Arithmetic Sequences and Series

An introduction…………

1, 4, 7, 10, 13 35 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 62
9, 1,  7,  15 12 9,  3, 1,  1/ 3 20 / 3
6.2, 6.6, 7, 7.4 27.2 1, 1/ 4, 1/16, 1/ 64 85 / 64
,   3,   6 3  9 , 2.5, 6.25 9.75
Arithmetic Sequences Geometric Sequences
ADD MULTIPLY
To get next term To get next term

Arithmetic Series Geometric Series

Sum of Terms Sum of Terms
Arithmetic Series: An indicated sum of terms in an
arithmetic sequence.

Example:

Arithmetic Sequence VS Arithmetic Series

3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 + 13
USING AND WRITING SEQUENCES

The numbers in sequences are called terms.

You can think of a sequence as a function whose domain

is a set of consecutive integers. If a domain is not
specified, it is understood that the domain starts with 1.
 USING AND WRITING SEQUENCES

n
DOMAIN: 1 2 3 4 5 The domain gives
the relative position
of each term.

The range gives the

an
RANGE: 3 6 9 12 15
terms of the sequence.

This is a finite sequence having the rule

an = 3n,
where an represents the nth term of the sequence.
Writing Terms of Sequences

Write the first five terms of the sequence an = 2n + 3.

SOLUTION

a 1 = 2(1) + 3 = 5 1st term

a 2 = 2(2) + 3 = 7 2nd term

a 3 = 2(3) + 3 = 9 3rd term

a 4 = 2(4) + 3 = 11 4th term

a 5 = 2(5) + 3 = 13 5th term

Writing Terms of Sequences
n
Write the first five terms of the sequence an  .
n 1

SOLUTION
(1) 1
a1   1st term
(1)  1 2
(2) 2
a2   2nd term
(2)  1 3
(3) 3
a3   3rd term
(3)  1 4
(4) 4
a4   4th term
(4)  1 5
(5) 5
a5   5th term
(5)  1 6
Writing Terms of Sequences

Write the first five terms of the sequence an = n! - 2.

SOLUTION

a 1 = (1)!-2 = -1 1st term

a 2 = (2)! - 2 = 0 2nd term

a 3 = (3)! - 2 = 4 3rd term

a 4 = (4)! - 2 = 22 4th term

a 5 = (5)! - 2 = 118 5th term

Writing Terms of Sequences

Write the first five terms of the sequence f (n) = (–2) n – 1 .

SOLUTION

f (1) = (–2) 1 – 1 = 1 1st term

f (2) = (–2) 2 – 1 = –2 2nd term

f (3) = (–2) 3 – 1 = 4 3rd term

f (4) = (–2) 4 – 1 = – 8 4th term

f (5) = (–2) 5 – 1 = 16 5th term

 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Arithmetic Sequence: sequence whose consecutive terms
have a common difference.
Example: 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, ...
The terms have a common difference of 2.
The common difference is the number d.
To find the common difference you use a n+1 – a n
Example: Is the sequence arithmetic?
–45, –30, –15, 0, 15, 30

Yes, the common difference is 15

Example
• Determine if each sequence is arithmetic. If yes, find the common
difference

• 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 Yes, d = 3

• 15, 10, 5, 0, -5, -10 Yes, d = -5
• 1, ½ , 0, - ½ , -1, - 3/2 Yes, d = - ½
• 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49 no
Find the next four terms of –9, -2, 5, …
Arithmetic Sequence
-2 - -9 = 7 and 5 - -2 = 7
7 is referred to as the common difference (d)
Common Difference (d) – what we ADD to get next term

Next four terms……12, 19, 26, 33

Find the next four terms of 0, 7, 14, …

Arithmetic Sequence, d = 7
21, 28, 35, 42

Find the next four terms of -3x, -2x, -x, …

Arithmetic Sequence, d = x
0, x, 2x, 3x

Find the next four terms of 5k, -k, -7k, …

Arithmetic Sequence, d = -6k

-13k, -19k, -25k, -31k
How do you find any term in this sequence?

To find any term in an arithmetic sequence, use the formula

an = a1 + (n – 1)d
where d is the common difference.
 Vocabulary of Sequences (Universal)
a1  First term
an  nth term
n  number of terms
Sn  sum of n terms
d  common difference

nth term of arithmetic sequence  an  a1  n  1 d

n
sum of n terms of arithmetic sequence  Sn   a1  an 
2
 Find the 14th term of the
arithmetic sequence
4, 7, 10, 13,……

an  a1  (n  1)d
a14  4  (14  1)3
 4  (13)3
 4  39
 43
Try this one: Find a16 if a1  1.5 and d  0.5
1.5 a1  First term
a16 an  nth term
16 n  number of terms
NA Sn  sum of n terms
0.5 d  common difference

an  a1  n  1 d
a16 = 1.5 + (16 - 1)(0.5)
a16 = 1.5 + (15)(0.5)
a16 = 1.5+7.5
a16 = 9
The table shows typical costs for a construction company to rent a
crane for one, two, three, or four months. Assuming that the arithmetic
sequence continues, how much would it cost to rent the crane for
twelve months?
Months Cost ($) 75,000 a1  First term an  a1  n  1 d
1 75,000 a12 an  nth term a12 = 75,000 + (12 - 1)(15,000)
2 90,000
3 105,000 12 n  number of terms a12 = 75,000 + (11)(15,000)
4 120,000 NA Sn  sum of n terms a12 = 75,000+165,000
15,000 d  common difference a12 = $240,000
 In the arithmetic sequence
4,7,10,13,…, which term has a
value of 301?

an  a1  (n  1)d
301  4  (n  1)3
301  4  3n  3
301  1  3n
300  3n
100  n
Try this one: Find n if an  633, a1  9, and d  24

9 a1  First term
633 an  nth term
n n  number of terms
NA Sn  sum of n terms
24 d  common difference
an  a1  n  1 d
633 = 9 + (n - 1)(24)
633 = 9 + 24n - 24
633 = 24n – 15
648 = 24n
n = 27
Given an arithmetic sequence with a15  38 and d  3, find a1.
a1 a1  First term
38 an  nth term
15 n  number of terms
NA Sn  sum of n terms
-3 d  common difference
an  a1  n  1 d
38 = a1 + (15 - 1)(-3)
38 = a1 + (14)(-3)
38 = a1 - 42
a1 = 80
Find d if a1  6 and a29  20

-6 a1  First term
20 an  nth term
29 n  number of terms
NA Sn  sum of n terms
d d  common difference
an  a1  n  1 d
20 = -6 + (29 - 1)(d)
20 = -6 + (28)(d)
26 = 28d
13
d
14
Write an equation for the nth term of the arithmetic
sequence 8, 17, 26, 35, …
8 a1  First term
9 d  common difference

an  a1  n  1 d

an = 8 + (n - 1)(9)
an = 8 + 9n - 9
an = 9n - 1
More Practices
What term that contains 274 if the first term
is 16 and d=-3.
Seatwork # 1