Edexcel C1 2011 January — Question 4

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleC1 (Core Mathematics 1)
Year2011
SessionJanuary
TopicArithmetic Sequences and Series

4. A sequence \(a _ { 1 } , a _ { 2 } , a _ { 3 } , \ldots\) is defined by $$\begin{aligned} a _ { 1 } & = 2
a _ { n + 1 } & = 3 a _ { n } - c \end{aligned}$$ where \(c\) is a constant.
  1. Find an expression for \(a _ { 2 }\) in terms of \(c\). Given that \(\sum _ { i = 1 } ^ { 3 } a _ { i } = 0\)
  2. find the value of \(c\).