Grade 11

CALCULUS

Unit - 1.1
- SEQUENCES -

Üsküdar American Academy

Mathematics Department
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

Objectives:
By the end of this unit, you’ll be able to:

1. Find the nth term of a sequence.

2. Identify whether a given expression is a sequence or not.

3. Find which terms of a given sequence are negative.

4. Find which terms of a given sequence are integers.

5. Define constant sequence.

6. Determine whether given two sequences are equal or not.

7. Write a recursive definition for a given sequence.

8. Find an explicit formula for a sequence.

9. Identify an arithmetic or a geometric sequence.

10. Construct a formula for the general term of an arithmetic or a geometric sequence.

11. Apply sequences defined recursively to solve problems.

12. Find arithmetic and/or geometric mean.

13. Solve word problems using sequences.

1
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

SEQUENCES
A sequence is an ordered list of numbers defined by a rule. It is also defined as a function
whose domain is Z + .
The numbers in a sequence are called the terms of the sequence.

If we let un represent the number of bricks in the nth row, then u1 = 3, u2 = 4, u3 = 5 and
u4 = 6 . The pattern could be continued forever, generating a sequence of numbers.

The general term or nth term of a sequence is represented by a symbol with a subscript,
for example un , an , etc.
Unless stated otherwise, we assume the first term of the sequence is u1 , and that the
sequence is defined for n ∈ Z + .

EXAMPLES:

1. Find the sixth term and the general term of each sequence

(a) 6, 12, 18, 24, ...

(b) 3, 9, 27, 81, ...

2. A sequence is defined by the explicit formula an = n2 − 10. Find a1 , a5 and a20 .

• A sequence which continues forever is called an infinite sequence.

• A sequence which terminates is called a finite sequence.

• A sequence where all the terms are the same real number is a constant sequence.

• Two sequences an and bn are equal or identical if and only if an = bn for all
n ∈ N +.

2
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

EXAMPLES:
n+2
1. If the given sequence an = is a finite sequence, find the number of its terms.
n−5

2. Write the first four terms of the following sequences whose nth term is given:

(a) an = 4n − 3 (b) bn = 2 + (−1)n

3. Which terms of the following sequences are negative?

3n − 7 3n − 23
(a) un = (b) cn =
2n − 13 2n − 7

4. Which terms of the following sequences are integers?

n2 + n + 6 4n2 − 4n + 1
(a) an = (b) an =
n+1 n+1

2n + 4 7
5. One of the terms of an = is . Find n.
n+1 3

3
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

n+9
6. Which terms of the following sequence an = are greater than 5?
n+1

7. For the given sequence an = n2 − 4n + 12, find the term which has the smallest value.

(x − 1)n + 2
8. If an = is a constant sequence, then find the value of x.
5n + 1

9. Show that the following sequences are equal;

an = cos(nπ)
bn = (−1)n

Explicit and Recursive Definition of Sequences

There are two different ways to find a number in a sequence. When we represent a sequence
by describing the relationship between its successive terms, we are representing the sequence
recursively.
For example un = un−2 + n

When we represent a sequence with a formula that lets us find any term in the sequence
without knowing any other terms, we are representing the sequence explicitly.
For example un = n3 − 7

EXAMPLES:

1. Given 23, 20, 17, 14, ..

(a) Write a recursive definition for the given sequence.

(b) Write an explicit definition for the given sequence.

4
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

2. Given a1 = 3 and an = 2an−1 + 1

(a) Find the first four terms of the sequence.

(b) Find an explicit formula for the sequence.

3. Given a1 = 3 and an+1 = an + n − 1, find a30 .

ARITHMETIC SEQUENCES
An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which each term differs from the previous one
by the same fixed number. We call this number the common difference d.

A sequence is arithmetic ⇔ un+1 − un = d for all n ∈ Z + .

An arithmetic sequence can also be referred to as an arithmetic progression.

The General Term Formula

Suppose the first term of an arithmetic sequence is u1 and the common difference is d.
Then u2 = u1 + d, u3 = u1 + 2d, u4 = u1 + 3d and so on. Hence,

un = u1 + (n − 1)d

Arithmetic Mean

Arithmetic mean of any two numbers a and b is given by

a+b
2
Let n numbers a1 , a2 , a3 , ...an be in an arithmetic progression, then their arithmetic mean
is
1
(a1 + a2 + a3 + ...an )
n

5
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

EXAMPLES:

1. Consider the sequence 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, ...

(a) Find a formula for the general term an .

(b) Find the 100th term of the sequence.
(c) Are the followings a term of the sequence?

i. 828 ii. 2341

2. The fourth term of an arithmetic sequence is 16. Its thirteenth term is 43. Write a
formula for the nth term.

3. Find the general term of the sequence 11, 8, 5, 2, −1, ...

5 80
4. 19 terms are inserted between and to create an arithmetic progression. Find
3 3
the common difference.

5. Find k given that 3k + 1, k and −3 are consecutive terms of an arithmetic sequence.

a7 + a19
6. Show that a13 = .
2

6
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

7. Find the general term of the arithmetic sequence if the third term is 3, and the eighth
term is −17.

8. Suppose 10k + 1 , 2k and 4k 2 − 5 are consecutive terms of an arithmetic sequence.

(a) Find the possible values of k.

(b) For each value of k, find the common difference of the sequence.

GEOMETRIC SEQUENCES
A geometric sequence is a sequence in which each term can be obtained from the previous
one by multiplying by the same non-zero number. We call this number the common ratio
r.

un+1
A sequence is geometric ⇔ = r for all n ∈ Z + .
un

A geometric sequence can also be referred to as a geometric progression.

The General Term Formula

Suppose the first term of a geometric sequence is u1 and the common ratio is r.
Then u2 = u1 · r, u3 = u1 · r2 , u4 = u1 · r3 , and so on. Hence,

un = u1 · rn−1

7
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

Geometric Mean

If a, b, and c are any consecutive terms of a geometric sequence then

b c √
= ⇒ b2 = a · c ⇒ b = ± a · c
a b
√
where a · c is the geometric mean of a and c.

EXAMPLES:
1
1. Consider the sequence 8, 4, 2, 1, , ...
2
(a) Show that the sequence is geometric.
(b) Find the general term un .
(c) Hence, find the 12th term as a fraction.

2. Find the general term of each of the following geometric sequences :

(a) 3, −12, 48, −192, ...

1 1 1
(b) 1, , , , ...
3 9 27

3. k − 1, 2k, 21 − k are consecutive terms of a geometric sequence. Find k.

8
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

4. The fourth term of a geometric sequence with positive terms is 125. The tenth term
is 125/64 . Find the first term.

5. In a certain sequence, a2 = 2 and a5 = 16. Find a10 if the sequence is

(a) Arithmetic
(b) Geometric

√ √
6. y Find the first term of the sequence 6, 6 2, 12, 12 2, ... which exceeds 1400.

√ √
7. The geometric mean of x − 11 and x + 11 is 5. Find x.

8. Show that the arithmetic mean of the two distinct natural numbers is always greater
than the geometric mean of those two numbers.

9
GRADE 11 CALCULUS

9. The 1st, 4th and 8th terms of an arithmetic sequence , with common difference d,
d ̸= 0, are the first three terms of a geometric sequence, with common ratio r. Given
that the first term of both sequences is 9, find

(a) The value of d .

(b) The value of r .

10. y The initial population of rabbits on a farm was 50. The population increased by
7% each week.

(a) How many rabbits were present after:

i. 15 weeks ii. 30 weeks

(b) How long will it take for the population to reach 500?

10