11.2 – 11.

3 Worksheet Name __________________________Hr _____

Arithmetic and Geometric Sequence Word Problems

Arithmetic Sequences & Series

First determine if the problem is arithmetic or geometric. 𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎: 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
Second determine if you are finding an nth term or a sum.
Then solve the problem. 𝑛
𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒎: 𝑆𝑛 = (𝑎 + 𝑎𝑛 )
2 1

Geometric Sequences & Series

𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎: 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 𝑟 (𝑛−1)

𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒎: 𝑆𝑛 =
(1 − 𝑟)

1.) A Child puts $1.00 into a piggy bank. One week later, he puts $1.25 in the bank. Two weeks later, he put $1.50 in
𝑎1
the bank, and so on. How much money does he put in the bank on the 25th𝑺𝒖𝒎:
𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 week? 𝑆 =
(1 − 𝑟)

2.) What is the value of x in the geometric sequence{𝑥, −4, 8, −16, … }?

3.) How many terms are there in a geometric series if the first term is 3, the common ratio is 4, and the sum is
1,023?

4.) A side of an apartment building is shaped like a steep staircase. The windows are arranged in columns. The first
column has 2 windows, the next has 4, then 6, and so on. How many windows are on the side of the apartment
building if it has 15 columns?

5.) Nathan has a collection of barbells for his home gym. He has 2 barbells that weigh 5 pounds each, 10 pounds
each, 15 pounds each, and so on, up to 80 pounds. What is the total weight of all his barbells?

6.) Amanda wants to host a party. She invites 3 friends and tells them to invite 3 of their friends. The 3 friends do
invite 3 others and ask each to invites 3 more people. This invitation process goes on for 5 generations of
invitations. Including herself, how many people can Amanda expect at her party?
7.) A health club rolls its towels and stacks them in layers on a shelf. Each layer of towels has one less towel than the
layer below it. If there are 20 towels on the bottom layer and one towel on the top layer, how many towels are
stacked on the shelf?

8.) Heavy rain in Brianne’s town caused the river to rise. The river rose three inches the first day, and each day twice
as much as the previous day. How much did the river rise in five days?

9.) More than 380,000 people run in marathons each year. Matthew is training to run a marathon. He runs 20 miles
his first week of training. Each week, he increases the number of miles he runs by 4 miles. How many total miles
did he run in 8 weeks of training?

10.) A teacher teaches 8 students how to fold an origami model. Each of these students goes on to teach 8 students of
their own how to fold the same model. If this teaching process goes on for 6 generations, how many people total
will know how to fold the origami model?

11.) Daniela borrowed some money from her parents. She agreed to pay $50 at the end of the first month and $25
more for each addition month for 12 months. How much does she pay in total after the 12 months?

12.) When an object is in free fall and air resistance is ignored, it falls 16 feet in the first second, an additional 48 feet
in the next second, and 80 feet during the third second. How many total feet will the object fall in 10 seconds?

13.) A virus goes through a computer, infecting files. If one file was infected initially and the total number of files
infected doubles every minute, how many total files will be infected in 20 minutes?
11.2 – 11.3 Worksheet Name _________KEY_____________Hr _____
Arithmetic and Geometric Sequence Word Problems

Arithmetic Sequences & Series

First determine if the problem is arithmetic or geometric. 𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎: 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
Second determine if you are finding an nth term or a sum.
Then solve the problem. 𝑛
𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒎: 𝑆𝑛 = (𝑎 + 𝑎𝑛 )
2 1

Geometric Sequences & Series

𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎: 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 𝑟 (𝑛−1)

𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑭𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒖𝒎: 𝑆𝑛 =
(1 − 𝑟)

1.) A Child puts $1.00 into a piggy bank. One week later, he puts $1.25 in the bank. Two weeks later, he put $1.50 in
𝑎1
the bank, and so on. How much money does he put in the bank on the 25th𝑺𝒖𝒎:
𝑰𝒏𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒆 week? 𝑆 =
(1 − 𝑟)

Arithmetic, nth term, $7.00

2.) What is the value of x in the geometric sequence{𝑥, −4, 8, −16, … }?

Geometric, nth term, 2

3.) How many terms are there in a geometric series if the first term is 3, the common ratio is 4, and the sum is
1,023?

Geometric, sum, n = 5

4.) A side of an apartment building is shaped like a steep staircase. The windows are arranged in columns. The first
column has 2 windows, the next has 4, then 6, and so on. How many windows are on the side of the apartment
building if it has 15 columns?

Arithmetic, Sum, 240 windows

5.) Nathan has a collection of barbells for his home gym. He has 2 barbells that weigh 5 pounds each, 10 pounds
each, 15 pounds each, and so on, up to 80 pounds. What is the total weight of all his barbells?

Arithmetic, sum, 1360 lbs

6.) Amanda wants to host a party. She invites 3 friends and tells them to invite 3 of their friends. The 3 friends do
invite 3 others and ask each to invites 3 more people. This invitation process goes on for 5 generations of
invitations. Including herself, how many people can Amanda expect at her party?

Geometric, sum, 364 people

7.) A health club rolls its towels and stacks them inlayer on a shelf. Each layer of towels has one less towel than the
layer below it. If there are 20 towels on the bottom layer and one towel on the top layer, how many towels are
stacked on the shelf?

Arithmetic, sum, 210 towels

8.) Heavy rain in Brianne’s town caused the river to rise. The river rose three inches the first day, and each day twice
as much as the previous day. How much did the river rise in five days?

Geometric, sum, 93 inches

9.) More than 380,000 people run in marathons each year. Matthew is training to run a marathon. He runs 20 miles
his first week of training. Each week, he increases the number of miles he runs by 4 miles. How many total miles
did he run in 8 weeks of training?

Arithmetic, sum, 272 miles

10.) A teacher teaches 8 students how to fold an origami model. Each of these students goes on to teach 8 students of
their own how to fold the same model. If this teaching process goes on for 6 generations, how many people total
will know how to fold the origami model?

Geometric, nth term, 37,449

11.) Daniela borrowed some money from her parents. She agreed to pay $50 at the end of the first month and $25
more for each addition month for 12 months. How much does she pay in total after the 12 months?

Arithmetic, sum, $2250

12.) When an object is in free fall and air resistance is ignored, it falls 16 feet in the first second, an additional 48 feet
in the next second, and 80 feet during the third second. How many total feet will the object fall in 10 seconds?

Arithmetic, sum, 1600 feet

13.) A virus goes through a computer, infecting files. If one file was infected initially and the total number of files
infected doubles every minute, how many total files will be infected in 20 minutes?

Geometric, sum, 1,048,575