FINPREP - Concept Notes

Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression

Chapter No. 6

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FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression

SEQUENCES AND SERIES


LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- To distinguish between sequence and series.
- To introduce different types of sequences and series.
- To define and develop the properties of Arithmetic Progression (AP).
- To define and develop the properties of Geometric Progression (GP).
- To determine the sum, the sum of the squares and the sum of the cubes of natural numbers.
- These concepts are used in many real life problems like simple interest, compound interest,
annuities, population growth, recurring deposits etc.
SEQUENCE:
An ordered collection of numbers a
1
, a
2
, a
3
, a
4
, .., a
n
, . is a sequence if according to some
definite rule or law, there is a definite value of a
n
, called the term or element of the sequence,
corresponding to any value of the natural no.
A finite sequence a
1
, a
2
, a
3
, ., a
n
is denoted by
{ }
1
n
i
i
a
=
and an infinite sequence a
1
, a
2
,
a
3
,a
n
is denoted by
{ }
1 n
n
a

=
or simply by {a
n
} where a
n
is the nth element of the sequence.

Examples of infinite sequence:
1) The sequence {1/n} is 1, , 1/3, ,
2) The sequence {( - 1)
n
n } is 1, 2, - 3, 4, - 5,

Examples of finite sequence:
1) A sequence of even positive integers within 12 i.e., 2, 4, 6, 10
2) A sequence of odd positive integers within 11 i.e., 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 etc.

SERIES:
An expression of the form a
1
+ a
2
+ . + a
n
+ .. Which is the sum of the elements of the
sequence {a
n
} is called a series. If the series contains a finite number of elements, it is called a finite
series, otherwise called an infinite series.





FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION (AP):
A sequence a
1
, a
2
, a
3
, a
n
is called an Arithmetic Progression (AP) when a
2
a
1
= a
3
a
2
= .. =
a
n
a
n 1
. That means A.P is a sequence in which each term is obtained by adding a constant d to the
preceding term. This constant d is called the common difference of the A.P. If 3 numbers a, b, c is in
A.P., we say
b a = c b or a + c = 2b; b is called the arithmetic mean between a and c.
Now in general an A.P series can be written as
a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, ..
When a is the 1
st
term and d is the common difference.
nth term (t
n
) = a + (n 1) d, where n is the position no. of the term..

Sum of the first n terms:
Let S be the Sum, a be the 1
st
term and l the last term of an A.P. If the number of terms are n,
then t
n
= l. Let d be the common difference of the A.P.
Now S = a + ( a + d) + (a + 2d) +..+ (l 2d) + (l d) + l
Again S = l + (l d) + (l 2d) + + (a + 2d) + (a + d) + a

Sum of 1
st
n natural numbers:
S = 1 + 2 + 3 + .. + (n 2) + (n 1) + n
Sum of 1
st
n odd number is S = 1 + 3 + 5 + + (2n 1)
Sum of 1
st
n odd numbers is S = n
2

Sum of the squares of the 1
st
n natural numbers is S = n (n = 1) (2n + 1) / 6
Sum of the cubes of 1
st
n natural number is S =
2
( 1)
2
n n +
`
)


Note:
i) An AP remains an AP if a constant quantity is added to or subtracted from each term of the AP.
ii) It also remains an AP if each term of the AP is multiplied or divided by a constant quantity.
iii) If 3 terms are in AP, they are of the form a d, a, a + d
iv) If 4 terms are in AP, they are of the form a 3d, a d, a, a + d, a + 3d
v) If t
1
, t
2
,..are in AP with CDd then t
1
, t
4
, t
7
,. are in AP with CD 3d.

FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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vi) If t
1
, t
2
, t
3
,,t
n
are in AP then t
1
+ t
n
= t
2
+ t
n 1
= t
3
+ tn 2. If n is odd say n = 2m + 1 the
middle term is t
m + 1
and 2t
m + 1
= t
1
+ t
n
.
vii) If three terms are in GP, they are of the form
a
r
, a, ar
viii) In an AP,S
n
S
n
1 = T
n
.
ix) If a
1
, a
2
, .., a
n
are in AP, then
1
1
a
,
2
1
a
, .,
1
n
a
are said to be HP (harmonic progression)

Arithmetic Mean (AM):
X is said to be the AM between a and b if a, x and b are in AP.
x a = b x
(i.e.) 2x = a + b
x =
( )
2
a b +


Arithmetic Means:
x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, , x
n
are called n arithmetic means between a and b if a, x
1
, x
2
, ,x
n
, b are in AP.
There are (n + 2) terms in this AP.
Then x
1
+ x
2
+ ..+ x
n
= n
2
a b + | |
|
\ .

i.e. Sum of n A.Ms is nothing but n times single AM between a and b.

Geometric Progression:
If in a sequence of terms each term is constant multiple of the proceeding term, then the
sequence is called a Geometric Progression (G.P.). The constant multiplier is called the common ratio. A
series, in which the ratio of any term to its preceding term is constant, is called a Geometric Progression
(GP). The constant quantity is called the common ratio (r).

Examples:
1. 2, 4, 8, 16, ..
2. 4, 12, 36, 108, .
3. In 5, 15, 45, 135, .. common ratio is 15/5 = 3
4. In 1, , , 1/8,. common ratio is (1/2) / 1 =


FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Formula for the n
th
term
Let a be the first term and r be the common ratio of a GP.
Then the series is a, ar, ar
2
,
1
st
term = T
1
= a
2
nd
term = T
2
= ar
3
rd
term = T
3
= ar
2

4
th
term = T
4
= ar
3

Proceeding in this way we get the nth term as T
n
= ar
n 1

FORMULA FOT THE SUM TO n TERMS
Let a be the first term and r be the common ratio of a GP.
Let S
n
denote the sum to n terms.
Then,
S
n
= a + ar + ar
2
+. + ar
n 1
(1)
Multiplying both sides by r,
rS
n
= ar + ar
2
+ ar
3
+. + ar
n 1
+ ar
n
(2)
Subtracting (2) from (1),
S
n
(1 r) = a ar
n

= a( 1 r
n
)
S
n
=
(1 )
1
n
a r
r

(3)
=
( 1)
1
n
a r
r

(4)
Formula (3) is used if the common ratio is less than 1 and formula (4) is used if the common ratio is
greater than one.

FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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SUM TO INFINITY
If |r| < 1, as n , r
n
0.
S

=
1
a
r

If |r| >1, S

does not exist.

Geometric Mean (GM):
x is said to be the GM between a and b if a, x, b are in GP.

x
a
=
b
x
(ie) x
2
= ab

n GEOMETRIC MEANS BETWEEN a AND b
x
1
, x
2
, x
3
, ., x
n
are said to be the GMs between a and b if a, x
1
, x
2
, ..,x
n
, b are in GP. There
are (n + 2) terms in this GP. Let r be the common ratio. Then x
1 .
x
2.
x
n
=
( )
n
ab = (ab)
n/2

i.e. product of n GMs between a and b is nth power of single GM.


SOLVED EXAMPLES
Example 1:
Find the 6
th
term of the sequence 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ..

Solution
The terms are 1
2
, 2
2
, 3
2
,..
the 6
th
term of the sequence = 6
2
= 36.

Example 2:
If the n
th
term of a sequence is n
2
+ 2n + 2 find the 6
th
term.

Solution
Given that the nth term is
T
n
= n
2
+ 2n + 2
Put n = 6,
T
6
= 6
2
+ 12 + 2 = 36 + 12 + 2 = 50.

FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Example 3:
Find the 7
th
term of the series 15, 12, 9, .

Solution
The given series is an AP.
T
n
= a + (n 1)d
T
7
= 15 + (7 1)( - 3)
= 15 - 18 = - 3

Example 4:
Which term of the series 7, 5, 3, 1, is 37?
Solution
T
n
= a + (n 1)d
- 37 = 7 + (n 1) ( - 2)
= 7 2n + 2
2n = 46 n = 23.

Example 5:
The rate of monthly salary of a person increases annually in AP. It is known that he was drawing
Rs 200 and Rs 380 during 11
th
year and 29
th
year respectively.

Solution
a + 10d = 200
a + 28d = 380
18d = 180 or d = 10
Hence a + 100 = 200
a = 100
Starting salary = Rs 100.

Example 6:
The sum of three numbers in AP is 12. Find the middle number.
Solution
Let the three numbers be a d, a, a + d
a d + a + a + d = 12
3a = 12
a = 4
Middle number is 4.


FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Example 7:
Find the sum of the first three terms of the series given T
n
= n
2
2n.
Solution
T
n
= n
2
2n
T
1
= - 1
T
2
= 4 4 = 0
T
3
= 9 6 = 3
T
1
+ T
2
+ T
3
= - 1 + 0 + 3 = 2.

Example 8:
If 8x + 4, 6x 2 and 2x + 7 are in AP find x.
Solution
If T
1
, T
2
, T
3
are in AP then
2T
2
= T
1
+ T
3

2(6x 2) = 8x + 4 + 2x + 7
12x 4 = 10x + 11
2x = 15
x = 15/2.

Example 9:
The sum of four numbers are in AP is 16. Find the sum of the two middle numbers.

Solution
Let the numbers be a 3d, a d, a + d, a + 3d.
a 3d + a d + a + d + a + 3d = 16
4a = 16
a = 4
Sum of the middle terms is
a d + a + d = 2a = 8.

Example 10:
If a, b, c are in AP then show that b + c a, c + a b, a + b c are in AP.
Solution
a, b, c are in AP.
-a, - b, - c are in AP.
- 2a, - 2b, - 2c are in AP.
Add a + b + c to each term
b + c a, c + a b, a + b c are in AP.

FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Example 11:

If
b c
a
+
,
c a
b
+
,
a b
c
+
are in AP then show that 1/a, 1/b, 1/c are in AP.
Solution

b c
a
+
,
c a
b
+
,
a b
c
+
are in AP
Add 1 to each term.

a b c
a
+ +
,
a b c
b
+ +
,
a b c
c
+ +
are in AP.
Divide each term by a + b + c.
Then 1/a, 1/b, 1/c are in AP.

Example 12:
If log a, log b, log c are in AP show that a, b, c are in GP.
Solution
Log a, log b, log c are in AP.
2 log b = log a + log c
b
2
= ac
Hence a, b, c are in GP.

Example 13:
If t
1
, t
2
,t
3
, are in AP then t
1
, t
5
, t
9
are also in AP.
Solution
a, a + d, a + 2d, are in AP.
Then the sequence t
1
, t
5
, t
9,..
area, a + 4d, a + 8d,
This is also in AP with common difference 4d.

Example 14:
If the p
th
term of an AP is q and q
th
term is p; the r
th
term of the AP is
(a) p q + r (b) p + q r (c) p q r (d) p + q r + 1



FINPREP - Concept Notes


Chapter Name Arithmetic progression and Geometric Progression
Chapter No. 6

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Solution
a + (p 1) d = q (1)
a + (q 1) d = p ..(2)
Subtracting (p q) d = q p or d = - 1.
From (1), a = q + p 1
T
r
= p + q 1 + (r 1) ( - 1)
= p + q 1 r + 1 = p + q r.

Example 15:
The p
th
term of an AP is q and q
th
term is p. The (p + q)
th
term is
(a) p + q (b) pq (c) p q (d) 0

Solution
a + (p 1) d = q
a + (q 1) d = p
Subtracting (p q) d = q p (or) d = -1
a = q + p 1
T
p + q
= a + (p + q 1) d
= (p + q 1) (p + q 1)
= 0.