Sequences & Series

Sequences
A sequences is a series of numbers written
following a simple rule.

2, 5, 8, 11, 14,
3, 6, 12, 24, 48.
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13
1, - , , - 1/8
1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3
1, -1, 1, -1, 1.

 If the n th term, u of a sequence is known, then all

the terms of the sequences can be found.
A finite sequence has a fixed number of terms.
A infinite sequence has an infinite number of
terms.

Example 3.1
Find the first four terms of the sequence whose nth
term is given by u = 32 6n

Example 3.2
Find the first four terms of the sequence where
un = (-3)n

Example 3.3
Find the first four terms of the sequence which is
defined by u n + 1 = 2un + 1, n > 1 where u1 = 1

Exercise
Find the first five terms of the sequence given in
the following.
un = 3un-1 and u1 = 2
u n + 1 = 5un 6un-1 and u1 = 5, u2 = 13

Arithmetic Sequence - AS
(Progression)
There is a common difference between successive
terms.
Example:
2, 6, 10, 14.
21, 18, 15, 12
a , a + d , a + 2d ,..

General terms of A.S

AS has first term, a and common difference d
The sequence is
a , a + d , a + 2d , a + 3d
First term , T1 = a
Second term, T2 = a + d = a + (2-1)d
Third term, T3 = a + 2d = a + (3-1)d
n th term, Tn = a + d = a + (n-1)d

Example 3.4
Find,
The 20th term, and
The nth term of the following A.S
a. 3, 7, 11, 15, ..
b. 13, 10, 7, 4, ..

Example 3.5
Find the number of terms in the A.S
7, 13, 19, , 307

Example 3.6
How many multiples of 7 are there between 100
and 3000?

Example 3.7
The 6th term of an A.S is 22 and the 10th term is 38
Find,
a. The 1st term and the common difference
b. The 100th term

Example 3.8
The nth term of an A.S is 40 + 7n. Find the common
difference.
Which term of the sequence is 215?

Exercise
Find,
i. the 1st term
ii. the common difference
a.
b.

The 2nd term is 3 and the 8th term is -21

The 8th term is 11 and 15th term is 32

Exercise
How many multiples of 7 between 200 and 5000?

Exercise
If 9, x, y, z, 21 form of A.S, find the values of x, y, z.

Exercise
The sum of the 3rd and 4th of an A.S is twice the 2nd
term and the 5th term exceeds the 1st term by 10.
find the 1st term and common difference.

Arithmetic Series (Sn)

Arithmetic Series is the sum of the terms of an A.S
Sum of n th term of an Sn

n
(a+l)
Sn =
2
n
[ 2a + (n-1)d ]
Sn =
2
Tn = Sn Sn-1

Example 3.9
Find the sum of following series.
a. An arithmetic series of 25th terms where the 1st
term is 5 and the last term is 41
b. 3 + 5 + 7 + to 60 terms

Example 3.10
Find an expression for the sum of the first n th term
of the series 5 + 8 + 11 +
Find the value of n if the sum is equal to 440.

Example 3.11
Find at least number of term required for the sum
of the Sn = 7 + 13 + 19 + .. to exceed 1000.

Example 3.13
The sum of the first term 15 terms of Sn is 255 and
the sum of the next 15 terms is 705. Find the 1st
term and the common series.

Example 3.14
Find the sum of all the positive integers less than
200 which are:
a. multiples of 3 or 7 or both,
b. not multiples of 3 or 7

Exercise
The 1st term of Sn is 16 and the 6th term is 83. Find
the 3rd term and the sum of the 1st 40 terms of the
sequence.

Exercise
Find the sum of all the integers between 200 and
400 that are divisible by 7.

Exercise
Find the sum of all the positive integers less than
200 which are:
a. multiples of 5 or 7 or both,
b. not multiples of 5 or 7