The first sequence an: an = 3n + 1, n = 1, 2, …, 120
The second sequence bn: bn = 4n + 1, n = 1, 2, …, 120
For an element to be common, it must satisfy: an = bm
Substitute the expressions for an and bm: 3n + 1 =4 m + 1
Simplify:
3n = 4m
n/m = 4/3
Let: n = 4k, m = 3k
where k is a positive integer.
since n and m are indices, both must satisfy their respective ranges:
- For n = 4k: 1 ≤ 4k ≤ 120 ⇒ 1 ≤ k ≤ 30
- For m = 3k: 1 ≤3k ≤ 120 ⇒ 1 ≤ k ≤ 40
The smallest common range is:
1 ≤ k ≤ 30
Each k corresponds to one common element, so there are 30 common elements.