12
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Let the first term of the arithmetic sequence be a and the common difference be d.
The nth term of the arithmetic sequence can be expressed as
The 1st, 5th, and 10th terms of this arithmetic sequence are:
Since these terms form a GP, the ratio between consecutive terms is constant. Therefore, we get the equation:
Since d is not zero, we can divide both sides by d:
We are also given that the sum of the 2nd and 8th terms is 30. Therefore:
So:
Substituting a = 16d gives:
Solving for d, we get:
Now, substituting back to find a:
The first term a of the arithmetic sequence is 12.