Difficult G.P. Problem from a Difficult Math Book

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Homework Statement


15. The series $$a+ar-ar^2-ar^3+ar^4+ar^5-ar^6-ar^7+...,$$
where ##a>0##, has its ##k##th term, ##T_k##, defined by
$$T_k=ar^{k-1}$$ if ##k## is of the form ##4p-3## or ##4p-2## and
$$T_k=-ar^{k-1}$$ if ##k## is of the form ##4p-1## or ##4p,##
where p is a positive integer. By rewriting the series as the sum of two geometric series, or otherwise, prove that the sum to ##4n## terms of the series is $$\frac{a(1+r)(1-r^4n)}{(1+r^2)}.$$

Homework Equations


$$S_n=\frac{a(1-r^n)}{1-r}$$


The Attempt at a Solution


$$a+ar-ar^2-ar^3+ar^4+ar^5-ar^6-ar^7+...$$
$$=(a+ar+ar^4+ar^5+...)-(ar^2+ar^3+ar^6+ar^7+...)$$
$$=(a+ar^4+ar^8+...)+(ar+ar^5+ar^9+...)-(ar^2+ar^6+ar^10+...)-(ar^3+ar^7+ar^{11}+...)$$
$$={}^1 S_n +{}^2 S_n +{}^3 S_n +{}^4 S_n$$
$$=\frac{a(1-(r^{4n})}{1-r^4}+\frac{ar(1-(r^{4n})}{1-r^4}-\frac{ar^2(1-(r^{4n})}{1-r^4}-\frac{ar^3(1-(r^{4n})}{1-r^4}$$
$$=a(1+r+r^2+r^3)\frac{a(1-r^{4n})}{(1-r^4)}$$
and now I am stUCK in the mUCK YUCK! I don't know how to factorise ##1+r+r^2+r^3##.
 
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Try grouping terms like this: (1 + r) + (r2 + r3). 1 + r is then a common factor of both terms.
 
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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