FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, OWERRI

SCHOOL OF PHYSICAL SCIENCES

DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
LESSON NOTE
COURSE: ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS I (MTH 101)
TOPIC: SEQUENCES AND SERIES

SEQUENCES
A sequence is a set of numbers written in a particular order. For instance,
𝑈1 , 𝑈2 , 𝑈3 , 𝑈4 , … , 𝑈𝑛

Example 1:
A sequence is given by the formula
𝑈𝑛 = 2𝑛 + 1, for 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, …
Write down the first five terms of this sequence
Solution: Let 𝑛 = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and write down the set
3, 5, 7, 9, 11
A sequence is an ordered list of numbers where each term is obtained according to a fixed
rule.
𝑈𝑛 = 2𝑛 + 1
A series, or progression, is a sum. The terms of which form a sequence.
𝑛

∑ 2𝑟 + 1
𝑟=1
The 𝑛𝑡ℎ term of a sequence is often denoted 𝑈𝑛 , so that, for example, 𝑈 is the first term.
A sequence can be defined by a recurrence relation where 𝑈𝑛+1 is given as a function of
lower, earlier terms.

SERIES
A series is obtained from a sequence by adding all the terms together.
For example: 𝑈1 , 𝑈2 , 𝑈3 , 𝑈4 , … , 𝑈𝑛 .
Given a sequence, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, … , 𝑛
𝑆1 = 1, 𝑆1 = 1 + 2 = 3, 𝑆1 = 1 + 2 + 3 = 6, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑜 𝑜𝑛.

ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION (AP)

An arithmetic progression is a sequence in which consecutive terms increase or decrease by
a constant term. The difference between consecutive terms is called the common difference.
Consider a sequence: 2, 5, 8, 11, . ..
This can be written as:
𝑎, 𝑎 + 𝑑, 𝑎 + 2𝑑, 𝑎 + 3𝑑, 𝑎 + 4𝑑, …
Where 𝑎 = 2 is the first term, and d = 3 is the common difference. The 𝑛𝑡ℎ term would be:
𝑈𝑛 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑, 𝑈1 = 𝑎

1
Example 2:
1. If 𝑈1 = 3 and 𝑑 = 4, find 𝑈7 and 𝑈12
Solution: 𝑈𝑛 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
𝑈7 = 3 + (7 − 1)4 = 3 + 24 = 27
𝑈12 = 3 + (12 − 1)4 = 3 + 44 = 47
2. Consider the sequence 80, 75, 70, 65, 60, . . . Find the common difference and the 10th
term.
Solution: 𝑈1 = 80, 𝑑 = 75 − 80 = 70 − 75 = −5
𝑈𝑛 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
= 80 + (10 − 1)(−5) ⟹ 80 − 45 = 35

3. Given a sequence 5𝑥 + 2, 6𝑥 + 7, 7𝑥 + 12. ….

Find the 11𝑡ℎ and 16𝑡ℎ terms
Solution:
𝑈1 = 5𝑥 + 2;
𝑑 = 6𝑥 + 7 − (5𝑥 + 2)
= 6𝑥 + 7 − 5𝑥 − 2 = 𝑥 + 5
𝑈11 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
= 5𝑥 + 2 + (11 − 1)(𝑥 + 5)
= 5𝑥 + 2 + 10(𝑥 + 5) = 5𝑥 + 2 + 10𝑥 + 50 ⟹ 15𝑥 + 52
𝑈16 = 5𝑥 + 2 + (16 − 1)(𝑥 + 5)
= 5𝑥 + 2 + 15𝑥 + 75 ⟹ 20𝑥 + 77

Example 3: Find the common difference and the number of terms in the sequence
49, 43, 37, . . . ,1
Solution: 𝑑 = 43– 49 = 37– 43 = −6
𝑈𝑛 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
1 = 49 + (𝑛 − 1)(−6)
1 = 49 − 6𝑛 + 6 ⟹ 6𝑛 = 49 + 6 − 1

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 6𝑛 = 54 ⟹ 𝑛 = 9

Example 4: The fourth term of an A.P is 118 and the seventh term is 172.
a. Find the first term and the common difference.
b. Calculate the tenth term of the sequence.
Solution:
𝑈4 = 118, 𝑈7 = 172, 𝑈4 = 𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
118 = 𝑈1 + 3𝑑, 𝑈7 = 𝑈1 + (7 − 1)𝑑
172 = 𝑈1 + 6𝑑
𝑈1 + 3𝑑 = 118 (𝑖)
𝑈1 + 6𝑑 = 172 (𝑖𝑖)
𝐿𝑒𝑡 (𝑖𝑖) – (𝑖)
54
3𝑑 = 54 implies 𝑑 = 3 = 18
Put 𝑑 = 18 in equation (𝑖)
𝑈1 + 3(18) = 118
a) 𝑈1 = 118 − 54 = 64
b) 𝑈10 = 64 + (10 − 1)18 = 64 + 9(18 = 226

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The Sum of an Arithmetic Sequence
Adding up of an arithmetic sequence result in an arithmetic series:
𝑆 = 𝑈1 + 𝑈2 + 𝑈3 + 𝑈4 + ⋯ . +𝑈𝑛−1 + 𝑈𝑛
The sum of an arithmetic series with n terms is given by the formula
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = [𝑈1 + 𝑈𝑛 ]
2
This is used where the last term and the first term is given.
Another formula for the sum of an arithmetic series is;
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = [2𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]
2

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Example 5:
1. Find the sum of the first n terms given that 𝑈1 = 7 and 𝑈20 = 64
Solution:
𝑛
𝑛 = 20, 𝑆𝑛 = [𝑈1 + 𝑈𝑛 ]
2
20
𝑆20 = [7 + 64] = 710
2
2. The first term of an arithmetic series is 14 and the common difference is 8. Find the sum
of the first 10 terms.
Solution:
𝑈1 = 14, 𝑑=8
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = [2𝑈1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]
2
10
𝑆10 = [2(14) + (10)8]
2
= 5[28 + 80] = 540

3. Given the series; 14 + 27 + 40 + ⋯ + 261

Find the number of terms and the sum of the series.
Solution:
𝑑 = 27 − 14 = 13, 𝑈𝑛 = 261
𝑈𝑛 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
261 = 14 + (𝑛 − 1)13
261 = 14 + 13𝑛 − 13
261 = 1 + 13𝑛
13𝑛 = 260
260
𝑛= = 20
13
Since 𝑈1 and 𝑈𝑛 are known,
20
𝑆20 = [14 + 261]
2
= 10(275) = 2750

1. Jane invests extra 3 pounds each week. She invested 9 pounds the first week and 12
pounds the next.
a. How much will she have invested over the first ten weeks?
b. How long will it take her to save 450 pounds?
Solution:
𝑎 = 9, 𝑑=3
10
a) 𝑆10 = [2(9) + (10 − 1)3]
2

= 5[18 + 27] = 5 × 45
= 225 𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑠
𝑛
b) Sn = 2 [2 × 9 + (n - 1)3]

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 𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = [2 × 9 + (𝑛 − 1)3]
2
𝑛 𝑛
450 = [18 + 3𝑛 − 3] = [15 + 3𝑛
2 2
15𝑛 3𝑛2
+
2 2
900 = 15𝑛 + 3𝑛2
𝑛2 + 5𝑛 − 300 = 0
(𝑛 − 15)(𝑛 + 20) = 0
𝑛 = 15
Note: n cannot be negative

2. An arithmetic progression has 3 as its first term. Also, the sum of the first 8 terms is twice
the sum of the first 5 terms. Find the common difference.
Solution:
𝑛
𝑎 = 3, 𝑆𝑛 = [2𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]
2
8
𝑆8 = [6 + 7𝑑]
2
5
𝑆5 = [6 + 4𝑑]
2
𝑆8 = 2𝑆5
8 5
[6 + 7𝑑] = 2 × [6 + 4𝑑]
2 2
4(6 + 7𝑑) = 5(6 + 4𝑑)
24 + 28𝑑 = 30 + 20𝑑
3
3𝑑 = 6 ⟹ 𝑑 =
4

𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐂 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍
A geometric sequence is a sequence of numbers in which the ratio of consecutive terms is a
constant. This ratio is called the common ratio (r). A sequence of numbers: a, ar, ar2, ar3, . . .
is said to form a geometric progression. The symbol 𝑎 is known as the first term and r the
common ratio. The nth term is given as 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1

Example 6:
1. Find the 8th term of the sequence 10, 20, 40, 80, 160, . ..
Solution:
20 40
𝑟 = = = 2, 𝑎1 = 10, 𝑛 = 8
10 20
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 𝑟 𝑛−1
𝑎8 = 10(2)8−1 ⟹ 10(2)7 = 1280
2. Find the 7th term of the sequence 32, 16, 8, 4, 2, …
Solution:
16 8 1
𝑟 = = = , 𝑎1 = 32, 𝑛=7
32 16 2
6
 1 7−1
𝑎7 = 32 ( )
2
1 6 1
= 32 ( ) ⟹ 32 ( ) = 0.5
2 64

3. The fourth term of a geometric progression is 6 and the 10th term is 384. Find the
common ratio and the first term. What is the 7th term?
Solution:
𝑎4 = 𝑎3 = 6
𝑎10 = 𝑎𝑟 9 = 384
𝑎𝑟 3 = 6 (𝑖)
𝑎𝑟 9 = 384 (𝑖𝑖)
Dividing the second of these by first gives
𝑎𝑟 9 384
= = 64
𝑎𝑟 3 6
𝑟 6 = 64
6
𝑟 = √64 = 2
but, 𝑎𝑟 3 = 6 from (i)
𝑎(2)3 = 6
6 3
𝑎= =
8 4
𝑎7 = 𝑎𝑟 7−1
3 3
= (2)6 = × 64 = 12
4 4
4. How many terms are there in the geometric sequence 2, 6, 18, … , 1458?
Solution:
6 18
𝑟= = = 3, 𝑎 = 2, 𝑎𝑛 = 1458
2 6
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1 ⟹ 1458 = 2(3)𝑛−1
1458
(3)𝑛−1 = = 729
2

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 3𝑛−1 = 36 ⟹ 𝑛−1=6 ⟹ 𝑛=7

The Sum of a Geometric Sequence

When you add up the terms of a geometric sequence, you get a geometric series.
𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎 + 𝑎𝑟 + 𝑎𝑟 2 + 𝑎𝑟 3 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1
𝑟𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 + 𝑎𝑟 2 + 𝑎𝑟 3 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛
𝑆𝑛 − 𝑟𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎 − 𝑎𝑟 𝑛
So that
𝑆𝑛 (1 − 𝑟) = 𝑎(1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑎(1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑆𝑛 =
1−𝑟
provided 𝑟 ≠ 1
This is used if 𝑟 < 1
𝑟𝑆𝑛 − 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 𝑛 − 𝑎
𝑆𝑛 (𝑟 − 1) = 𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 − 1)
𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 − 1)
𝑆𝑛 =
𝑟−1
provided 𝑟 ≠ 1
This is used when 𝑟 > 1

Example 7:
1. Given a geometric progression -1, 2, -4, 8, -16. Find the common ratio and the sum of
the first three terms.
Solution:
2 4
𝑎1 = −1, 𝑟= = − = −2, 𝑛 = 10
−1 2
Since 𝑟 < 1
𝑎(1 − 𝑟 𝑛 ) (−1)(1 − (−2)10 )
𝑆𝑛 = ⟹ 𝑆10 =
1−𝑟 1 − (−2)
(1 10 )
−1 − 2 −1(1 − 1024) 1024 − 1
= = = = 341
3 3 3

2. The first term of a G.P is 1 and the common ratio is 1.2. Find the first 12 terms.
Solution:
𝑟 = 1.2 > 1
𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 − 1) (1)(1.212 − 1) 7.9161
𝑆𝑛 = ⟹ 𝑆12 = = = 39.58
𝑟−1 1.2 − 1 0.2
3. A geometric series has a sum of 1365. Each term increases by a factor of 4. If there are
6 terms, find the value of the first term.
Solution:
𝑆6 = 1365, 𝑟 = 4, 𝑛 = 6, 𝑎 =?
𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 − 1)
𝑆𝑛 =
𝑟−1

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 𝑎(46 − 1) 𝑎(46 − 1)
1365 = =
4−1 3
6
𝑎(4 − 1) = 3 × 1365 ⟹ 4095𝑎 = 4095
𝑎=1
4. How many terms in the geometric progression 1, 1.1, 1.21, 1.331, …will be needed so
that the first n terms is 57.276?
Solution:
𝑎 = 1, 𝑟 = 1.1, 𝑛 =?, 𝑆𝑛 = 57.276
𝑎(𝑟 𝑛 − 1)
𝑆𝑛 =
𝑟−1
𝑛
1(1.1 − 1) 1.1𝑛 − 1
57.276 = ⟹ 57.276 =
1.1 − 1 0.1
57.276 × 0.1 = 1.1𝑛 − 1
5.7276 + 1 = 1.1𝑛
1.1𝑛 = 6.7276
Taking log of both sides
𝑙𝑜𝑔1.1𝑛 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 6.7276
𝑛𝑙𝑜𝑔1.1 = 𝑙𝑜𝑔 6.7276
𝑙𝑜𝑔6.7276 0.82786
𝑛= = = 20
𝑙𝑜𝑔1.1 0.04139

Formula for a G.P when the first term, last term and common ratio are given:
[𝑎 − 𝑙𝑟]
𝑆𝑛 = , 𝑟 ≠ 1
1−𝑟

Example 8:
Find the sum of the geometric series 3 + 12 + 48 + ⋯ + 12288
Solution:
𝑎 = 3, 𝑟 = 4, 𝑙 = 12288
[3 − (12288)4] 3 − 49152
𝑆𝑛 = = = 16383
1−4 −3

Sum of an Infinite Geometric Progression

The sum of an infinite geometric progression 𝑎, 𝑎𝑟, 𝑎𝑟 2 , 𝑎𝑟 3 , …
𝑎
When |𝑟| < 1 is given by: 𝑆 = 1−𝑟 , 0 < |𝑟| < 1

Example 9:
5 5 5 5
1) Find the sum to infinity of the G.P − 4 , , − 64 ,
16 256

Solution:
5 1
𝑎=− , 𝑟=− , |𝑟| < 1
4 4

9
 5
𝑎 −4
𝑆= = = −1
1−𝑟 1
1 − (− 4)
2) The sum to infinity of a G.P is four times the first term. Find the common ratio.
Solution:
S∞ = 4𝑎
𝑎 𝑎
= 4𝑎 implies 4𝑎 = 1 − 𝑟
1−𝑟
1
1– 𝑟 =
4
1 3
−𝑟 = 4 – 1, then 𝑟 = 4

3) The sum to infinity of a G.P is twice the sum of the first two terms. Find possible values
of the common ratio.
Solution:
S∞ = 2S2
When 𝑟 < 1
𝑎 2𝑎 (1 − 𝑟 2 )
=
1−𝑟 1−𝑟
𝑎
Cancelling out on both sides
1−𝑟
2(1 − 𝑟 2 ) = 1
1 1 1
1 − 𝑟2 = , 𝑟2 = , 𝑟=±
2 2 √2
when 𝑟 > 1
𝑎 2𝑎(𝑟 2 − 1)
=
1−𝑟 𝑟−1
2
𝑟−1
2(𝑟 − 1) =
1−𝑟
−(1−𝑟)
implies 2(𝑟 2 − 1) = 1−𝑟
2
1 1 1
𝑟 −1=− ⟹ 𝑟2 = − + 1 ⟹ 𝑟2 =
2 2 2
1
𝑟 = ±√
2

HARMONIC PROGRESSION (HP)

Harmonic progression is a sequence of numbers in which the reciprocals of the elements are
in arithmetic progression. For instance;
1 1 1
, , ,…
4 8 12
If you take the reciprocal of each term of the HP, the sequence will become:
4, 8, 12, ..
With a common difference of 3

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Another example of the harmonic series is:
∞
1 1 1
∑ = 1+ + +⋯
𝑛 2 3
𝑛=1

HARMONIC MEAN
Harmonic mean is calculated as the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals. Te
formula to calculate the harmonic mean is given by:
𝑛
𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 =
1 1 1 1
[𝑎 + + 𝑐 + + ⋯ ]
𝑏 𝑑
Where, 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 are the values and 𝑛 is the number of values present

The nth term of the Harmonic Progression

1
𝐻. 𝑃 =
[𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]
Where,
“a” is the first term of A.P
“b” is the common difference of A.P
“n” is the number of terms in A.P
The above formula can also be written as:
1
The nth term of 𝐻. 𝑃 = 𝑛𝑡ℎ 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴.𝑃
Sum of Harmonic Progression
1 1 1 1
If 𝑎 , 𝑎 + 𝑑, 𝑎 + 2𝑑, … , 𝑑 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑 is given harmonic progression, the formula to find the
sum of 𝑛 terms in the harmonic progression is given by the formula:
The sum of 𝑛 terms,
1 2𝑎 + (2𝑛 − 1)𝑑
𝑆𝑛 = 𝑙𝑛 { }
𝑑 2𝑎 − 𝑑
Where,
“a” is the first term of A.P
“d” is the common difference of A.P
“ln” is the natural logarithm

Example 10: Determine the 4th and 8th term of the harmonic progression 6, 4, 3, …
Solution: 𝐻. 𝑃 = 6, 4, 3
Now, let us take the arithmetic progression from the given H.P
1 1 1
𝐴. 𝑃 = , , , …
6 4 3
1
Here, 𝑇2 − 𝑇1 = 𝑇3 − 𝑇2 = 2 = 𝑑
So, in order to find the 4th term of an A.P, we use 𝐴. 𝑃 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
1 1
Here, 𝑎 = 6 , 𝑑 = 2
Now, we have to find the 4th term. So, take 𝑛 = 4. Thus,
1 1
𝐴. 𝑃 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑 ⟹ + (4 − 1) ( )
6 12

11
 1 3 1 1 5
=+ ⟹ + =
6 12 6 4 12
Similarly, for the 8th term, we take 𝑛 = 8.
1 1
𝐴. 𝑃 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑 ⟹ + (8 − 1) ( )
6 12
1 7 3
= + ⟹
6 12 4
1
Since 𝐻. 𝑃 is the reciprocal of an 𝐴. 𝑃, ten, we have the 4th and 8th term of the 𝐻. 𝑃 as 4𝑡ℎ and
1
term of an 𝐴. 𝑃 respectively.
8𝑡ℎ
12
Therefore, the 4th term of the 𝐻. 𝑃 = 5
4
The 8th term of the 𝐻. 𝑃 = 3

Exercise: Compute the 16th term of 𝐻. 𝑃 if the 6th and 11th term of the 𝐻. 𝑃 are 10 and 18
respectively.

12