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 $S_{20}=1150$.