Geometric Series

A geometric series
is a series for which the ratio of each two consecutive terms
is a constant function
of the summation index . The more general case of the ratio a rational function of the summation index produces a
series called a hypergeometric series.
For the simplest case of the ratio
Letting

equal to a constant , the terms

, the geometric sequence

with constant

are of the form

is given by

(1)
is given by

(2)
Multiplying both sides by gives

(3)
and subtracting (3) from (2) then gives
(4)
(5)
so

(6)
For

, the sum converges as

,in which case

(7)
Similarly, if the sums are taken starting at

instead of

,
(8)

(9)

the latter of which is valid for

Geometric Sequence
If a sequence of values follows a pattern of multiplying a fixed amount (not zero) times each
term to arrive at the following term, it is referred to as a geometric sequence. The number
multiplied each time is constant (always the same).

To find any term

of a geometric sequence:

where a1 is the first term of the sequence,

r is the common ratio, n is the number of the term to find.