PRE CALCULUS

Learning Activity Sheet 3

Sequence and Series

I. Most Essential Learning Competency with Code

• Illustrate a series (STEM_PC11AG-Ih-1)
• Differentiate a series from a sequence (STEM_PC11AG-Ih-2)

II. Background Information for Learners

Series and Sequence

Series play an important role in various aspects of our lives. They help us predict,
evaluate, and monitor the outcome of a situation or event and help us a lot in decision
making. If you look around in your surroundings, you will find several patterns in nature –
leaves and flowers with similar structures, the ripples on a lake, the symmetry of a starfish
and many more patterns that don’t cease to amaze us.

Series plays an important field of many disciplines, especially physics and chemistry.
They are used for analysis of current flow and sound waves, calculating the time it takes a
bouncing ball to come to rest or the swing of a pendulum to stop.

Sequence and series are important concepts in many branches of Mathematics. Its
applications are numerous in the different fields, this includes biology, physics, investments,
accountancy, and arts. Many of the mathematical problems can be related to sequence and
series.
In this lesson, we will illustrate what is a series and can differentiate a series from a
sequence. We will also review the definitions and different types of sequences and series.

Suppose you have this pattern below:

Questions:
How many dots have you observed for each figure?
What would be the next figure looks like? Can you guess what the pattern is?
How many dots would you need to build the 20th triangle?

Problems like this form patterns called sequence and finding the total
number of dots needed to form each triangle involve finding their sum and such
sum is called a series.

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Recall the following definitions:

A sequence is a function whose domain is the set of positive integers or

the set {1, 2, 3, ..., n}.
A series represents the sum of the terms of a sequence. If a sequence is
finite, we will refer to the sum of the terms of the sequence as the series
associated with the sequence. If the sequence has infinitely many terms, the sum
is defined more precisely in calculus.
A series represents the sum of the terms of a sequence (separated by “+” or “−” sign).
A "series" is what you get when you add up all the terms of a sequence; the addition, and the
resulting value, are called the "sum" or the "summation". For instance, "1, 2, 3, 4" is a
sequence, with terms "1", "2", "3", and "4"; the corresponding series is the sum "1 + 2 + 3 +
4", and the value of the series is 10.
A sequence is a list of numbers (separated by commas), while a series is a sum of
1 1 1
numbers (separated by “+” or “−” sign). As an illustration, 1, − 2 , 3 , − 4 is a sequence, and
1 1 1 7
1 − 2 + 3 − 4 = 12 is its associated series.
The sequence with nth term is usually denoted by {𝑎𝑛 }, and the associated series is
given by

S = 𝑎1 +𝑎2 + 𝑎3 + … + 𝑎𝑛

Difference between sequence and series:

Sequence Series
Set of elements that follow a pattern Sum of elements of the sequence
Order of elements is important Order of elements is not so important
Finite sequence: 1,2,3,4,5 Finite series: 1+2+3+4+5
Infinite sequence: 1,2,3,4, … Infinite Series: 1+2+3+4+…

A finite series is the sum of the first n terms of a sequence. It is also referred to as the
nth partial sum of a sequence. An infinite series is the sum of all the terms of an infinite
sequence.

TYPES OF SEQUENCE AND SERIES

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which each term after the first is obtained by
adding a constant (called the common difference) to the preceding term.

If the nth term of an arithmetic sequence is an and the common difference is d, then

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The associated arithmetic series with n terms is given by

Arithmetic Series

An arithmetic series is the sum of an arithmetic sequence. Formulas for Arithmetic Series:
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = (𝑎 + 𝑎𝑛 )
2 1
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = 2 [2𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]

Where:
𝑎1 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚
𝑎𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚
𝑛 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠
𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑜𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒

A geometric sequence is a sequence in which each term after the first is obtained by
multiplying the preceding term by a constant (called the common ratio).

Geometric Sequence and Series

A geometric sequence is a sequence of numbers in which the ratio between

consecutive terms is constant. The Formula for the nth term of a geometric sequence
is

𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 𝑟 𝑛−1

Where: 𝑎1 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜

A geometric series results from adding the terms of a geometric sequence.

The Formula for the sum of a finite geometric series is

𝑛
𝑎(1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑆𝑛 = ∑ 𝑎𝑟 𝑖−1 = ,𝑟 = 1
1−𝑟
𝑖=1

The formula for the sum oof an infinite geometric series is

𝑛
𝑎
𝑆𝑛 = ∑ 𝑎𝑟 𝑖−1 = , |𝑟| < 1
1−𝑟
𝑖=1

Where: 𝑎 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜

𝐼𝑓 |𝑟| ≥ 1, 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑒𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑒𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑎 𝑠𝑢𝑚

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 A sequence whose reciprocals form an arithmetic sequence is called a harmonic
sequence.

General rule for Harmonic Sequence

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𝑎𝑛 =
𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑

A sequence which is not either arithmetic or geometric sequence is called the

Fibonacci sequence. The next term after the first two terms is obtained by adding the two
preceding terms.

The nth term of a Fibonacci sequence can be obtained by the formula:

𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑛−2 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑛 > 2

Example: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …

Example 1.1. Find the sum of all multiples of 5 between 1 and 100.
Solution: a1 = 5 an = 100 d = 5
First, we determine how many multiples of 5 (n) there are between 1 and 100.
Use the formula, 𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
100 = 5 + (n – 1) 5
100 = 5 + 5n – 5
100 = 5n
20 = n
n = 20
𝑛
To find the sum, we use the formula, 𝑆𝑛 = 2 (𝑎1 + 𝑎𝑛 )
20
𝑆20 = (5 + 100)
2
𝑆20 = 10(5 + 100)
𝑆20 = 10(105)
𝑆20 = 1,050

Example 1.2. Find x so that x – 1, 2x – 2, and 3x + 6 are terms of a geometric sequence.

Solution: Let r the common ratio of the geometric sequence
Since 𝑟1 = 𝑟2 then we have,
2𝑥 − 2 3𝑥 + 6
=
𝑥−1 2𝑥 − 2

(2𝑥 − 2)(2𝑥 − 2) = (3𝑥 + 6)(𝑥 − 1)

4𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 4 = 3𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 − 6
4𝑥 2 − 8𝑥 + 4 − (3𝑥 2 + 3𝑥 − 6) = 0
𝑥 2 − 11𝑥 + 10 = 0
(𝑥 − 10)(𝑥 − 1) = 0
𝑥 = 10 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑥 = 1
Let’s substitute the value of x to the terms in the sequence.
Now, if x = 10, the sequence is 9, 18, 36 → geometric sequence
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 If x = 1, the sequence is 0, 0, 9 → not geometric sequence.
Therefore, the value of x that make the terms a geometric sequence is 10.

Example 1.3. A family saves Php 1000 in January, Php 1200 in February, Php 1400 in March
and so on. How much will they save in one year?
Solution: Find 𝑆12
1000, 1200, 1400, …
n = one year = 12 months
d = Php 200
𝑛
Use the formula, 𝑆𝑛 = 2 [2𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]
12
𝑆12 = [2(1000) + (12 − 1)200]
2
= 6 [2000 + 11(200)]
= 6 (2000 + 2200)
S12 = Php 25, 200 is the amount of money they will save in one year.

Example 1.4. Determine the first five terms of each defined sequence and give their
associated series.
a. (−2𝑛)𝑛 b. 5n – 2

Solution: We denote the nth term of a sequence by an, and S = a1 + a2 + a3 + … + an

a. 𝑎𝑛 = (−2𝑛)𝑛

First five terms: 𝑎1 = [- 2(1)] =- 2, 𝑎2 = [- 2(2)]2 = 16, 𝑎3 = - 216, 𝑎4 = 4096, 𝑎5 = - 100000

Associated series: S = - 2 + 16 – 216 + 4096 – 100000 = - 96106

b. 𝑎𝑛 = 5𝑛 − 2

First five terms: 𝑎1 = 5(1) – 2 = 3, 𝑎2 = 5(2) – 2 = 8, 𝑎3 = 13, 𝑎4 =18,

𝑎5 = 23
Associated series: S = 3 + 8 + 13 + 18 + 23 = 65

III. Activities

Activity 1.
Identify the following items as sequence or series. Write smaller case letter s for sequence
and capital letter S for series on the space provided before each number.
____ 1. 3 + 6 + 9 + 12 + 15 +…+ 18
____ 2. 1, 12, 13, 14, …, 18
____ 3. – 15, – 9, – 3, 3, ….
____ 4. – 15 – 9 – 3 + 3 +…. +
____ 5. 1, 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, …

Activity 2.

Write A if the sequence is arithmetic, G if it is geometric, H if it is harmonic, F if Fibonacci,

and O if it is not one of the mentioned types.
_______ 1) 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, ... _______ 6) 15, 19, 113, 117, 121, …

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_______ 2) 16, 25, 36, 49, ...,100 _______ 7) √3, √4, √5, √6, …
_______ 3) 1, 15, 125, 1125, 1625, … _______ 8) 14, 18, 116, 132, …
_______ 4) 13, 29, 327, 481, … _______ 9) 3, 8, 13, 18, …, 48
_______ 5) 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, … _______ 10) 1, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Activity 3.

Find the first five terms and the Sn of each of the defined sequence.
1. 3𝑛+1 3. 𝑛2 + 5𝑛 + 6
3−2𝑛
2. 4. (𝑛 − 1)2
𝑛+1

Activity 4.

A. Fill in the blank with the correct word or phrase to make each statement true.

1. The terms in an arithmetic sequence have a common _______________, while those of a

geometric sequence have a common _________.
2. The domain of a sequence is the set of ___________ integers.
3. The common ratio is computed by ____________ each term by the term preceding it.
4. The ellipsis dot indicate that the sequence is _____________.
5. Each term of an arithmetic sequence is computed by ________ the preceding term by the
common difference.
6. The sum of a finite sequence is called ____________ sum.
7. The notation a1 refers to the ____________ of the sequence.
8. The sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic sequence is referred to as the
_____________________.
9. The nth term of a geometric sequence is given by the expression ______________.
10. If |𝑟| ____ 1, then the infinite geometric series does not have a sum.

B. Find the indicated sum of each series.

1. 2 + 4 + 8 + …; 𝑆15

2. 3+9/2 +27/4+ …

3. 2+ 4/3 +8/9 +16/27+ …

4. 3 + 11 +19 + … + 227

5. 𝑎𝑛 = 7𝑛 − 3; 𝑆12