Non-decreasing Sequence Averages

CAT 2022 Slot 2 · QA · Hard · Arithmetic

The average of a non-decreasing sequence of NN numbers a1,a2,,aNa_1, a_2, \dots, a_N is 300. If a1a_1 is replaced by 6a16a_1, the new average becomes 400. Then, the number of possible values of a1a_1 is

Answer

14

Explanation

Let S=a1+a2++aN=300NS = a_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_N = 300N. Replacing a1a_1 with 6a16a_1 increases the sum by 5a15a_1. New sum = 300N+5a1=400N    5a1=100N    a1=20N300N + 5a_1 = 400N \implies 5a_1 = 100N \implies a_1 = 20N. Since the sequence is non-decreasing: a1a2aNa_1 \le a_2 \le \dots \le a_N. Sum S=a1+a2++aNNa1S = a_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_N \ge N a_1. Also S=300NS = 300N, so 300NNa1    a1300300N \ge N a_1 \implies a_1 \le 300. Since a1=20N300a_1 = 20N \le 300, we have N15N \le 15. Also, a1+(N1)aNSa_1 + (N-1)a_N \ge S, and maximum aNa_N can be anything, but for non-decreasing sequence, a1a_1 must be non-negative integer if we consider integers, or let's check bounds on NN. NN can be any integer from 2 to 15 (if N=1N=1, a1=20(1)=20300a_1 = 20(1) = 20 \neq 300). So N{2,3,,15}N \in \{2, 3, \dots, 15\}, which gives 14 possible values for NN, hence 14 possible values for a1=20Na_1 = 20N.

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