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Algebra Difficulty 4.7 AIME Prove it

Consider the sequence {an}\{a_n\} satisfying the following conditions: a1=2a_1 = 2, a2=3a_2 = 3, and an+2=3an+12ana_{n+2} = 3a_{n+1} - 2a_n for all nNn \in \mathbb{N}^*.
(1) Let dn=an+1and_n = a_{n+1} - a_n. Prove that the sequence {dn}\{d_n\} is a geometric progression (GP).
(2) If {1an}\left\{\frac{1}{a_n}\right\} is a sequence whose sum of the first nn terms is SnS_n, prove that Sn<32S_n < \frac{3}{2}.

Solution

(1) Since an+2=3an+12ana_{n+2} = 3a_{n+1} - 2a_n, we have:
dn+1dn=an+2an+1an+1an=3an+12anan+1an+1an=2(an+1an)an+1an=2.\frac{d_{n+1}}{d_n} = \frac{a_{n+2} - a_{n+1}}{a_{n+1} - a_n} = \frac{3a_{n+1} - 2a_n - a_{n+1}}{a_{n+1} - a_n} = \frac{2(a_{n+1} - a_n)}{a_{n+1} - a_n} = 2.
Therefore, the sequence {dn}\{d_n\} is a geometric progression with d1=a2a1=1d_1 = a_2 - a_1 = 1 and common ratio q=2q = 2. Consequently, we have dn=2n1d_n = 2^{n-1}.

(2) We are given dn=2n1d_n = 2^{n-1} and dn=an+1and_n = a_{n+1} - a_n. Therefore, for n2n \geq 2,
an+1an=2n1.a_{n+1} - a_n = 2^{n-1}.
Starting with n=1n = 1, we have:
a2a1=20,a3a2=21,a4a3=22, , anan1=2n2.a_2 - a_1 = 2^0, \quad a_3 - a_2 = 2^1, \quad a_4 - a_3 = 2^2, \ \ldots, \ a_n - a_{n-1} = 2^{n-2}.
By summing these equations, we obtain:
ana1=20+21++2n2=12n112=2n11.a_n - a_1 = 2^0 + 2^1 + \ldots + 2^{n-2} = \frac{1 - 2^{n-1}}{1 - 2} = 2^{n-1} - 1.
Consequently, we have:
an=2n1+1.a_n = 2^{n-1} + 1.
Thus,
1an=12n1+1<12n1(n2).\frac{1}{a_n} = \frac{1}{2^{n-1} + 1} < \frac{1}{2^{n-1}} \quad (n \geq 2).
When n=1n = 1, Sn=1a1=12<32S_n = \frac{1}{a_1} = \frac{1}{2} < \frac{3}{2} holds.
For n2n \geq 2, the sum of the first nn terms of the sequence {1an}\left\{\frac{1}{a_n}\right\} is:
Sn=1a1+1a2+1a3++1an=12+122++12n1.S_n = \frac{1}{a_1} + \frac{1}{a_2} + \frac{1}{a_3} + \ldots + \frac{1}{a_n} = \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{2^2} + \ldots + \frac{1}{2^{n-1}}.
Recognizing a geometric series, we have:
Sn=12+14(112n1)112=3212n<32.S_n = \frac{1}{2} + \frac{\frac{1}{4}\left(1 - \frac{1}{2^{n-1}}\right)}{1 - \frac{1}{2}} = \frac{3}{2} - \frac{1}{2^n} < \frac{3}{2}.
Therefore, we conclude that Sn<32S_n < \frac{3}{2} for all nNn \in \mathbb{N}^*, and the final result is:
Sn<32.\boxed{S_n < \frac{3}{2}}.

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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.