Central Binomials Appear

Problem

An arithmetic sequence {an}\{a_n\} with nonzero common difference satisfies a1=2a_1 = 2, and a1,a3,a7a_1, a_3, a_7 form a geometric sequence.

1. Find a closed formula for ana_n. 2. A sequence {bn}\{b_n\} satisfies b1=1b_1 = 1 and bnbn+1=anb_nb_{n+1} = a_n.

  1. Prove that b2n=4n(2nn)b_{2n} = \dfrac{4^n}{\binom{2n}{n}}.
  2. Does there exist n∈N∗n \in \mathbb{N}^* such that
∑i=1n1bi<2n+1−2?\sum_{i=1}^{n}\frac{1}{b_i} < 2\sqrt{n+1} - 2?

Justify your answer.

Answer

Solution

Difficulty7/10
Topicscombinatorics, Arithmetic Progression, sequences, AM-GM, Telescoping

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