Question

In a potato race 20 potatoes are placed in a line at intervals of 4 m with the first potato 24 m from the starting point. A contestant is required to bring the potatoes back to the starting place one at a time. How far would he run in bringing back all the potatoes?

Answer 1

Distance travelled to bring first potato = 24 + 24 = 2 x 24 = 48 m

Distance travelled to bring second potato = 2(24 + 4) = 2 x 28 = 56 m

Distance travelled to bring third potato = 2(24 + 4 + 4) = 2 X 32 = 64 m; and so on…

Clearly, 48, 56, 64,… is an A.P. with first term 48 and common difference 8. Also, number of terms is 20.

Total distance run in bringing back all the potatoes,