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# What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?

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What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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12 Dec 2016, 08:55
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What is the value of $$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$?

A. Between $$\frac{1}{8}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

B. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

C. Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

D. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$

E. Between $$\frac{1}{4}$$ and $$\frac{1}{2}$$

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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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13 Dec 2016, 02:32
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nguyendinhtuong wrote:
What is the value of $$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$?

A. Between $$\frac{1}{8}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

B. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

C. Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

D. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$

E. Between $$\frac{1}{4}$$ and $$\frac{1}{2}$$

Hi,

I'll again tell you two ways..

1) approximation
The first term is 1/25..
Next is 2/125 that is 1/72..
Next is 3/625 or 1/208..
So you can easily see that the terms after first are too small to make any effect to first term, so answer must be close to 1/25 and so the range should be between 1/32 to 1/16..
Also you can eliminate A and D as they themselves are part of B..
E is too big.
So our answer has to be either in range 1/32 to 1/16 or 1/16 to 1/8...

2) proper method ...
Convert the given equation into proper geometric progression..

$$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$.......(1)
$$A=\frac{1}{5}(\frac{1}{5}+\frac{2}{5^2}+\frac{3}{5^3}+...+\frac{11}{5^{11}})$$
$$5A=\frac{1}{5}+\frac{2}{5^2}+\frac{3}{5^3}+...+\frac{11}{5^{11}}$$.......(2)
Subtract (1) from (2)..
$$4A=\frac{1}{5}+\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{1}{5^3}+...+\frac{1}{5^{11}}-\frac{11}{5^{12}})$$
Now this is GP , you can find the answer
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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17 Dec 2016, 13:38
6
nguyendinhtuong wrote:
What is the value of $$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$?

A. Between $$\frac{1}{8}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

B. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

C. Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

D. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$

E. Between $$\frac{1}{4}$$ and $$\frac{1}{2}$$

I did this problem by approximation:

Let me know how is this method.

1st term= 1/25= 0.04
2nd term=2/5^3= 2/125= 0.0016
.
.
.
.
and so on..

(here, we observe that as we go to 3rd and 4th and further, the value of those terms decreases)

Once we add these numbers, we find that:

the value of A will be something 0.04016xxxxxxxxxxx (we don't need to worry about what digits are in this value)

Now, after looking at the options, we can easily check in which range 0.04016 lies.

option C (between 1/32 and 1/16 or between 0.03 and 0.06) perfectly covers this value.. So the answer should be C

Hope this help.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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14 Dec 2016, 06:15
1
nguyendinhtuong wrote:
What is the value of $$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$?

A. Between $$\frac{1}{8}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

B. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

C. Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

D. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$

E. Between $$\frac{1}{4}$$ and $$\frac{1}{2}$$

Solution.

$$\begin{split} A&=&\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{10}{5^{11}}+\frac{11}{5^{12}}\\ 5A&=\frac{1}{5}+&\frac{2}{5^2}+\frac{3}{5^3}+\frac{4}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{11}}\\ 5A-A&=\frac{1}{5}+&\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{1}{5^3}+\frac{1}{5^4}+...+\frac{1}{5^{11}}-\frac{11}{5^{12}}\\ 4A&=B-&\frac{11}{5^{12}} \end{split}$$

$$\begin{split} B&=&\frac{1}{5}+&\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{1}{5^3}+\frac{1}{5^4}+...+\frac{1}{5^{10}}+\frac{1}{5^{11}}\\ 5B&=1+&\frac{1}{5}+&\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{1}{5^3}+\frac{1}{5^4}+...+\frac{1}{5^{10}}\\ 4B&=1-&\frac{1}{5^{11}}\\ \end{split}$$
$$\begin{split} 4B&=\frac{5^{11}-1}{5^{11}}\\ B&=\frac{5^{11}-1}{4 \times 5^{11}} \end{split}$$

Hence we have
$$\begin{split} 4A&=B-\frac{11}{5^{12}}=\frac{5^{11}-1}{4 \times 5^{11}}-\frac{11}{5^{12}}\\ 4A&=\frac{5(5^{11}-1)-44}{4 \times 5^{12}}\\ 4A&=\frac{5^{12}-5-44}{4 \times 5^{12}}\\ 4A&=\frac{5^{12}-49}{4 \times 5^{12}}\\ A&=\frac{5^{12}-49}{16 \times 5^{12}}\\ A&=\frac{1}{16} \times \frac{5^{12}-49}{5^{12}}\\ A&=\frac{1}{16}\bigg( 1- \frac{49}{5^{12}} \bigg )\\ \end{split}$$

Since $$1- \frac{49}{5^{12}} < 1 \implies A < \frac{1}{16}$$.

It's clear that the answer is C.

Also $$2 \times 49 < 5^{12} \implies \frac{49}{5^{12}} < \frac{1}{2} \implies 1- \frac{49}{5^{12}} > 1- \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{2}$$

Hence $$A>\frac{1}{16} \times \frac{1}{2}=\frac{1}{32}$$.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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15 Dec 2016, 12:42
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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15 Dec 2016, 16:17
1
bazu wrote:
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem

This type of question is quite hard so It will probably not be shown on the real GMAT. However, the solution is long due to the fact that I want to exlain it in detail. In fact, I solve it under 2 mins. This question is just for enjoy solving math, so dont worry if you cant solve it.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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16 Dec 2016, 10:51
nguyendinhtuong wrote:
bazu wrote:
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem

This type of question is quite hard so It will probably not be shown on the real GMAT. However, the solution is long due to the fact that I want to exlain it in detail. In fact, I solve it under 2 mins. This question is just for enjoy solving math, so dont worry if you cant solve it.

The way you solved looks great, but honestly for me hardly approachable on the test day due to time constraint, therefore I wanted to check if someone else had any other ways to approach it.

Thanks anyway clarification and the solution
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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27 Feb 2017, 13:01
Multiply both side by 1/5 and then subtract

4A/5 = 1/5^2 + 1/5^3.....

I considered it as infinite GP as it will give max value for A

4A/5 = (1/25 ) / (1 - 1/ 5 ) sum of infinite gp = a / 1- r

A=1/16 max value
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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09 Mar 2017, 15:50
1/25 falls into the range between 1/32 and 1/16. the rest are too small
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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14 Mar 2017, 03:14
Hi,

at first I was intimidated by the algebric computation, then I thought "No way! the GMAT won't give me something like that!"

A=1/25+1/72+(1/208 + ...) =(72+25)/(72*25)=1/18 which is between 1/32 and 1/16

1/208 is about 0.005 so, since the range is pretty broad 1/32=0.03 --> 1/16=(1/8=0.125)/2=0.0625, I rounded all the other terms to zero.

This way of reasoning brought me to C.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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15 Mar 2017, 23:16
bazu wrote:
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem

Hi - I solved in a little over a minute using the following method:

you have (1 / 5^2) + (2 / 5^3) + (3 / 5^4) ....whatever

First notice that the numbers become really small the further you go out so they don't really impact the fraction, just know that if the answer above ='s (as an example) 1/2 that the answer is >1/2 because it's 1/2 + whatever

Continuing, make the fractions all equal - so you have: (25 / 5^4) + (10 / 5^4) + (3 / 5^4)

Then add them to get: (38 / 5^4)

Next we need to estimate, so just assume 38 = 40 (so that it's divisible by one 5), to give you: 8 / 5(5^3)

Then reduce further again, so assume 125 = 126 so you can divide by 2 => 4 / 63
...again assume 63 = 64, so you have 2/64 => ~~1/32

finally, you have ~1/32 + some stuff (the "whatever" above) so it will be between 1/32 -> 1/16
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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14 Jun 2017, 19:02
mdacosta wrote:
bazu wrote:
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem

Hi - I solved in a little over a minute using the following method:

you have (1 / 5^2) + (2 / 5^3) + (3 / 5^4) ....whatever

First notice that the numbers become really small the further you go out so they don't really impact the fraction, just know that if the answer above ='s (as an example) 1/2 that the answer is >1/2 because it's 1/2 + whatever

Continuing, make the fractions all equal - so you have: (25 / 5^4) + (10 / 5^4) + (3 / 5^4)

Then add them to get: (38 / 5^4)

Next we need to estimate, so just assume 38 = 40 (so that it's divisible by one 5), to give you: 8 / 5(5^3)

Then reduce further again, so assume 125 = 126 so you can divide by 2 => 4 / 63
...again assume 63 = 64, so you have 2/64 => ~~1/32

finally, you have ~1/32 + some stuff (the "whatever" above) so it will be between 1/32 -> 1/16

Can you please explain how 4/63 became 2/64?
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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14 Jun 2017, 19:19
Hi,

This is how I solved this question and took me about 30 seconds total. We can use estimation here. If we take the first term and add it to me the very last term, we can arrive at the answer quite easily.

(1/5^2)+(11/5^12)= We don't even have to solve the entire thing. If we solve just the first part, we get 1/25 as our answer. That means the overall answer has to be in between 1/25 and (11/5^12). Hence, C

Thanks!
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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15 Jun 2017, 11:44
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Sure - first note the 4/63 becomes 4/64 so that you can simplify by 2. 4/63 does not become 2/64

4/63 -> 4/64 -> reduce to 2/32 -> reduce to 1/16

Does that clarify your question? I think you just misread the last part

iyera211 wrote:
mdacosta wrote:
bazu wrote:
Hi Bunuel any suggestion on how to solve this? the GP is for sure good, but looks to me to be too long for a 2 min problem

Hi - I solved in a little over a minute using the following method:

you have (1 / 5^2) + (2 / 5^3) + (3 / 5^4) ....whatever

First notice that the numbers become really small the further you go out so they don't really impact the fraction, just know that if the answer above ='s (as an example) 1/2 that the answer is >1/2 because it's 1/2 + whatever

Continuing, make the fractions all equal - so you have: (25 / 5^4) + (10 / 5^4) + (3 / 5^4)

Then add them to get: (38 / 5^4)

Next we need to estimate, so just assume 38 = 40 (so that it's divisible by one 5), to give you: 8 / 5(5^3)

Then reduce further again, so assume 125 = 126 so you can divide by 2 => 4 / 63
...again assume 63 = 64, so you have 2/64 => ~~1/32

finally, you have ~1/32 + some stuff (the "whatever" above) so it will be between 1/32 -> 1/16

Can you please explain how 4/63 became 2/64?
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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18 Jun 2017, 22:07
You can solve this easily by taking 1/25 outside the bracket.Please note the answer choices are in range and not exact answers.The remaining terms inside the bracket would be(1+2/5+3/25).Take the first 3 terms only as anything beyond it is very minimal adding no value. You will end up in an intermediate solution of 1/25*(1.5) which makes you select option C as the right answer.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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18 Jun 2017, 22:55
1
nguyendinhtuong wrote:
What is the value of $$A=\frac{1}{5^2}+\frac{2}{5^3}+\frac{3}{5^4}+...+\frac{11}{5^{12}}$$?

A. Between $$\frac{1}{8}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

B. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{4}$$

C. Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

D. Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$

E. Between $$\frac{1}{4}$$ and $$\frac{1}{2}$$

First we will solve by approximation method. But be careful while selecting the range of numbers. i did mistake by selecting Between $$\frac{1}{16}$$ and $$\frac{1}{8}$$ instead of Between $$\frac{1}{32}$$ and $$\frac{1}{16}$$

I figures out that the answer is near about 1/18 and 1/16 was a good approximation so I took the value between 1/16 and 1/8 but it should have been between 1/32 and 1/16

Now lets start the approximation..
Since \(\frac{1}{5^2}) = 1/25 . So the value must be near 1/25. But we will go further to check the nearest value.
\(\frac{2}{5^3}) = 2/125

So 1/25 + 2/125 = 7/125 > 1/18. Now here the confusion continues that if its between 1/16 and 1/8 or between 1/16 and 1/32.

To check we will surely have to go 1 step further, though the value of further terms is decreasing but it may cross the range of 1/16 and 1/32

1/25 + 2/125 + 3/625 = (25+10+3)/625 = 38/625 = 1/16.47

So if we really go by this method, we can't approximate the value... This question needs to be solved only through the long process. The options choice is not that easy to make a correct approximation... If the question would have been in GMAT format the options would not have been so close. There must have been wide gap between the options.
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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?  [#permalink]

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Re: What is the value of A=1/5^2+2/5^3+...+11/5^12?   [#permalink] 20 Jun 2018, 15:26
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