BUSINESS MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS

(QMS 100)

Maria Efrem

SAUT ARUSHA CENTRE

POWERS AND INDICES

Introduction
INDICES
The lowest factors of 2000 are
2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 5 × 5 × 5.These factors
are written as 24 × 53, where 2 and 5 are
called bases and the numbers 4 and 3
are called indices.
.....

When an index is an integer it is called a

power. Thus, 24 is called two to the
power of four, and has a base of 2 and
an index of 4. Similarly, 53 is called five
to the power of 3 and has a base of 5
and an index of 3.
........

Special names may be used when the

indices are 2 and 3, these being called
squared and cubed, respectively. Thus 72
is called seven squared and 93 is called
nine cubed. When no index is shown, the
power is 1, i.e. 2 means 21 .
Reciprocal

The reciprocal of a number is when the

index is −1 and its value is given by 1
divided by the base. Thus the reciprocal
of 2 is 2−1 and its value is 12 or 0.5
Similarly, the reciprocal of 5 is 5−1 which
means 15 or 0.2
Square root

The square root of a number is when the

index is 12 , and the square root of 2 is
1 √
written as 2 or 2.
2

The value of a square root is the value of

the base which when multiplied by itself
√ the number. Since 3 × 3 = 9, then
gives
√9 = 3 However,(3) × (3) = 9, so
9 = 3.
...........

There are always two answers when

finding the square root of a number and
this is shown by putting both a + and a
− sign in front of the√answer to a square
root problem.
√ Thus 9 = ±3 and
1
4 2 = 4 = ±2, and so on.
Laws of indices

When simplifying calculations involving

indices, certain basic rules or laws can be
applied, called the laws of indices. These
are given below.
....

i) When multiplying two or more numbers

having the same base, the indices are
added. Thus
32 × 34 = 32+4 = 36
Example

Evaluate:
a) 52 × 53
b) 2 × 22 × 25
....

ii) When a number is divided by a number

having the same base, the indices are
subtracted. Thus
35
32
= 35−2 = 33
Example

Evaluate:
5
a) 773
57
b) 54
Example

Evaluate:
a) 52 × 53 ÷ 54
b) (3 × 35) ÷ (32 × 33)
......

iii) When a number which is raised to a

power is raised to a further power, the
indices are multiplied. Thus
(35)2 = 35×2 = 310
Example

Simplify the questions and expressing the

answers in index form.
a) (23)4
b) (32)5
Evaluate:
2 )3
a) 10(10
4 ×102
.....

iv) When a number has an index of 0, its

value is 1. Thus
30 = 1
..............

v) A number raised to a negative power is

the reciprocal of that number raised to a
positive power. Thus
3−4 = 314
Similarly,
1 3
2−3 = 2
.....

vi) When a number is raised to a fractional

power the denominator of the fraction is
the root of the number and the
numerator
√ is the power.Thus
2 3 2 2
8 3 = √8 = (2)√ =4
1 2
25 2 = 251 = 251 = ±5
√ √
NOTE ( ≡ 2 )
Example

Find the value of

3 4
a) 227×2
×25
(32 )3
b) 3×39
Example

Evaluate
1
a) 4 2
3
b) 16 4
2
c) 27 3
1
d) 9− 2
EXERCISE

simplify the expressions given

2 ×7−3
1 77×7 −4
3 −4
×2 ×2 5
2 22×2−2 ×26

3 13 × 13−2 × 134 × 13−3

Further problems on powers and indices

a) Find the value of

23 ×35 ×(72 )2
74 ×24 ×33
....

b) Evaluate:
1
41.5 ×8 3
2
22 ×32− 5
SEQUENCE AND SERIES

Simple sequences
A set of numbers which are connected by
a definite law is called a series or a
sequence of numbers. Each of the
numbers in the series is called a term of
the series.
....

For example, 1, 3, 5, 7, . . . is a series

obtained by adding 2 to the previous
term, and 2, 8, 32, 128, . . . is a
sequence obtained by multiplying the
previous term by 4.
 Problem 1.
Determine the next two terms in the series:
3, 6, 9, 12, . . . .
We notice that the sequence 3, 6, 9, 12, . . .
progressively increases by 3, thus the next
two terms will be 15 and 18.
Problem 2.
Find the next three terms in the series: 9, 5,
1, . . . .

We notice that each term in the series 9, 5,

1, . . . progressively decreases by 4, thus the
next two terms will be 1 − 4, i.e. −3 and
−3 − 4, i.e. −7.
Problem 3.
Determine the next two terms in the series:
2, 6, 18, 54, . . . .
We notice that the second term, 6, is three
times the first term, the third term, 18, is
three times the second term, and that the
fourth term, 54, is three times the third term.
Hence the fifth term will be 3 × 54 = 162
and the sixth term will be 3 × 162 = 486
Further problems on simple sequences
Determine the next two terms in each of the
following series:

a. 3, 6, 12, 24, ...

b. 1, 0.1, 0.01, ...
The nth term of a series
If a series is represented by a general
expression, say, 2n + 1, where n is an integer
(i.e. a whole number), then by substituting
n = 1, 2, 3, ... the terms of the series can
be determined; in this example, the first
three terms will be:
......
2(1) + 1, 2(2) + 1, 2(3) + 1, ...,
i.e. 3, 5, 7, ...
Example
What is the nth term of the sequence
1, 3, 5, 7, ...? Firstly, we notice that the
gap between each term is 2, hence the law
relating the numbers is:
2n + something
The second term, 3 = 2n + something,
......
hence when n = 2 (i.e. the second term of
the series), then 3 = 4 + something and the
something must be 1. Thus the nth term of
1, 3, 5, 7, ... is 2n − 1. Hence the fifth term
is given by 2(5) − 1 = 9, and the twentieth
term is 2(20) − 1 = 39, and so on.
Example
The nth term of a sequence is given by
3n + 1. Write down the first four terms.
Example
The nth term of a sequence is given by
4n − 1.. Write down the first four terms.
Example
Find the nth term of the series: 1, 4, 7, ....
Example
Find the nth term of the
series: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ....
Example
Find the nth term of the
series: 3, 9, 15, 21, ....Hence determine the
15th term of the series.
Arithmetic progressions

When a sequence has a constant

difference between successive terms it is
called an arithmetic progression (often
abbreviated to AP).
Example
(i) 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, ... where the common
difference is 3,and (ii)
a, a + d , a + 2d , a + 3d , ... where the
common difference is d . If the first term of
an AP is a and the common difference is d
then the nth term is : a + (n − 1)d
....
The sum S of an AP can be obtained by
multiplying the average of all the terms by
the number of terms.
The average of all the terms = a+ι 2 where a
is the first term and ι is the last term, i.e.
ι = a + (n − 1)d , for n terms. Hence the
sum of n terms,
Sn = n( a+ι n
2 ) = 2 a + [a + [a + (n − 1)d ]
....
i.e.
Sn = n2 [2a + (n − 1)d ]
Example
the sum of the first 7 terms of the series
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, ... is given by:
Problems on Arithmetic Progression
Determine (a) the ninth, and (b) the
sixteenth term of the series 2, 7, 12, 17, ....
Problem 2
The 6th term of an AP is 17 and the 13th
term is 38. Determine the 19th term.
Problem 3
Determine the number of the term whose
value is 22 in the series 2 12 , 4, 5 12 , 7, ........
Problem 4
Determine the number of the term whose
value is 22 in the series 2 12 , 4, 5 12 , 7, ........
Problem 5
Find the sum of the first 12 terms of the
series 5, 9, 13, 17, ....
Problem 6
Find the sum of the first 21 terms of the
series 3.5, 4.1, 4.7, 5.3, ....
Problem 7
The sum of 7 terms of an AP is 35 and the
common difference is 1.2. Determine the
first term of the series.
Problem 8
Three numbers are in arithmetic progression.
Their sum is 15 and their product is 80.
Determine the three numbers.
Problem 9
Find the sum of all the numbers between 0
and 207 which are exactly divisible by 3.
Problem 9
The first, twelfth and last term of an
arithmetic progression are 4, 31 12 , and 376 12
respectively. Determine (a) the number of
terms in the series, (b) the sum of all the
terms and (c) the 80th term.
Geometric progressions

When a sequence has a constant ratio

between successive terms it is called a
geometric progression (often abbreviated
to GP). The constant is called the
common ratio, r
Examples include

i) 1, 2, 4, 8, ... where the common ratio is 2,

ii) a, ar , ar 2 , ar 3 , . . . where the common
ratio is r
.....

If the first term of a GP is a and the

common ratio is r , then the nth term is :
Gn = ar n−1
Sum of GP

The sum of n terms of GP is given by

n)
Sn = a(1−r
1−r which is valid when r < 1
The sum of n terms of GP is given by
n −1)
Sn = a(rr −1 which is valid when r > 1
When the common ratio r of a GP is less
than unity, r n becomes less as n increases,
then sum to infinity will be given by
a
S∝ = 1−r which is valid when
−1 < r < 1
Problems on Geometric Progressions
Determine the tenth term of the series
3, 6, 12, 24, ....
Problems 2
Find the sum of the first 7 terms of the
series, 21 , 1 12 , 4 12 , 13 12 .........
Problems 3
The first term of a geometric progression is
12 and the fifth term is 55. Determine the
8th term and the 11th term.
Problems 3
Which term of the series 2187, 729, 243, ...
is 19 ?
Problems 4
Find the sum of the first 9 terms of the
series 72.0, 57.6, 46.08, ....
Problems 5
Find the sum to infinity of the series
3, 1, 31 , ....
Problems 6
Find the sum to infinity of the series
3, 1, 31 , ....
Problems 7
In a geometric progression the sixth term is 8
times the third term and the sum of the
seventh and eighth terms is 192. Determine
(a) the common ratio, (b) the first term, and
(c) the sum of the fifth to eleventh terms,
inclusive.