The sum of the terms of an arithmetic progression with three terms is 36. If the sum of their squares is 504, find the sum of their cubes.
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a = s e c o n d t e r m
d = c o m m o n d i f f e r e n c e
So the terms are a − d , a and a + d . Then
a − d + a + a + d = 3 6
3 a = 3 6
a = 1 2
and
( a − d ) 2 + a 2 + ( a + d ) 2 = 5 0 4
( 1 2 − d ) + 1 2 2 + ( 1 2 + d ) 2 = 5 0 4
1 4 4 − 2 4 d + d 2 + 1 4 4 + 1 4 4 + 2 4 d + d 2 = 5 0 4
2 d 2 = 7 2
d 2 = 3 6
d = ± 6
So the numbers are 6 , 1 2 and 1 8 . The sum of their cubes is 6 3 + 1 2 3 + 1 8 3 = 7 7 7 6