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GCSE QUESTIONS
Q1. NON-CALCULATOR
Here are the first five terms of a sequence.
2 8 18 32 50
(a) Find the next term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(1)
2
The nth term of a different sequence is 3n – 10
(b) Work out the 5th term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(1)
(Total for question = 2 marks)
Q2. NON-CALCULATOR
Here are the first 7 terms of a quadratic sequence.
3 6 11 18 27 38 51
(a) Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(2)
(b) Find the 50th term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(1)
(Total for question = 3 marks)
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Q3. NON-CALCULATOR
The diagram shows the first 10 sides of a spiral pattern.
It also gives the lengths, in cm, of the first 5 sides.
The lengths, in cm, of the sides of the spiral form a sequence.
Find an expression in terms of n for the length, in cm, of the nth side.
...........................................................
(Total for question = 3 marks)
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Q4. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
The nth term of a number sequence is n2 + 7
(a) Find the first three terms of this sequence.
.............................. .............................. ..............................
(2)
128 is a term of this sequence.
(b) Which term?
...........................................................
(1)
(Total for question = 3 marks)
Q5. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
The first three terms of a number pattern are 1 2 4
Hester says the first five terms of this number pattern are 1 2 4 8 16
(a) Write down the rule Hester could have used to get the 4th and 5th terms.
.............................................................................................................................................
(1)
(b) Write down the 6th term of Hester's number pattern.
...........................................................
(1)
Jack uses a different rule.
He says the first six terms of the number pattern are 1 2 4 7 11 16
(c) Write down the 7th and 8th terms of Jack's number pattern.
.............................. , .............................
(1)
(Total for question = 3 marks)
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Q6. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first 5 terms of a quadratic sequence.
1 3 7 13 21
Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this quadratic sequence.
...........................................................
(Total for question is 3 marks)
Q7. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first five terms of a sequence.
Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(Total for question = 3 marks)
Q8. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first six terms of a quadratic sequence.
−1 5 15 29 47 69
Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(Total for question = 3 marks)
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Q9. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first four terms of a quadratic sequence.
3 8 15 24
(a) Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(3)
The nth term of a different sequence is 2n + 5
(b) Show that 36 is not a term of this sequence.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(1)
(Total for question = 4 marks)
Q10. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
The nth term of a sequence is given by an2 + bn where a and b are integers.
The 2nd term of the sequence is –2
The 4th term of the sequence is 12
(a) Find the 6th term of the sequence.
...........................................................
(4)
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Here are the first five terms of a different quadratic sequence.
0 2 6 12 20
(b) Find an expression, in terms of n, for the nth term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(2)
(Total for question = 6 marks)
Q11. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
In 2016 the population of the UK was 6.5 × 107
Laura wants to calculate an estimate for the population of the UK in 2020
She assumes that the population increases by 0.6% each year.
(a) Using Laura's assumption, calculate an estimate for the population of the UK in 2020
...........................................................
(2)
Kieran also assumes that the population of the UK increases by 0.6% each year.
He says that it will take over 80 years for the population to increase by 50% because
Kieran's method is wrong.
(b) Explain what is wrong with his method.
.............................................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................................................
(1)
Assuming that the population of the UK increases by 0.6% each year,
(c) show that the population of the UK each year forms a geometric progression.
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(2)
(Total for question = 5 marks)
Q12. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
The number of animals in a population at the start of year t is Pt
The number of animals at the start of year 1 is 400
Given that
Pt + 1 = 1.01Pt
work out the number of animals at the start of year 3
...........................................................
(Total for question = 2 marks)
Q13. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first five terms of a Fibonacci sequence.
3 3 6 9 15
(a) Write down the next two terms of the sequence.
................ , ................
(1)
The first three terms of a different Fibonacci sequence are
a a 2a
(b) Find the 6th term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(2)
(Total for question = 3 marks)
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Q14. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
Here are the first six terms of a Fibonacci sequence.
1 1 2 3 5 8
The rule to continue a Fibonacci sequence is,
the next term in the sequence is the sum of the two previous terms.
(a) Find the 9th term of this sequence.
...........................................................
(1)
The first three terms of a different Fibonacci sequence are
a b a + b
(b) Show that the 6th term of this sequence is 3a + 5b
(2)
Given that the 3rd term is 7 and the 6th term is 29,
(c) find the value of a and the value of b.
a = ...........................................................
b = ...........................................................
(3)
(Total for question = 6 marks)
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Q15. CALCULATOR ALLOWED
S is a geometric sequence.
(a) Given that are the first three terms of S, find the value of x.
You must show all your working.
...........................................................
(3)
(b) Show that the 5th term of S is
(2)
(Total for question = 5 marks)
