantics></math></span><spanclass="katex−html"aria−hidden="true"><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:1em;vertical−align:−0.25em;"></span><spanclass="mopen">(</span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">a</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span><spanclass="mbin">−</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:1em;vertical−align:−0.25em;"></span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">d</span><spanclass="mclose">)</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span><spanclass="mbin">+</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.6667em;vertical−align:−0.0833em;"></span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">a</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span><spanclass="mbin">+</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:1em;vertical−align:−0.25em;"></span><spanclass="mopen">(</span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">a</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span><spanclass="mbin">+</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2222em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:1em;vertical−align:−0.25em;"></span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">d</span><spanclass="mclose">)</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mrel">=</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.6684em;vertical−align:−0.024em;"></span><spanclass="mord">21</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mrel">⟹</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.6444em;"></span><spanclass="mord">3</span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">a</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mrel">=</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.6684em;vertical−align:−0.024em;"></span><spanclass="mord">21</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mrel">⟹</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.4306em;"></span><spanclass="mordmathnormal">a</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span><spanclass="mrel">=</span><spanclass="mspace"style="margin−right:0.2778em;"></span></span><spanclass="base"><spanclass="strut"style="height:0.6444em;"></span><spanclass="mord">7</span></span></span></span></span><br>Sothenumbersare\displaystyle :<br><span class="katex-display"><span class="katex"><span class="katex-mathml"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="block"><semantics><mrow><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>−</mo><mi>d</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>+</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>+</mo><mo stretchy="false">(</mo><mi>a</mi><mo>+</mo><mi>d</mi><mo stretchy="false">)</mo><mo>=</mo><mn>21</mn><mtext>  </mtext><mo>⟹</mo><mtext>  </mtext><mn>3</mn><mi>a</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>21</mn><mtext>  </mtext><mo>⟹</mo><mtext>  </mtext><mi>a</mi><mo>=</mo><mn>7</mn></mrow><annotation encoding="application/x-tex">(a-d) + a + (a+d) = 21 \implies 3a = 21 \implies a = 7</annotation></semantics></math></span><span class="katex-html" aria-hidden="true"><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mopen">(</span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span><span class="mbin">−</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">d</span><span class="mclose">)</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span><span class="mbin">+</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6667em;vertical-align:-0.0833em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span><span class="mbin">+</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mopen">(</span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span><span class="mbin">+</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2222em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:1em;vertical-align:-0.25em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">d</span><span class="mclose">)</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">=</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6684em;vertical-align:-0.024em;"></span><span class="mord">21</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">⟹</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6444em;"></span><span class="mord">3</span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">=</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6684em;vertical-align:-0.024em;"></span><span class="mord">21</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">⟹</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.4306em;"></span><span class="mord mathnormal">a</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span><span class="mrel">=</span><span class="mspace" style="margin-right:0.2778em;"></span></span><span class="base"><span class="strut" style="height:0.6444em;"></span><span class="mord">7</span></span></span></span></span><br>So the numbers are7-d, 7, 7+d\displaystyle .<br><br>Adding &#36;1, 5, 15 to the terms respectively:
8−d, 12, 22+d8-d, \ 12, \ 22+d
These are in G.P. so the middle term squared is the product of the extremes:
122=(8−d)(22+d)12^2 = (8-d)(22+d)
144=176−14d−d2144 = 176 - 14d - d^2
d2+14d−32=0d^2 + 14d - 32 = 0
Factorizing:
(d+16)(d−2)=0  ⟹  d=2 or d=−16(d+16)(d-2) = 0 \implies d = 2  or \displaystyle \text{ or } d = -16

If d=2\displaystyle d = 2, the numbers are $5, 7, 9$.
Hence, **Option A** is the correct answer.

About This Chapter: Sequence and Series

Paper

Paper 3: Quantitative Aptitude

Weightage

4-6 Marks

Key Topics

Arithmetic & Geometric Progressions

This chapter covers Arithmetic Progressions (AP) and Geometric Progressions (GP). Students learn how to find the nth term, sum of n terms, arithmetic/geometric means, and sum to infinity of a GP.

View Official ICAI Syllabus

Exam Strategy Tip

For complex 'sum of series' questions, a great hack is to substitute n = 1 and n = 2 into the question and the options to see which one matches, completely bypassing the formula.

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