Progressions (AP, GP, HP)

Progressions (or Sequences and Series) are numbers arranged in a particular order such
that they form a predictable order. By predictable order, we mean that given some
numbers, we can find next numbers in the series.
Arithmetic Progression (AP)
A sequence of numbers is called an arithmetic progression if the difference between any
two consecutive terms is always same. In simple terms, it means that next number in the
series is calculated by adding a fixed number to the previous number in the series. This
fixed number is called the common difference.

Notation in AP
In AP, we will come across three main terms, which are denoted as:

 Common difference (d)

 nth Term (an)
 Sum of the first n terms (Sn)
All three terms represent the property of Arithmetic Progression. We will learn more about these three
properties in the next section.

Common Difference in Arithmetic Progression

In this progression, for a given series, the terms used are the first term, the common difference between the two
terms and nth term. Suppose, a1, a2, a3, ……………., an is an AP, then; the common difference “ d ” can be
obtained as;

d = a2 – a1 = a3 – a2 = ……. = an – an – 1
Where “d” is a common difference. It can be positive, negative or zero.

First Term of AP
The AP can also be written in terms of common difference, as follows;

a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, a + 4d, ………. ,a + (n – 1) d

where “a” is the first term of the progression.

General Form of an A. P
Consider an AP to be: a1, a2, a3, ……………., an

Position of Terms Representation of Terms Values of Term

1 a1 a = a + (1-1) d

2 a2 a + d = a + (2-1) d

3 a3 a + 2d = a + (3-1) d

4 a4 a + 3d = a + (4-1) d

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

n an a + (n-1)d

Formulas
There are two major formulas we come across when we learn about Arithmetic Progression, which is related
to:

 The nth term of AP

 Sum of the first n terms
Let us learn here both the formulas with examples.

nth Term of an AP
The formula for finding the n-th term of an AP is:

an = a + (n − 1) × d

Where
a = First term
d = Common difference
n = number of terms
an = nth term
Example: Find the nth term of AP: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…., an, if the number of terms are 15.
Solution: Given, AP: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…., an
n=15
By the formula we know, an = a+(n-1)d
First-term, a =1
Common difference, d=2-1 =1
Therefore, an = 1+(15-1)1 = 1+14 = 15
Note: The finite portion of an AP is known as finite AP and therefore the sum of finite AP is known as
arithmetic series. The behaviour of the sequence depends on the value of a common difference.

 If the value of “d” is positive, then the member terms will grow towards positive infinity
 If the value of “d” is negative, then the member terms grow towards negative infinity

Sum of N Terms of AP
For any progression, the sum of n terms can be easily calculated. For an AP, the sum of the first n terms can be
calculated if the first term and the total terms are known. The formula for the arithmetic progression sum is
explained below:
Consider an AP consisting “n” terms.

S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d]
This is the AP sum formula to find the sum of n terms in series.
Proof: Consider an AP consisting “n” terms having the sequence a, a + d, a + 2d, ………….,a + (n – 1) × d
Sum of first n terms = a + (a + d) + (a + 2d) + ………. + [a + (n – 1) × d] ——————-(i)
Writing the terms in reverse order,we have:
S = [a + (n – 1) × d] + [a + (n – 2) × d] + [a + (n – 3) × d] + ……. (a) ———–(ii)
Adding both the equations term wise, we have:
2S = [2a + (n – 1) × d] + [2a + (n – 1) × d] + [2a + (n – 1) × d] + …………. + [2a + (n – 1) ×d] (n-terms)
2S = n × [2a + (n – 1) × d]
S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d]
Example: Let us take the example of adding natural numbers up to 15 numbers.
AP = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
Given, a = 1, d = 2-1 = 1 and an = 15
Now, by the formula we know;
S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d] = 15/2[2.1+(15-1).1]
S = 15/2[2+14] = 15/2 [16] = 15 x 8
S = 120
Hence, the sum of the first 15 natural numbers is 120.
Sum of AP when the Last Term is Given
Formula to find the sum of AP when first and last terms are given as follows:

S = n/2 (first term + last term)

Formula Lists
The list of formulas is given in a tabular form used in AP. These formulas are useful to solve problems based
on the series and sequence concept.

General Form of AP a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, . . .

The nth term of AP an = a + (n – 1) × d

Sum of n terms in AP S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d]

Sum of all terms in a finite AP with the last term as ‘l’ n/2(a + l)

Arithmetic Progressions Questions and Solutions

Below are the problems to find the nth terms and sum of the sequence are solved using AP sum formulas in
detail. Go through them once and solve the practice problems to excel your skills.
Example 1: Find the value of n. If a = 10, d = 5, an = 95.
Solution: Given, a = 10, d = 5, an = 95
From the formula of general term, we have:
an = a + (n − 1) × d
95 = 10 + (n − 1) × 5
(n − 1) × 5 = 95 – 10 = 85
(n − 1) = 85/ 5
(n − 1) = 17
n = 17 + 1
n = 18
Example 2: Find the 20th term for the given AP:3, 5, 7, 9, ……
Solution: Given,
3, 5, 7, 9, ……
a = 3, d = 5 – 3 = 2, n = 20
an = a + (n − 1) × d
a20 = 3 + (20 − 1) × 2
a20 = 3 + 38
⇒a20 = 41
Example 3: Find the sum of first 30 multiples of 4.
Solution: Given, a = 4, n = 30, d = 4
We know,
S = n/2 [2a + (n − 1) × d]
S = 30/2[2 (4) + (30 − 1) × 4]
S = 15[8 + 116]
S = 1860

Problems on AP
Find the below questions based on Arithmetic sequence formulas and solve it for good practice.
Question 1: Find the a_n and 10th term of the progression: 3, 10, 17, 24, ……
Question 2: If a = 2, d = 3 and n = 90. Find an and Sn.
Question 3: The 7th term and 10th terms of an AP are 12 and 25. Find the 12th term.

Geometric Progression (GP)

A sequence of numbers is called a geometric progression if the ratio of any two
consecutive terms is always same. In simple terms, it means that next number in the
series is calculated by multiplying a fixed number to the previous number in the series.
This fixed number is called the common ratio.
For example, 2,4,8,16 is a GP because ratio of any two consecutive terms in the series
(common difference) is same (4 / 2 = 8 / 4 = 16 / 8 = 2).
If ‘a’ is the first term and ‘r’ is the common ratio,

 nth term of a GP = a rn-1

 Geometric Mean = nth root of product of n terms in the GP
 Sum of ‘n’ terms of a GP (r < 1) = [a (1 – rn)] / [1 – r]
 Sum of ‘n’ terms of a GP (r > 1) = [a (rn – 1)] / [r – 1]
 Sum of infinite terms of a GP (r < 1) = (a) / (1 – r)
Harmonic Progression (HP)
A sequence of numbers is called a harmonic progression if the reciprocal of the terms are
in AP. In simple terms, a,b,c,d,e,f are in HP if 1/a, 1/b, 1/c, 1/d, 1/e, 1/f are in AP.
For two terms ‘a’ and ‘b’,
  Harmonic Mean = (2 a b) / (a + b)
For two numbers, if A, G and H are respectively the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic
means, then
 A≥G≥H
 A H = G2, i.e., A, G, H are in GP

Sample Problems

Question 1 : Find the nth term for the AP : 11, 17, 23, 29, …
Solution : Here, a = 11, d = 17 – 11 = 23 – 17 = 29 – 23 = 6
We know that nth term of an AP is a + (n – 1) d
=> nth term for the given AP = 11 + (n – 1) 6
=> nth term for the given AP = 5 + 6 n
We can verify the answer by putting values of ‘n’.
=> n = 1 -> First term = 5 + 6 = 11
=> n = 2 -> Second term = 5 + 12 = 17
=> n = 3 -> Third term = 5 + 18 = 23
and so on …

Question 2 : Find the sum of the AP in the above question till first 10 terms.
Solution : From the above question,
=> nth term for the given AP = 5 + 6 n
=> First term = 5 + 6 = 11
=> Tenth term = 5 + 60 = 65
=> Sum of 10 terms of the AP = 0.5 n (first term + last term) = 0.5 x 10 (11 + 65)
=> Sum of 10 terms of the AP = 5 x 76 = 380

Question 3 : For the elements 4 and 6, verify that A ≥ G ≥ H.

Solution : A = Arithmetic Mean = (4 + 6) / 2 = 5
G = Geometric Mean = = 4.8989
H = Harmonic Mean = (2 x 4 x 6) / (4 + 6) = 48 / 10 = 4.8
Therefore, A ≥ G ≥ H

Question 4 : Find the sum of the series 32, 16, 8, 4, … upto infinity.
Solution : First term, a = 32
Common ratio, r = 16 / 32 = 8 / 16 = 4 / 8 = 1 / 2 = 0.5
We know that for an infinite GP, Sum of terms = a / (1 – r)
=> Sum of terms of the GP = 32 / (1 – 0.5) = 32 / 0.5 = 64

Question 5 : The sum of three numbers in a GP is 26 and their product is 216. find the
numbers.
Solution : Let the numbers be a/r, a, ar.
=> (a / r) + a + a r = 26
=> a (1 + r + r2) / r = 26
Also, it is given that product = 216
=> (a / r) x (a) x (a r) = 216
=> a3 = 216
=> a = 6
=> 6 (1 + r + r2) / r = 26
=> (1 + r + r2) / r = 26 / 6 = 13 / 3
=> 3 + 3 r + 3 r2 = 13 r
=> 3 r2 – 10 r + 3 = 0
=> (r – 3) (r – (1 / 3) ) = 0
=> r = 3 or r = 1 / 3
Thus, the required numbers are 2, 6 and 18.
Problems on Progressions (AP,GP, HP) | Set-2
This article has been contributed by Nishant Arora

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