In an A.P., if the 5th and 12th terms are 30 and 65 respectively,
In an A.P., if the 5th and 12th terms are 30 and 65 respectively, what is the sum of first 20 terms?
In the given problem, let us take the first term as a and the common difference d
Here, we are given that,
$a_{5}=30$...........(1)
$a_{12}=65$.........(2)
Also, we know,
$a_{n}=a+(n-1) d$
For the 5th term (n = 5),
$a_{5}=a+(5-1) d$
$30=a+4 d$ (Using 1)
$a=30-4 d$ ................(3)
Similarly, for the 12th term (n = 12),
$a_{12}=a+(12-1) d$
$65=a+11 d$ (Using 2)
$a=65-11 d$ ...............(4)
Subtracting (3) from (4), we get,
$a-a=(65-11 d)-(30-4 d)$
$0=65-11 d-30+4 d$
$0=35-7 d$
$7 d=35$
$d=5$
Now, to find a, we substitute the value of d in (4),
$a=30-4(5)$
$a=30-20$
$a=10$
So, for the given A.P ![]()
So, to find the sum of first 20 terms of this A.P., we use the following formula for the sum of n terms of an A.P.,
$S_{n}=\frac{n}{2}[2 a+(n-1) d]$
Where; a = first term for the given A.P.
d = common difference of the given A.P.
n = number of terms
So, using the formula for n = 20, we get,
$S_{20}=\frac{20}{2}[2(10)+(20-1)(5)]$
$=(10)[20+(19)(5)]$
$=(10)[20+95]$
$=(10)[115]$
$=1150$
Therefore, the sum of first 20 terms for the given A.P. is $S_{20}=1150$.