GMAT Practice Question: Given that 1^{2}+2^{2}+3^{2}+\ldots+10^{2}=385, what is the value of...
Question
Given that 1^{2}+2^{2}+3^{2}+\ldots+10^{2}=385, what is the value of 3^{2}+6^{2}+9^{2}+\ldots+30^{2} ?
- 1,155
- 1,540
- 1,925
- 2,310
- 3,465
Topics: exponents, sequences & series, factoring
Solution
Step 1
We first name the sum we want to find.
S = 3^2 + 6^2 + ... + 30^2
Step 2
We then note that each term can be written as (3k)^2 where k runs from 1 to 10.
S = (3 \times 1)^2 + (3 \times 2)^2 + ... + (3 \times 10)^2
Step 3
We then factor out the common factor 9 from each squared term.
S = 9 \times (1^2 + 2^2 + ... + 10^2)
Step 4
We then substitute the given value and multiply.
S = 9 \times 385 = 9 \times (400 - 15) = 9 \times 400 - 9 \times 15 = 3600 - 135 = 3465
Answer
3465
