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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it

Given that the sum of the first nn terms of the sequence {an}\{a_{n}\} is SnS_{n}, and it satisfies 23Sn=an23n2\frac{2}{3}S_{n}=a_{n}-\frac{2}{3}n-2.
(1)(1) Prove that the sequence {an+1}\{a_{n}+1\} is a geometric sequence.
(2)(2) If bn=1an+2b_{n}=\frac{1}{a_{n}+2} and the sum of the first nn terms of the sequence {bn}\{b_{n}\} is TnT_{n}, prove that Tn16T_{n}<\frac{1}{6}.

Solution

Proof of (1):

Step 1: For n=1n=1, we start by substituting n=1n=1 into the given equation 23Sn=an23n2\frac{2}{3}S_{n}=a_{n}-\frac{2}{3}n-2 to find a1a_1:
23S1=a12312    a1=8. \frac{2}{3}S_{1}=a_{1}-\frac{2}{3}\cdot1-2 \implies a_{1}=8.

Step 2: For n2n\geqslant 2, we consider the sum of the first n1n-1 terms:
23Sn1=an123(n1)2. \frac{2}{3}S_{n-1}=a_{n-1}-\frac{2}{3}(n-1)-2.

Step 3: Subtracting the equation for Sn1S_{n-1} from the equation for SnS_n gives us:
23Sn23Sn1=anan123    2an=3an1+2. \frac{2}{3}S_{n}-\frac{2}{3}S_{n-1}=a_{n}-a_{n-1}-\frac{2}{3} \implies 2a_{n}=3a_{n-1}+2.

Step 4: Solving for ana_n in terms of an1a_{n-1}, we find:
an=3an1+2    an+1=3(an1+1). a_{n}=3a_{n-1}+2 \implies a_{n}+1=3(a_{n-1}+1).

Therefore, the sequence {an+1}\{a_{n}+1\} is a geometric sequence with the first term a1+1=9a_{1}+1=9 and common ratio 33. Hence, we have The sequence {an+1} is a geometric sequence.\boxed{\text{The sequence } \{a_{n}+1\} \text{ is a geometric sequence.}}

Proof of (2):

Step 1: From (1), we know an+1=9×3n1=3n+1a_{n}+1=9\times 3^{n-1}=3^{n+1}. Therefore, an=3n+11a_{n}=3^{n+1}-1.

Step 2: For the sequence {bn}\{b_{n}\}, we have:
bn=1an+2=13n+1+1<13n+1. b_{n}=\frac{1}{a_{n}+2}=\frac{1}{{3}^{n+1}+1} \lt \frac{1}{{3}^{n+1}}.

Step 3: The sum of the first nn terms of {bn}\{b_{n}\}, TnT_{n}, can be estimated as:
Tn<132+133+134++13n+1. T_{n} < \frac{1}{{3}^{2}}+\frac{1}{{3}^{3}}+\frac{1}{{3}^{4}}+\cdots +\frac{1}{{3}^{n+1}}.

Step 4: Recognizing this as a geometric series with the first term 19\frac{1}{9} and common ratio 13\frac{1}{3}, we find:
Tn<19(113n)113=1616×13n<16. T_{n} < \frac{\frac{1}{9}(1-\frac{1}{{3}^{n}})}{1-\frac{1}{3}}=\frac{1}{6}-\frac{1}{6}\times \frac{1}{{3}^{n}} < \frac{1}{6}.

Therefore, we conclude that Tn16T_{n}<\frac{1}{6}, and we encapsulate this final answer as Tn16\boxed{T_{n}<\frac{1}{6}}.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.