Arithmetic

Sequence and
Series
 What is an arithmetic sequence?

It is a sequence wherein the difference of every

This constant is referred to as the common

difference denoted by .
{2,3,4,5,6, { 4 , 7 , 10 , 13 ,
…} …}
=1 =3
   
How to get the nth term of an arithmetic
sequence?
+(n–1)
 

𝑤 h𝑒𝑟𝑒:
 

 
𝑎 𝑛 - nth term n - no. of terms
𝑎1 - first term 𝑑 - common
   

difference
 Example 1
Find the 20th term of the sequence { 4 , 9 , 14 ,
+(n–1)
 
…}.
n = 20
+( –1)
 
 
𝑎1 =¿ 4
+ ( 19 ) 5
 

 
= 5 + 95
 

 
𝑎 𝑛 = 20th term  
𝑎20 =99
 Example 2
Find the 48th term of the sequence { 0 , 5 , 10 , 15
…}.  
+(n–1)
n = 48
+( –1)
 
 
𝑎1 =¿ 0
+ ( 47 ) 5
 

 
= 5 + 235
 

 
𝑎 𝑛 = 48th term  
𝑎 48 =235
Example 3
Given the 1st and the 11th terms of the sequence as 9 and
29 respectively, find the common difference.
 
+(n–1)
n = 11
+( –1)
 
 
𝑎1 =¿ 9
+ ( 10 )
 
 
𝑎 𝑛 = 11th term  
2 9 − 9 =10 𝑑
 
= ?  
2 0=10 𝑑 𝑑   ¿   2
10 10
Example 4
Given the 1st and the 8th terms of the sequence as 12 and
82 respectively, find the common difference.
 
+(n–1)
n= 8  
+( –1)
 
𝑎1 =¿ 12
+(7)
 

 
𝑎 𝑛 = 8th term  
8 2 − 12=7 𝑑
 
= ?  
7 0 =7 𝑑 𝑑   ¿  10
7 7
Example 5
The 2nd and 10th terms of the sequence are 5 and 53
respectively. If the common difference is 6, what is the 8 th
term?
{ −1
__ , 5 ,11
__ ,17
__ ,23
__ ,29 , __ 41
__ 35 , __47
               
, __ ,
53 }

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Method
Example 5 Algebraic Method

The 2nd and 10th terms of the sequence are 5 and 53

n= 8  
𝑎 8=41
Example 6 { −4
__ , 4
   
__ , 12 , __ , __ , …….. , __ , 396 }
The 3rd and 51st terms of the sequence are 12 and 396
respectively. If the common difference is 8, what is the 35 th
term?
𝑎1 =¿ -4
 
 
+(n–1)
 
+ ( – 1 )
 
= 8
+ ( 34 )
 
 
𝑎 𝑛 = 35th term
+ 272
 

n = 35  
𝑎35 =268
What is an arithmetic series?
It is the sum of the terms in an arithmetic
  sequence.
𝑛 (𝑎1 +𝑎 𝑛)  
𝑛 [2 𝑎 1+ ( 𝑛 − 1 ) 𝑑 ]
𝑆𝑛= or 𝑆𝑛=
2 2
 
𝑎 𝑛 - last term n - no. of terms
 
𝑎1 - first term  
𝑑- common difference
Example 7 { 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + ….. +
15 }
What is the sum of the first 15 counting numbers?
  𝑛 (𝑎1 +𝑎 𝑛)
𝑎1 =¿ 1
  𝑆𝑛=
2

𝑆 15 =¿ ¿
 

 
= 15
 
15(16)
𝑆 15 = 𝑆 15 =120
 
2
n = 15   240
𝑆 15 =
2
Example 7 { 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + ….. +
15 }
What is the sum of the first 15 counting numbers?
  𝑛 [2 𝑎 1+ ( 𝑛 − 1 ) 𝑑 ]
𝑎1 =¿ 1
  𝑆𝑛=
2
 
[2 ( )+ ( − 1 ) ]
𝑆 15 =
2
 
= 1  
15[ 2+ ( 14 ) 1]
𝑆 15 =
2
n = 15  
15(16)  
𝑆 15 =120
𝑆 15 =
2