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Sequence & Series

Sequence and series can be arithmetic or geometric. A sequence is an ordered list of numbers, while a series is the sum of the terms in a sequence. An arithmetic sequence has a constant difference between consecutive terms, and the nth term can be found using the formula an = a1 + (n-1)d. A geometric sequence has a constant ratio between consecutive terms, and the nth term is an = a1rn-1. The sum of a finite arithmetic series can be found using Sn = (n/2)(a1 + an), while the sum of a geometric series is Sn = a1(1 - rn)/(1 - r).

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Rex Villanueva Baco
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56 views23 pages

Sequence & Series

Sequence and series can be arithmetic or geometric. A sequence is an ordered list of numbers, while a series is the sum of the terms in a sequence. An arithmetic sequence has a constant difference between consecutive terms, and the nth term can be found using the formula an = a1 + (n-1)d. A geometric sequence has a constant ratio between consecutive terms, and the nth term is an = a1rn-1. The sum of a finite arithmetic series can be found using Sn = (n/2)(a1 + an), while the sum of a geometric series is Sn = a1(1 - rn)/(1 - r).

Uploaded by

Rex Villanueva Baco
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sequence and

Series
What is Sequence?

A "sequence" (called a "progression" in British


English) is an ordered list of numbers; the
numbers in this ordered list are called the
"elements" or the "terms" of the sequence.

Example: 1, 2, 3, 4…..
What is Series?

A "series" is what you get when


you add up all the terms of a
sequence; the addition, and also
the resulting value, are called the
"sum" or the "summation"
Arithmetic
Sequences
Series
Arithmetic Sequence:

 The difference between consecutive terms


is constant (or the same).
 The constant difference is also known as
the common difference (d).
(It’s also that number that you are adding
everytime!)
Example: Decide whether
each sequence is arithmetic.
-10,-6,-2,0,2,6,10,…
-6--10=4
5,11,17,23,29,…
-2--6=4 11-5=6
0--2=2 17-11=6
2-0=2 23-17=6
6-2=4
29-23=6
10-6=4

Not arithmetic (because


 Arithmetic
the differences are (common
not the same) difference is 6)
Rule for an Arithmetic
Sequence

an=a1+(n-1)d
Example: Write a rule for the
nth term of the sequence
32,47,62,77,… . Then, find a12.
 There is a common difference where d=15, therefore the
sequence is arithmetic.
 Use an=a1+(n-1)d
an=32+(n-1)(15)
an=32+15n-15
an=17+15n

a12=17+15(12)=197
Example: One term of an arithmetic
sequence is a8=50. The common
difference is 0.25. Write a rule for the
 Use a =a +(n-1)d to find the 1 term!
st

nth term.
n 1

a8=a1+(8-1)(.25)
50=a1+(7)(.25)
50=a1+1.75
48.25=a1
* Now, use an=a1+(n-1)d to find the rule.
an=48.25+(n-1)(.25)
an=48.25+.25n-.25
an=48+.25n
Example: Two terms of an arithmetic
sequence are a5=10 and a30=110. Write a
Begin
rule
 for by
thewriting 2 equations; one for each
nth term.
term given.
a5=a1+(5-1)d OR 10=a1+4d
And
a30=a1+(30-1)d OR 110=a1+29d
 Now use the 2 equations to solve for a1 &
d.
10=a1+4d
110=a1+29d (subtract the equations to
cancel a1)
-100= -25d
Example (part 2): using the rule an=-
10+4n, write the value of n for which
an=-2.

-2=-10+4n
8=4n
2=n
Arithmetic Series
 The sum of the
terms in an
arithmetic Last
sequence 1st Term Term

 The formula to
find the sum of a
 a1  an 
finite arithmetic
series is:
S n  n 
 2 
# of terms
Example: Consider the
arithmetic series
20+18+16+14+…
A) Find the sum of the 1 25
terms.
st
.
B)Find n such that S =-760 n

First find the rule for the nth


 a1  an 

term. S n  n 
 an=22-2n  2 
 So, a25 = -28 (last term)
 20  (22  2n) 
 760  n 
 2 
 a1  an 
S n  n 
 2 
 20  28 
S 25  25  S 25  25( 4)  100
 2 
 20  (22  2n) 
 760  n 
 2 

-1520=n(20+22-2n)
-1520=-2n2+42n
2n2-42n-1520=0
n2-21n-760=0
(n-40)(n+19)=0
n=40 or n=-19
Always choose the positive solution!
Geometric Sequences and
Series
An infinite sequence is a function whose domain is the set of
positive integers
a1, a2, a3, a4, . . . , an, . . .

Terms
The first three terms of the sequence
an = 2n2 are
a1 = 2(1)2 = 2
a2 = 2(2)2 = 8 finite sequence
a3 = 2(3)2 = 18.
A sequence is geometric if the ratios of consecutive terms are
the same.

2, 8, 32, 128, 512, . . .

Geometric Sequence

8 4
2
32  4
8 The common ratio (r) is 4.
128  4
32
512  4
128
The nth term of a geometric sequence has
the form
an = a1rn - 1
where r is the common ratio of consecutive
terms of the sequence.
r  75  5
15
a1 = 15
15, 75, 375, 1875, . . .

a2 = a4 =
15(5) a3 = 15(5^2)
15(53)

The nth term is 15(5n-1).


Example: Find the 9th term of the geometric
sequence
7, 21, 63, . . .
a1 = 7 ;
r  21  3
7
an = a1rn – 1 = 7(3)n – 1
a9= 7(3)9 – 1 = 7(3)8
= 7(6561) = 45,927

The 9th term is 45,927.


A geometric series is the sum of the terms in a geometric
sequence. If the sequence has a definite number of terms,
the simple formula for the sum is

This form of the formula is used when the number of terms ( n), the first
term ( a 1), and the common ratio ( r) are known.

Another formula for the sum of a geometric sequence is

This form requires the first term ( a 1), the last term ( a n ), and the
common ratio ( r) but does not require the number of terms ( n).
Example 1
Find the sum of the first five terms of the
geometric sequence in which a 1 = 3 and r = –2.
a 1 = 3, r = –2, n = 5
Example 2
Find the first term if S n = 244, r = –3, n = 5.

Given: S n = 244, r = –3, n = 5

The first term of the sequence is 4.


Thank
you

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