Probability

How likely something is to happen.

Many events can't be predicted with total certainty. The best we can say is
how likely they are to happen, using the idea of probability.

Tossing a Coin

When a coin is tossed, there are two possible outcomes:

 heads (H) or
 tails (T)

We say that the probability of the coin landing H is ½

And the probability of the coin landing T is ½

Throwing Dice

When a single die is thrown, there are six possible outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

The probability of any one of them is 16

Probability
In general:
 Probability of an event happening = Number of ways it can happenTotal
number of outcomes

Example: the chances of rolling a "4" with a die

Number of ways it can happen: 1 (there is only 1 face with a "4" on it)

Total number of outcomes: 6 (there are 6 faces altogether)

So the probability = 16

Example: there are 5 marbles in a bag: 4 are blue, and 1 is

red. What is the probability that a blue marble gets picked?

Number of ways it can happen: 4 (there are 4 blues)

Total number of outcomes: 5 (there are 5 marbles in total)

So the probability = 45 = 0.8

Probability Line
We can show probability on a Probability Line :

Probability is always between 0 and 1

Probability is Just a Guide

Probability does not tell us exactly what will happen, it is just a guide

Example: toss a coin 100 times, how many Heads will come
up?
Probability says that heads have a ½ chance, so we can expect 50 Heads.
But when we actually try it we might get 48 heads, or 55 heads ... or anything
really, but in most cases it will be a number near 50.

Learn more at Probability Index .

Words
Some words have special meaning in Probability:

Experiment: a repeatable procedure with a set of possible results.

Example: Throwing dice

We can throw the dice again and again, so it is repeatable.

The set of possible results from any single throw is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

Outcome: A possible result of an experiment.

Example: Getting a "6"

Sample Space: all the possible outcomes of an experiment.

Example: choosing a card from a deck

There are 52 cards in a deck (not including Jokers)

So the Sample Space is all 52 possible cards: {Ace of Hearts, 2 of Hearts,

etc... }
The Sample Space is made up of Sample Points:

Sample Point: just one of the possible outcomes

Example: Deck of Cards

 the 5 of Clubs is a sample point

 the King of Hearts is a sample point

"King" is not a sample point. There are 4 Kings, so that is 4 different sample
points.

Example: Throwing dice

There are 6 different sample points in the sample space.

Event: one or more outcomes of an experiment

Example Events:

An event can be just one outcome:

 Getting a Tail when tossing a coin

 Rolling a "5"

An event can include more than one outcome:

 Choosing a "King" from a deck of cards (any of the 4 Kings)

 Rolling an "even number" (2, 4 or 6)

Hey, let's use those words, so you get used to them:

 Example: Alex wants to see how many times a "double" comes
up when throwing 2 dice.

The Sample Space is all possible Outcomes (36 Sample Points):

{1,1} {1,2} {1,3} {1,4} ... {6,3} {6,4} {6,5} {6,6}

The Event Alex is looking for is a "double", where both dice have the same
number. It is made up of these 6 Sample Points:

{1,1} {2,2} {3,3} {4,4} {5,5} and {6,6}

These are Alex's Results:

Is it a
Experiment
Double?
{3,4} No
{5,1} No
{2,2} Yes
{6,3} No
... ...

After 100 Experiments, Alex has 19 "double" Events ... is that close to what
you would expect?
Easy Permutations and Combinations
Home›Math›

I’ve always confused “permutation” and “combination” — which one’s which?

Here’s an easy way to remember: permutation sounds complicated, doesn’t it? And
it is. With permutations, every little detail matters. Alice, Bob and Charlie is different
from Charlie, Bob and Alice (insert your friends’ names here).

Combinations, on the other hand, are pretty easy going. The details don’t matter.
Alice, Bob and Charlie is the same as Charlie, Bob and Alice.

Permutations are for lists (order matters) and combinations are for groups
(order doesn’t matter).

A joke: A "combination lock" should really be called a "permutation lock". The order
you put the numbers in matters. (A true "combination lock" would accept both 10-17-
23 and 23-17-10 as correct.)

Permutations: The Hairy Details

Let’s start with permutations, or all possible ways of doing something. We’re using
the fancy-pants term “permutation”, so we’re going to care about every last detail,
including the order of each item. Let’s say we have 8 people:
1: Alice
2: Bob
3: Charlie
4: David
5: Eve
6: Frank
7: George
8: Horatio
How many ways can we award a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize among eight
contestants? (Gold / Silver / Bronze)
We’re going to use permutations since the order we hand out these medals matters.
Here’s how it breaks down:

 Gold medal: 8 choices: A B C D E F G H (Clever how I made the names match

up with letters, eh?). Let’s say A wins the Gold.
 Silver medal: 7 choices: B C D E F G H. Let’s say B wins the silver.
 Bronze medal: 6 choices: C D E F G H. Let’s say… C wins the bronze.

We picked certain people to win, but the details don’t matter: we had 8 choices at
first, then 7, then 6. The total number of options was 8 · 7 · 6 = 336.

Let’s look at the details. We had to order 3 people out of 8. To do this, we started with
all options (8) then took them away one at a time (7, then 6) until we ran out of
medals.

We know the factorial is:

8!=8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅18!=8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1
Unfortunately, that does too much! We only want 8 · 7 · 6. How can we “stop” the
factorial at 5?

This is where permutations get cool: notice how we want to get rid of 5 · 4 · 3 · 2 · 1.
What’s another name for this? 5 factorial!

So, if we do 8!/5! we get:

8!5!=8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅15⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1=8⋅7⋅68!5!=8⋅7⋅6⋅5⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅15⋅4⋅3⋅2⋅1=8⋅7⋅6
And why did we use the number 5? Because it was left over after we picked 3 medals
from 8. So, a better way to write this would be:

8!(8−3)!8!(8−3)!
where 8!/(8-3)! is just a fancy way of saying “Use the first 3 numbers of 8!”. If we
have n items total and want to pick k in a certain order, we get:

n!(n−k)!n!(n−k)!
And this is the fancy permutation formula: You have n items and want to find the
number of ways k items can be ordered:

P(n,k)=n!(n−k)!P(n,k)=n!(n−k)!

Combinations, Ho!
Combinations are easy going. Order doesn’t matter. You can mix it up and it looks the
same. Let’s say I’m a cheapskate and can’t afford separate Gold, Silver and Bronze
medals. In fact, I can only afford empty tin cans.

How many ways can I give 3 tin cans to 8 people?

Well, in this case, the order we pick people doesn’t matter. If I give a can to Alice,
Bob and then Charlie, it’s the same as giving to Charlie, Alice and then Bob. Either
way, they’re equally disappointed.

This raises an interesting point — we’ve got some redundancies here. Alice Bob
Charlie = Charlie Bob Alice. For a moment, let’s just figure out how many ways we
can rearrange 3 people.

Well, we have 3 choices for the first person, 2 for the second, and only 1 for the last.
So we have 3 · 2 · 1 ways to re-arrange 3 people.

Wait a minute… this is looking a bit like a permutation! You tricked me!

Indeed I did. If you have N people and you want to know how many arrangements
there are for all of them, it’s just N factorial or N!

So, if we have 3 tin cans to give away, there are 3! or 6 variations for every choice we
pick. If we want to figure out how many combinations we have, we just create all the
permutations and divide by all the redundancies. In our case, we get 336
permutations (from above), and we divide by the 6 redundancies for each permutation
and get 336/6 = 56.

The general formula is

C(n,k)=P(n,k)k!C(n,k)=P(n,k)k!
which means “Find all the ways to pick k people from n, and divide by the k!
variants”. Writing this out, we get our combination formula, or the number of ways
to combine k items from a set of n:

C(n,k)=n!(n−k)!k!C(n,k)=n!(n−k)!k!
Sometimes C(n,k) is written as:

(nk)(nk)
which is the the binomial coefficient.
A Few Examples
Here’s a few examples of combinations (order doesn’t matter) from permutations
(order matters).

 Combination: Picking a team of 3 people from a group of 10. C(10,3) = 10!/(7!

· 3!) = 10 · 9 · 8 / (3 · 2 · 1) = 120.

Permutation: Picking a President, VP and Waterboy from a group of

10. P(10,3) = 10!/7! = 10 · 9 · 8 = 720.

 Combination: Choosing 3 desserts from a menu of 10. C(10,3) = 120.

Permutation: Listing your 3 favorite desserts, in order, from a menu of 10.

P(10,3) = 720.

Don’t memorize the formulas, understand why they work. Combinations sound
simpler than permutations, and they are. You have fewer combinations than
permutations.
 Combinations and
Permutations

What's the Difference?

In English we use the word "combination" loosely, without thinking if
the order of things is important. In other words:

"My fruit salad is a combination of apples, grapes and bananas" We

don't care what order the fruits are in, they could also be "bananas, grapes and
apples" or "grapes, apples and bananas", its the same fruit salad.

"The combination to the safe is 472". Now we do care about the order.
"724" won't work, nor will "247". It has to be exactly 4-7-2.

So, in Mathematics we use more precise language:

 When the order doesn't matter, it is a Combination.

 When the order does matter it is a Permutation.

So, we should really call this a "Permutation Lock"!

In other words:
 A Permutation is an ordered Combination.

To help you to remember, think "Permutation ... Position"

Permutations
There are basically two types of permutation:

 Repetition is Allowed: such as the lock above. It could be "333".

 No Repetition: for example the first three people in a running race. You can't be
first andsecond.

1. Permutations with Repetition

These are the easiest to calculate.

When a thing has n different types ... we have n choices each time!

For example: choosing 3 of those things, the permutations are:

n×n×n
(n multiplied 3 times)

More generally: choosing r of something that has n different types, the

permutations are:

n × n × ... (r times)

(In other words, there are n possibilities for the first choice, THEN there
are n possibilites for the second choice, and so on, multplying each time.)

Which is easier to write down using an exponent of r:

n × n × ... (r times) = nr
Example: in the lock above, there are 10 numbers to choose from
(0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9) and we choose 3 of them:

10 × 10 × ... (3 times) = 103 = 1,000 permutations

So, the formula is simply:

nr
where n is the number of things to choose from,
and we choose r of them,
repetition is allowed,
and order matters.

2. Permutations without Repetition

In this case, we have to reduce the number of available choices each time.

Example: what order could 16 pool balls be in?

After choosing, say, number "14" we can't choose it again.

So, our first choice has 16 possibilites, and our next choice has 15 possibilities,
then 14, 13, 12, 11, ... etc. And the total permutations are:

16 × 15 × 14 × 13 × ... = 20,922,789,888,000

But maybe we don't want to choose them all, just 3 of them, and that is then:

16 × 15 × 14 = 3,360

In other words, there are 3,360 different ways that 3 pool balls could be
arranged out of 16 balls.

Without repetition our choices get reduced each time.

But how do we write that mathematically? Answer: we use the " factorial
function "

The factorial function (symbol: !) just means to multiply a series

of descending natural numbers. Examples:

 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24
 7! = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5,040
 1! = 1
Note: it is generally agreed that 0! = 1. It may seem funny that multiplying no
numbers together gets us 1, but it helps simplify a lot of equations.

So, when we want to select all of the billiard balls the permutations are:

16! = 20,922,789,888,000

But when we want to select just 3 we don't want to multiply after 14. How do
we do that? There is a neat trick: we divide by 13!

16 × 15 × 14 × 13 × 12 ...13 × 12 ... = 16 × 15 × 14

That was neat. The 13 × 12 × ... etc gets "cancelled out", leaving only 16 ×
15 × 14.

The formula is written:

n!(n − r)!
where n is the number of things to choose from,
and we choose r of them,
no repetitions,
order matters.

Example Our "order of 3 out of 16 pool balls example" is:

16! 16! 20,922,789,888,000
= = = 3,360
(16-3)! 13! 6,227,020,800

(which is just the same as: 16 × 15 × 14 = 3,360)

 Example: How many ways can first and second place be
awarded to 10 people?
10! 10! 3,628,800
= = = 90
(10-2)! 8! 40,320

(which is just the same as: 10 × 9 = 90)

Notation

Instead of writing the whole formula, people use different notations such as
these:

Example: P(10,2) = 90

Combinations
There are also two types of combinations (remember the order does not matter
now):

 Repetition is Allowed: such as coins in your pocket (5,5,5,10,10)

 No Repetition: such as lottery numbers (2,14,15,27,30,33)

1. Combinations with Repetition

Actually, these are the hardest to explain, so we will come back to this later.

2. Combinations without Repetition

This is how lotteries work. The numbers are drawn one at a time, and if we
have the lucky numbers (no matter what order) we win!
 The easiest way to explain it is to:

 assume that the order does matter (ie permutations),

 then alter it so the order does not matter.

Going back to our pool ball example, let's say we just want to know which 3
pool balls are chosen, not the order.

We already know that 3 out of 16 gave us 3,360 permutations.

But many of those are the same to us now, because we don't care what order!

For example, let us say balls 1, 2 and 3 are chosen. These are the possibilites:

Order does matter Order doesn't matter

123
132
213
123
231
312
321

So, the permutations have 6 times as many possibilites.

In fact there is an easy way to work out how many ways "1 2 3" could be placed
in order, and we have already talked about it. The answer is:

3! = 3 × 2 × 1 = 6

(Another example: 4 things can be placed in 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24 different

ways, try it for yourself!)

So we adjust our permutations formula to reduce it by how many ways the

objects could be in order (because we aren't interested in their order any
more):

That formula is so important it is often just written in big parentheses like this:
 where n is the number of things to choose from,
and we choose r of them,
no repetition,
order doesn't matter.
It is often called "n choose r" (such as "16 choose 3")

And is also known as the Binomial Coefficient .

Notation

As well as the "big parentheses", people also use these notations:

Just remember the formula:

n!r!(n − r)!

Example: Pool Balls (without order)

So, our pool ball example (now without order) is:

16!3!(16−3)! = 16!3! × 13!

= 20,922,789,888,0006 × 6,227,020,800

= 560

Or we could do it this way:

16×15×143×2×1 = 33606 = 560

It is interesting to also note how this formula is nice and symmetrical:

 In other words choosing 3 balls out of 16, or choosing 13 balls out of 16 have
the same number of combinations.

16!3!(16−3)! = 16!13!(16−13)! = 16!3! × 13! = 560

Pascal's Triangle

We can also use Pascal's Triangle to find the values. Go down to row "n" (the
top row is 0), and then along "r" places and the value there is our answer. Here
is an extract showing row 16:

1 14 91 364 ...
1 15 105 455 1365 ...
1 16 120 560 1820 4368 ...

1. Combinations with Repetition

OK, now we can tackle this one ...

Let us say there are five flavors of icecream: banana, chocolate, lemon,
strawberry and vanilla.

We can have three scoops. How many variations will there be?

Let's use letters for the flavors: {b, c, l, s, v}. Example selections include

 {c, c, c} (3 scoops of chocolate)

 {b, l, v} (one each of banana, lemon and vanilla)
 {b, v, v} (one of banana, two of vanilla)

(And just to be clear: There are n=5 things to choose from, and we
choose r=3 of them.
Order does not matter, and we can repeat!)

Now, I can't describe directly to you how to calculate this, but I can show you
a special techniquethat lets you work it out.

Think about the ice cream being in boxes, we could say "move past
the first box, then take 3 scoops, then move along 3 more boxes to
the end" and we will have 3 scoops of chocolate!

So it is like we are ordering a robot to get our ice cream, but it doesn't change
anything, we still get what we want.

We can write this down as (arrow means move, circle

means scoop).

In fact the three examples above can be written like this:

{c, c, c} (3 scoops of chocolate):

{b, l, v} (one each of banana, lemon and
vanilla):
{b, v, v} (one of banana, two of vanilla):

OK, so instead of worrying about different flavors, we have a simpler question:

"how many different ways can we arrange arrows and circles?"

Notice that there are always 3 circles (3 scoops of ice cream) and 4 arrows (we
need to move 4 times to go from the 1st to 5th container).

So (being general here) there are r + (n−1) positions, and we want to

choose r of them to have circles.

This is like saying "we have r + (n−1) pool balls and want to choose r of
them". In other words it is now like the pool balls question, but with slightly
changed numbers. And we can write it like this:
 where n is the number of things to choose from,
and we choose r of them
repetition allowed,
order doesn't matter.

Interestingly, we can look at the arrows instead of the circles, and say "we
have r + (n−1)positions and want to choose (n−1) of them to have arrows",
and the answer is the same:

So, what about our example, what is the answer?

(3+5−1)! 7! 5040
= = = 35
3!(5−1)! 3!×4! 6×24

There are 35 ways of having 3 scoops from five flavors of icecream.

In Conclusion
Phew, that was a lot to absorb, so maybe you could read it again to be sure!

But knowing how these formulas work is only half the battle. Figuring out how
to interpret a real world situation can be quite hard.

But at least now you know how to calculate all 4 variations of "Order does/does
not matter" and "Repeats are/are not allowed".
 Factorial !
Example: 4! is shorthand for 4 x 3 x 2 x 1

The factorial function (symbol: !) says to multiply all whole numbers from our
chosen number down to 1.

Examples:

 4! = 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 24
 7! = 7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 5040
 1! = 1

We usually say (for example) 4! as "4 factorial", but some people say "4 shriek"
or "4 bang"

Calculating From the Previous Value

We can easily calculate a factorial from the previous one:

As a table:

n n!
1 1 1 1
2 2×1 = 2 × 1! =2
3 3×2×1 = 3 × 2! =6
4 4×3×2×1 = 4 × 3! = 24
5 5×4×3×2×1 = 5 × 4! = 120
6 etc etc

 To work out 6!, multiply 6 by 120 to get 720

 To work out 7!, multiply 7 by 720 to get 5040
 And so on
Example: 9! equals 362,880. Try to calculate 10!

10! = 10 × 9!

10! = 10 × 362,880 = 3,628,800

So the rule is:

n! = n × (n−1)!
Which says

"the factorial of any number is that number times the factorial of (that
number minus 1)"

So 10! = 10 × 9!, ... and 125! = 125 × 124!, etc.

What About "0!"

Zero Factorial is interesting ... it is generally agreed that 0! = 1.

It may seem funny that multiplying no numbers together results in 1, but let's
follow the pattern backwards from, say, 4! like this:

And in many equations using 0! = 1 just makes sense.

Where is Factorial Used?

Factorials are used in many areas of mathematics, but particularly
in Combinations and Permutations
 Example: How many ways can 7 people come 1st, 2nd and 3rd?

The list is quite long, if the people are a,b,c,d,e,f,g then the list
includes abc,abd,abe,abf,abg,acb,acd,ace,acf,... etc up to gfe.

The formula is 7!(7-3)! = 7!4!

Let us write the multiplies out in full:

7 × 6 × 5 × 4 × 3 × 2 × 14 × 3 × 2 × 1 = 7 × 6 × 5

That was neat. The 4 × 3 × 2 × 1 "cancelled out", leaving only 7 × 6 × 5.

And:

7 × 6 × 5 = 210

So there are 210 different ways that 7 people could come 1st, 2nd and 3rd.

Done!

Example: What is 100! / 98!

Using our knowledge from above we can jump straight to this:

100!98! = 100 × 99 = 9900

A Small List
n n!
0 1
 1 1
2 2
3 6
4 24
5 120
6 720
7 5,040
8 40,320
9 362,880
10 3,628,800
11 39,916,800
12 479,001,600
13 6,227,020,800
14 87,178,291,200
15 1,307,674,368,000
16 20,922,789,888,000
17 355,687,428,096,000
18 6,402,373,705,728,000
19 121,645,100,408,832,000
20 2,432,902,008,176,640,000
21 51,090,942,171,709,440,000
22 1,124,000,727,777,607,680,000
23 25,852,016,738,884,976,640,000
24 620,448,401,733,239,439,360,000
25 15,511,210,043,330,985,984,000,000

As you can see, it gets big quickly.

If you need more, try the Full Precision Calculator .

Interesting Facts
Six weeks is exactly 10! seconds (=3,628,800)

Here is why:

Seconds in 6 weeks: 60 × 60 × 24 × 7 × 6
Factor some numbers: (2 × 3 × 10) × (3 × 4 × 5) × (8 × 3) × 7 × 6
Rearrange: 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 × 3 × 3 × 10
Lastly 3×3=9: 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 × 7 × 8 × 9 × 10

There are 52! ways to shuffle a deck of cards.

That is 8.0658175... × 1067

Just shuffle a deck of cards and it is likely that you are the first person
ever with that particular order.

There are about 60! atoms in the observable Universe.

60! is about 8.320987... × 1081 and the current estimates are between 1078 to
1082atoms in the observable Universe.

70! is approximately 1.197857... x 10100, which is just larger than a Googol

(the digit 1 followed by one hundred zeros).

100! is approximately 9.3326215443944152681699238856 x 10157

200! is approximately 7.8865786736479050355236321393 x 10374

 Advanced Topic

What About Decimals?

Can we have factorials for numbers like 0.5 or -3.217?
Yes we can! But we need to get into a subject called the "Gamma Function",
which is beyond this page.

Half Factorial
But I can tell you the factorial of half (½) is half of the square root of pi .

Here are some "half-integer" factorials:

(-½)! = √π
(½)! = (½)√π

(3/2)! = (3/4)√π

(5/2)! = (15/8)√π

It still follows the rule that "the factorial of any number is that number times
the factorial of (1 smaller than that number)", because
(3/2)! = (3/2) × (1/2)!
(5/2)! = (5/2) × (3/2)!
Can you figure out what (7/2)! is?
 Angles
An angle measures the amount of turn

Names of Angles

As the Angle Increases, the Name Changes:

Type of Angle Description

Acute Angle is less than 90°
Right Angle is 90° exactly
is greater than 90° but
Obtuse Angle
less than 180°
Straight Angle is 180° exactly
Reflex Angle is greater than 180°
Full Rotation is 360° exactly
Try It Yourself:
© 2018 MathsIsFun.com v0.862

In One Diagram

This diagram might make it easier to remember:

Also: Acute, Obtuse and Reflex are in alphabetical order.

Also: the letter "A" has an acute angle.

 Be Careful What You Measure

The smaller angle is an Obtuse Angle,

but the larger angle is a Reflex Angle

So when naming the angles make sure that you know which angle is being
asked for!

Positive and Negative Angles

When measuring from a line:

 a positive angle goes counterclockwise (opposite direction that clocks go)

 a negative angle goes clockwise

Example: −67°

Parts of an Angle
The corner point of an angle is called the vertex

And the two straight sides are called arms

The angle is the amount of turn between each arm.

How to Label Angles

There are two main ways to label angles:

1. give the angle a name, usually a lower-case letter like a or b, or sometimes a

Greek letter like α (alpha) or θ (theta)

2. or by the three letters on the shape that define the angle, with the middle
letter being where the angle actually is (its vertex).

Example angle "a" is "BAC", and angle "θ" is "BCD"

 Parallel and Perpendicular
Lines
How to use Algebra to find parallel and perpendicular lines .

Parallel Lines
How do we know when two lines are parallel?

Their slopes are the same!

The slope is the value m in the equation of a line :

y = mx + b

Example:

Find the equation of the line that is:

 parallel to y = 2x + 1
 and passes though the point (5,4)
The slope of y=2x+1 is: 2
The parallel line needs to have the same slope of 2.

We can solve it using the "point-slope" equation of a line :

y − y1 = 2(x − x1)

And then put in the point (5,4):

y − 4 = 2(x − 5)

And that answer is OK, but let's also put it in y = mx + b form:

y − 4 = 2x − 10

y = 2x − 6

Vertical Lines

But this does not work for vertical lines ... I explain why at the end.

Not The Same Line

Be careful! They may be the same line (but with a different equation), and so
are not parallel.

How do we know if they are really the same line? Check their y-
intercepts (where they cross the y-axis) as well as their slope:

Example: is y = 3x + 2 parallel to y − 2 = 3x ?

For y = 3x + 2: the slope is 3, and y-intercept is 2

For y − 2 = 3x: the slope is 3, and y-intercept is 2

In fact they are the same line and so are not parallel

Perpendicular Lines
Two lines are Perpendicular when they meet at a right angle (90°).

To find a perpendicular slope:

When one line has a slope of m, a perpendicular line has a slope of −1m

In other words the negative reciprocal

Example:

Find the equation of the line that is

 perpendicular to y = −4x + 10
 and passes though the point (7,2)

The slope of y=−4x+10 is: −4

The negative reciprocal of that slope is:

m = −1−4 = 14
So the perpendicular line will have a slope of 1/4:

y − y1 = (1/4)(x − x1)
And now put in the point (7,2):

y − 2 = (1/4)(x − 7)

And that answer is OK, but let's also put it in "y=mx+b" form:

y − 2 = x/4 − 7/4

y = x/4 + 1/4

Quick Check of Perpendicular

When we multiply a slope m by its perpendicular slope −1m we get
simply −1.
So to quickly check if two lines are perpendicular:

When we multiply their slopes, we get −1

Like this:

Are these two lines perpendicular?

Line Slope
y = 2x + 1 2
y = −0.5x + 4 −0.5
 When we multiply the two slopes we get:

2 × (−0.5) = −1
Yes, we got −1, so they are perpendicular.

Vertical Lines
The previous methods work nicely except for a vertical line:

In this case the gradient is undefined (as we cannot divide by 0 ):

m = yA − yBxA − xB = 4 − 12 − 2 = 30 = undefined
So just rely on the fact that:

 a vertical line is parallel to another vertical line.

 a vertical line is perpendicular to a horizontal line (and vice versa).

Summary
 parallel lines: same slope
 perpendicular lines: negative reciprocal slope (−1/m)
 Properties of Regular
Polygons

Polygon
A polygon is a plane shape (two-dimensional) with straight sides. Examples
include triangles, quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons and so on.

Regular
A "Regular Polygon" has:

 all sides equal and

 all angles equal. Regular Pentagon Irregular Pentagon

Otherwise it is irregular.

Here we look at Regular Polygons only.

Properties
So what can we know about regular polygons? First of all, we can work out
angles.

Exterior Angle
The Exterior Angle is the angle between any side of a shape,
and a line extended from the next side.
 © 2015 MathsIsFun.com v 0.9

All the Exterior Angles of a polygon add up to 360°, so:

Each exterior angle must be 360°/n

(where n is the number of sides)

Press play button to see.

Exterior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

Example: What is the exterior angle of a regular octagon?

An octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior angle =360° / n

=360° / 8
=45°

Interior Angles
The Interior Angle and Exterior Angle are measured
from the same line, so they add up to 180°.

Interior Angle = 180° − Exterior Angle

We know the Exterior angle = 360°/n, so:

Interior Angle = 180° − 360°/n

Which can be rearranged like this:

Interior Angle= 180° − 360°/n
= (n × 180° / n) − (2 × 180° / n)
 = (n−2) × 180°/n
So we also have this:
Interior Angle = (n−2) × 180° / n

Example: What is the interior angle of a regular octagon?

A regular octagon has 8 sides, so:

Exterior Angle = 360° / 8 = 45°

Interior Angle = 180° − 45° = 135°

Interior Angle
(of a regular octagon)

Or we could use:

Interior Angle= (n−2) × 180° / n

= (8−2) × 180° / 8
= 6 × 180° / 8
= 135°

Example: What are the interior and exterior angles of a regular

hexagon?

A regular hexagon has 6 sides, so:

Exterior Angle = 360° / 6 = 60°

Interior Angle = 180° − 60° = 120°

And now for some names:

 "Circumcircle, Incircle, Radius and
Apothem ..."
Sounds quite musical if you repeat it a few times, but they are just the names
of the "outer" and "inner" circles (and each radius) that can be drawn on a
polygon like this:

The "outside" circle is called a circumcircle, and it connects all vertices (corner
points) of the polygon.

The radius of the circumcircle is also the radius of the polygon.

The "inside" circle is called an incircle and it just touches each side of the
polygon at its midpoint.

The radius of the incircle is the apothem of the polygon.

(Not all polygons have those properties, but triangles and regular polygons do).

Breaking into Triangles

We can learn a lot about regular polygons by breaking them into triangles like
this:

Notice that:

 the "base" of the triangle is one side of the polygon.

 the "height" of the triangle is the "Apothem" of the polygon
Now, the area of a triangle is half of the base times height, so:

Area of one triangle = base × height / 2 = side × apothem / 2

To get the area of the whole polygon, just add up the areas of all the little
triangles ("n" of them):

Area of Polygon = n × side × apothem / 2

And since the perimeter is all the sides = n × side, we get:

Area of Polygon = perimeter × apothem / 2

A Smaller Triangle
By cutting the triangle in half we get this:

(Note: The angles are in radians , not degrees )

The small triangle is right-angled and so we can use sine, cosine and
tangent to find how the side, radius, apothem and n (number of sides) are
related:

sin(π/n) = (Side/2) / Radius Side = 2 × Radius × sin(π/n)

cos(π/n) = Apothem / Radius Apothem = Radius × cos(π/n)

tan(π/n) = (Side/2) / Apothem Side = 2 × Apothem × tan(π/n)

There are a lot more relationships like those (most of them just "re-
arrangements"), but those will do for now.
More Area Formulas
We can use that to calculate the area when we only know the Apothem:

Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Side/2)

And we know (from the "tan" formula above) that:
Side = 2 × Apothem × tan(π/n)
So:
Area of Small Triangle= ½ × Apothem × (Apothem × tan(π/n))
= ½ × Apothem2 × tan(π/n)

And there are 2 such triangles per side, or 2n for the whole polygon:

Area of Polygon = n × Apothem2 × tan(π/n)

When we don't know the Apothem, we can use the same formula but re-worked
for Radius or for Side:

Area of Polygon = ½ × n × Radius2 × sin(2 × π/n)

Area of Polygon = ¼ × n × Side2 / tan(π/n)

A Table of Values
And here is a table of Side, Apothem and Area compared to a Radius of "1",
using the formulas we have worked out:

Side
Name when Interior Radiu Apothe
Type s Shape Side Area
Regular Angle s m
(n)
1.73
Triangle Equilateral 1.299
3 60° 1 2 0.5
(or Trigon) Triangle (¾√3)
(√3)
1.41
Quadrilateral 0.707
Square 4 90° 1 4 2
(or Tetragon) (1/√2)
(√2)
 Regular 1.17
Pentagon 5 108° 1 0.809 2.378
Pentagon 6

2.598
Regular 0.866
Hexagon 6 120° 1 1 ((3/2)√3
Hexagon (½√3)
)

Heptagon Regular 128.571 0.86

7 1 0.901 2.736
(or Septagon) Heptagon ° 8

Regular 0.76 2.828

Octagon 8 135° 1 0.924
Octagon 5 (2√2)

... ...
Regular
Pentacontago 0.12
Pentacontago 50 172.8° 1 0.998 3.133
n 6
n
(Note: values correct to 3 decimal places only)

Graph
And here is a graph of the table above, but with number of sides ("n") from 3 to
30.

Notice that as "n" gets bigger, the Apothem is tending towards 1 (equal to the
Radius) and that the Area is tending towards π = 3.14159..., just like a circle.

What is the Side length tending towards?

 Quadrilaterals

Quadrilateral just means "four sides"

(quad means four, lateral means side).

A Quadrilateral has four-sides, it is 2-dimensional(a flat

shape), closed (the lines join up), and hasstraight sides.

Try it Yourself
(Also see this on Interactive Quadrilaterals )

Properties
A quadrilateral has:

 four sides (edges)

 four vertices (corners)
 interior angles that add to 360 degrees:

Try drawing a quadrilateral, and measure the angles. They should add to 360°
Types of Quadrilaterals
There are special types of quadrilateral:

Some types are also included in the definition of other types! For example
a square, rhombus and rectangle are also parallelograms. See below for
more details.

Let us look at each type in turn:

The Rectangle

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A rectangle is a four-sided shape where every angle is a right angle (90°).

Also opposite sides are parallel and of equal length.

The Square

the little squares in each corner mean "right angle"

A square has equal sides (marked "s") and every angle is a right angle (90°)

Also opposite sides are parallel.

A square also fits the definition of a rectangle (all angles are 90°), and
a rhombus (all sides are equal length).
The Rhombus

A rhombus is a four-sided shape where all sides have equal length (marked
"s").

Also opposite sides are parallel and opposite angles are equal.

Another interesting thing is that the diagonals (dashed lines) meet in the middle
at a right angle. In other words they "bisect" (cut in half) each other at right
angles.

A rhombus is sometimes called a rhomb or a diamond.

The Parallelogram

A parallelogram has opposite sides parallel and equal in length. Also opposite
angles are equal (angles "A" are the same, and angles "B" are the same).

NOTE: Squares, Rectangles and Rhombuses are all Parallelograms!

Example:

A parallelogram with:

 all sides equal and

 angles "A" and "B" as right angles

is a square!
The Trapezoid (UK: Trapezium)

Trapezoid Isosceles Trapezoid

A trapezoid (called a trapezium in the UK) has a pair of opposite sides parallel.

And a trapezium (called a trapezoid in the UK) is a quadrilateral with NO

parallel sides:

Trapezoid Trapezium

In the US: a pair of parallel sides NO parallel sides

In the UK: NO parallel sides a pair of parallel sides

(the US and UK definitions are swapped over!)

An Isosceles trapezoid, as shown above, has left and right sides of equal
length that join to the base at equal angles.

The Kite

Hey, it looks like a kite (usually).

It has two pairs of sides:

Each pair is made of two equal-length sides that join up.

Also:
 the angles where the two pairs meet are equal.
 the diagonals, shown as dashed lines above, meet at a right angle.
 one of the diagonals bisects (cuts equally in half) the other.

... and that's it for the special quadrilaterals.

Irregular Quadrilaterals
The only regular (all sides equal and all angles equal) quadrilateral is a square.
So all other quadrilaterals are irregular.

The "Family Tree" Chart

Quadrilateral definitions are inclusive.

Example: a square is also a rectangle.

So we include a square in the definition of a rectangle.

(We don't say "Having all 90° angles makes it a rectangle except when all sides
are equal then it is a square.")

This may seem odd, as in daily life we think of a square as not being a
rectangle ... but in mathematics it is.

Using the chart below we can answer such questions as:

 Is a Square a type of Rectangle? (Yes)

 Is a Rectangle a type of Kite? (No)
 Complex Quadrilaterals
Oh Yes! when two sides cross over, we call it a "Complex" or "Self-Intersecting"
quadrilateral, like these:

They still have 4 sides, but two sides cross over.

Polygon
A quadrilateral is a polygon . In fact it is a 4-sided polygon, just like a triangle
is a 3-sided polygon, a pentagon is a 5-sided polygon, and so on.

Play with Them

Now that you know the different types, you can play with the Interactive
Quadrilaterals .

Other Names
A quadrilateral can sometimes be called:

 a Quadrangle ("four angles"), so it sounds like "triangle"

 a Tetragon ("four and polygon"), so it sounds like "pentagon", "hexagon", etc.
 Polygons
A polygon is a plane shape with straight sides.

Is it a Polygon?
Polygons are 2-dimensional shapes. They are made of straight lines, and the
shape is "closed" (all the lines connect up).

Polygon Not a Polygon Not a Polygon

(straight sides) (has a curve) (open, not closed)

Polygon comes from Greek. Poly- means "many" and -gon means "angle".

Types of Polygons

Regular or Irregular

A regular polygon has all angles equal and all sides equal, otherwise it
is irregular

Regular Irregular
Concave or Convex

A convex polygon has no angles pointing inwards. More precisely, no internal

angle can be more than 180°.

If any internal angle is greater than 180° then the polygon is concave. (Think:
concave has a "cave" in it)

Convex Concave

Simple or Complex

A simple polygon has only one boundary, and it doesn't cross over itself.
A complex polygon intersects itself! Many rules about polygons don't work
when it is complex.

Simple Polygon Complex Polygon

(this one's a Pentagon) (also a Pentagon)

More Examples
 Complex Polygon
Irregular Hexagon Concave Octagon (a "star polygon",
in this case a pentagram)

Play With Them!

Try Interactive Polygons ... make them regular, concave or complex.

Names of Polygons
If it is a Regular Polygon...

Name Sides Shape Interior Angle

Triangle (or Trigon) 3 60°

Quadrilateral (or Tetragon) 4 90°

Pentagon 5 108°
 Hexagon 6 120°

Heptagon (or Septagon) 7 128.571°

Octagon 8 135°

Nonagon (or Enneagon) 9 140°

Decagon 10 144°

Hendecagon (or Undecagon) 11 147.273°

Dodecagon 12 150°

Triskaidecagon 13 152.308°

Tetrakaidecagon 14 154.286°

Pentadecagon 15 156°

Hexakaidecagon 16 157.5°

Heptadecagon 17 158.824°

Octakaidecagon 18 160°

Enneadecagon 19 161.053°
 Icosagon 20 162°

Triacontagon 30 168°

Tetracontagon 40 171°

Pentacontagon 50 172.8°

Hexacontagon 60 174°

Heptacontagon 70 174.857°

Octacontagon 80 175.5°

Enneacontagon 90 176°

Hectagon 100 176.4°

Chiliagon 1,000 179.64°

Myriagon 10,000 179.964°

Megagon 1,000,000 ~180°

Googolgon 10100 ~180°

n-gon n (n-2) × 180° / n

You can make names using this method:

Sides Start with... Sides ...end with

20 Icosi... +1 ...henagon
 30 Triaconta... +2 ...digon

40 Tetraconta... +3 ...trigon

50 Pentaconta... +4 ...tetragon

60 Hexaconta... +5 ...pentagon

70 Heptaconta... +6 ...hexagon

80 Octaconta... +7 ...heptagon

90 Enneaconta... +8 ...octagon

100 Hecta... +9 ...enneagon

etc..

Example: a 62-sided polygon is a Hexacontadigon

BUT, for polygons with 13 or more sides, it is OK (and easier) to write "13-
gon", "14-gon" ... "100-gon", etc.

Remembering

Quadrilateral (4 Sides)

A Quad Bike has 4 wheels

Pentagon (5 Sides)
 The "Pentagon" in Washington DC has 5 sides

Hexagon (6 Sides)

Honeycomb has Hexagons

Septagon (7 Sides)

Think Septagon is a "Seven-agon"

Octagon (8 Sides)

An Octopus has 8 tentacles

Nonagon (9 Sides)

Think Nonagon is a "Nine-agon"

Decagon (10 Sides)

Think Decagon has 10 sides,

just like our Decimal system has 10 digits
Perimeter, Area, and Volume
1. The perimeter of a polygon (or any other closed curve, such as a circle) is the
distance around the outside.

2. The area of a simple, closed, planar curve is the amount of space inside.

3. The volume of a solid 3D3D shape is the amount of space displaced by it.
Some formulas for common 22 -dimensional plane figures and 33 -dimensional solids
are given below. The answers have one, two, or three dimensions; perimeter is
measured in linear units , area is measured in square units , and volume is
measured in cubic units .
Table 11 . Perimeter Formulas

Shape Formula Variables

ss is the length
Square P=4sP=4s of the side of the
square.

LL and WW ar
e the lengths of
Rectangle P=2L+2WP=2L+2W the rectangle's
sides (length
and width).

a,ba,b ,
Triangle a+b+ca+b+c and cc are the
side lengths.

Right Triangle, with aa and bb are

legs aaand bb (seePythagorea
P=a+b+a2+b2−−−−−−√P=a+b+a2+b the lengths of
2 the two legs of
n Theorem )
the triangle
 rr is the radius
Circle P=C=2πr=πdP=C=2πr=πd and dd is the
diameter.

Table 2. Area Formulas

Shape Formula Variables

ss is the
Square A=s2A=s2 length of
the side of
the square.

LL and W
W are the
lengths of
Rectang the
le rectangle's
A=LWA=LW
sides
(length and
width).

bb and hh
Triangle A=12bhA=12bh are the
base and
height

aa , bb ,
and ccare

Triangle
A=s(s−a)(s−b)(s−c)−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−√where  s=a  the side
+ b + c2A=s(s−a)(s−b)(s−c)where  s=a + b + c2 lengths
and ssis
the
semiperime
 ter

bb is the
length of
Parallel
the base
ogram
A=bhA=bh and hh is
the height.

b1b1 and b
2b2 are the
lengths of
the parallel
sides
Trapezo
id
A=b1 + b22hA=b1 + b22h and hhthe
distance
(height)
between
the
parallels.

Circle A=πr2A=πr2 rr is the

radius.

Table 3. Volume Formulas

Shape Formula Variables

Cube V=s3V=s3 ss is the length of the

side.
Right LL is the length, WW is
Rectangular V=LWHV=LWH the width and HH is the
Prism height.

Prism or AA is the area of the

Cylinder V=AhV=Ah base, hh is the height.

AA is the area of the

Pyramid or Cone
V=13AhV=13Ah base, hh is the height.

Sphere V=43πr3V=43πr3 rr is the radius.

Surface Areas

cube = 6 a2

prism:
(lateral area) = perimeter(b) L

(total area) = perimeter(b) L + 2b

sphere = 4 r2
 Circle
A circle is easy to make:

Draw a curve that is "radius" away

from a central point.

And so:

All points are the same distance from the center.

You Can Draw It Yourself

Put a pin in a board, put a loop of string around it, and insert a pencil into the
loop. Keep the string stretched and draw the circle!

Drag a point!
© 2018 MathsIsFun.com v0.87

Play With It
Try dragging the point to see how the radius and circumference change.

(See if you can keep a constant radius!)

Radius, Diameter and Circumference

The Radius is the distance from the center outwards.

The Diameter goes straight across the circle, through the center.

The Circumference is the distance once around the circle.

And here is the really cool thing:

When we divide the circumference by the diameter we get

3.141592654...
which is the number π ( Pi )

So when the diameter is 1, the circumference is

3.141592654...

We can say:

Circumference = π × Diameter
Example: You walk around a circle which has a diameter of
100m, how far have you walked?

Distance walked = Circumference = π × 100m

= 314m (to the nearest m)

Also note that the Diameter is twice the Radius:

 Diameter = 2 × Radius
And so this is also true:

Circumference = 2 × π × Radius
In Summary:

×2 × π

Radius Diameter Circumference

Remembering
The length of the words may help you remember:

 Radius is the shortest word and shortest measure

 Diameter is longer
 Circumference is the longest

Definition
The circle is a plane shape (two dimensional), so:

Circle: the set of all points on a plane that are a fixed distance from a center.

Area
 The area of a circle is π times the radius squared, which is written:

A= π r2
Where

 A is the Area
 r is the radius

To help you remember think "Pie Are Squared" (even though pies are usually
round):

Example: What is the area of a circle with radius of 1.2 m ?

Area= πr2
= π × 1.22
= 3.14159... × (1.2 × 1.2)
= 4.52 (to 2 decimals)

Or, using the Diameter:

A = (π/4) × D2

Area Compared to a Square

A circle has about 80% of the area of a similar-width square.

The actual value is (π/4) = 0.785398... = 78.5398...%

And something interesting for you:

 See Circle Area by Lines

Names
Because people have studied circles for thousands of years special names have
come about.

Nobody wants to say "that line that starts at one side of the circle, goes through
the center and ends on the other side" when they can just say "Diameter".

So here are the most common special names:

Lines

A line that "just touches" the circle as it passes by is called a Tangent.

A line that cuts the circle at two points is called a Secant.

A line segment that goes from one point to another on the circle's circumference
is called a Chord.

If it passes through the center it is called a Diameter.

And a part of the circumference is called an Arc .

Slices
There are two main "slices" of a circle.

The "pizza" slice is called a Sector .

 And the slice made by a chord is called a Segment .

Common Sectors
The Quadrant and Semicircle are two special types of Sector:

Quarter of a circle is called a Quadrant.

Half a circle is called a Semicircle.

Inside and Outside

A circle has an inside and an outside (of course!). But it also has an "on",
because we could be right on the circle.

Example: "A" is outside the circle, "B" is inside the circle and "C" is on the circle.

Ellipse

A circle is a "special case" of an ellipse .

 Set-Builder Notation
How to describe a set by saying what properties its members have.

A Set is a collection of things (usually numbers).

Example: {5, 7, 11} is a set.

But we can also "build" a set by describing what is in it.

Here is a simple example of set-builder notation:

It says "the set of all x's, such that x is greater than 0".

In other words any value greater than 0

Notes:

 The "x" is just a place-holder, it could be anything, such as { q | q > 0 }

 Some people use ":" instead of "|", so they write { x : x > 0 }

Type of Number
It is also normal to show what type of number x is, like this:

 The means "a member of" (or simply "in")

 The is the special symbol for Real Numbers.

So it says:
 "the set of all x's that are a member of the Real Numbers,
such that x is greater than or equal to 3"

In other words "all Real Numbers from 3 upwards"

There are other ways we could have shown that:

On the Number Line it looks like:

In Interval notation it looks like: [3, +∞)

Number Types
We saw (the special symbol for Real Numbers). Here are the common
number types :

Natural Rational Real Imaginary Complex

Integers
Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers Numbers

Example: { k |k>5}

"the set of all k's that are a member of the Integers, such that k is greater than
5"

In other words all integers greater than 5.

This could also be written {6, 7, 8, ... } , so:

{k | k > 5 } = {6, 7, 8, ... }

Why Use It?

When we have a simple set like the integers from 2 to 6 we can write:

{2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

But how do we list the Real Numbers in the same interval?

{2, 2.1, 2.01, 2.001, 2.0001, ... ???

So instead we say how to build the list:

{x | x ≥ 2 and x ≤ 6 }
Start with all Real Numbers, then limit them between 2 and 6 inclusive.

We can also use set builder notation to do other things, like this:

{x | x = x2 } = {0, 1}
All Real Numbers such that x = x2
0 and 1 are the only cases where x = x2

Another Example:
Example: x ≤ 2 or x > 3

Set-Builder Notation looks like this:

{x | x ≤ 2 or x >3 }

On the Number Line it looks like:

Using Interval notation it looks like:

(−∞, 2] U (3, +∞)

We used a "U" to mean Union (the joining together of two sets ).

Defining a Domain
Set Builder Notation is very useful for defining domains .

In its simplest form the domain is the set of all the values that go into a
function.

The function must work for all values we give it, so it is up to us to make sure
we get the domain correct!

Example: The domain of 1/x

1/x is undefined at x=0 (because 1/0 is dividing by zero ).

So we must exclude x=0 from the Domain:

The Domain of 1/x is all the Real Numbers, except 0

We can write this as

Dom(1/x) = {x | x ≠ 0}

Example: The domain of g(x)=1/(x−1)

1/(x−1) is undefined at x=1, so we must exclude x=1 from the Domain:

The Domain of 1/(x−1) is all the Real Numbers, except 1

Using set-builder notation it is written:

Dom( g(x) ) = { x | x ≠ 1}

Example: The domain of √x

Is all the Real Numbers from 0 onwards, because we can't take the square root
of a negative number (unless we use Imaginary Numbers , which we aren't).

We can write this as

 Dom(√x) = {x | x ≥ 0}

Example The domain of f(x) = x/(x2 − 1)

To avoid dividing by zero we need: x2 - 1 ≠ 0

Factor: x2 - 1 = (x−1)(x+1)

(x−1)(x+1) = 0 when x = 1 or x = −1, which we want to avoid!

So:

Dom( f(x) ) = {x | x ≠ 1, x ≠ −1}

 Sequences
You can read a gentle introduction to Sequences in Common Number Patterns .

What is a Sequence?
A Sequence is a list of things (usually numbers) that are in order.

Infinite or Finite
When the sequence goes on forever it is called an infinite sequence,
otherwise it is a finite sequence

Examples:

{1, 2, 3, 4, ...} is a very simple sequence (and it is an infinite sequence)

{20, 25, 30, 35, ...} is also an infinite sequence

{1, 3, 5, 7} is the sequence of the first 4 odd numbers (and is a finite

sequence)

{4, 3, 2, 1} is 4 to 1 backwards

{1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, ...} is an infinite sequence where every term doubles

{a, b, c, d, e} is the sequence of the first 5 letters alphabetically

{f, r, e, d} is the sequence of letters in the name "fred"

{0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, ...} is the sequence of alternating 0s and 1s (yes they are in

order, it is an alternating order in this case)
 In Order
When we say the terms are "in order", we are free to define what order that
is! They could go forwards, backwards ... or they could alternate ... or any type
of order we want!

Like a Set
A Sequence is like a Set , except:

 the terms are in order (with Sets the order does not matter)
 the same value can appear many times (only once in Sets)

Example: {0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, ...} is the sequence of alternating 0s and 1s.

The set is just {0,1}

Notation
Sequences also use the same notation as sets:
list each element, separated by a comma, {3, 5, 7, ...}
and then put curly brackets around the whole thing.

The curly brackets { } are sometimes called "set brackets" or "braces".

A Rule
A Sequence usually has a Rule, which is a way to find the value of each term.

Example: the sequence {3, 5, 7, 9, ...} starts at 3 and jumps 2 every time:
 As a Formula
Saying "starts at 3 and jumps 2 every time" is fine, but it doesn't help us
calculate the:

 10th term,
 100th term, or
 nth term, where n could be any term number we want.
So, we want a formula with "n" in it (where n is any term number).

So, What Can A Rule For {3, 5, 7, 9, ...} Be?

Firstly, we can see the sequence goes up 2 every time, so we can guess that a
Rule is something like "2 times n" (where "n" is the term number). Let's test it
out:

Test Rule: 2n

n Term Test Rule

1 3 2n = 2×1 = 2
2 5 2n = 2×2 = 4
3 7 2n = 2×3 = 6

That nearly worked ... but it is too low by 1 every time, so let us try changing
it to:

Test Rule: 2n+1

n Term Test Rule

1 3 2n+1 = 2×1 + 1 = 3
 2 5 2n+1 = 2×2 + 1 = 5
3 7 2n+1 = 2×3 + 1 = 7

That Works!

So instead of saying "starts at 3 and jumps 2 every time" we write this:

2n+1

Now we can calculate, for example, the 100th term:

2 × 100 + 1 = 201

Many Rules
But mathematics is so powerful we can find more than one Rule that works
for any sequence.

Example: the sequence {3, 5, 7, 9, ...}

We have just shown a Rule for {3, 5, 7, 9, ...} is: 2n+1

And so we get: {3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, ...}

But can we find another rule?

How about "odd numbers without a 1 in them":

And we get: {3, 5, 7, 9, 23, 25, ...}

A completely different sequence!

And we could find more rules that match {3, 5, 7, 9, ...}. Really we could.

So it is best to say "A Rule" rather then "The Rule" (unless we know it is the
right Rule).

Notation
To make it easier to use rules, we often use this special style:

 xn is the term
 n is the term number

Example: to mention the "5th term" we write: x5

So a rule for {3, 5, 7, 9, ...} can be written as an equation like this:

xn = 2n+1
And to calculate the 10th term we can write:

x10 = 2n+1 = 2×10+1 = 21

Can you calculate x50 (the 50th term) doing this?

Here is another example:

Example: Calculate the first 4 terms of this sequence:

{an} = { (-1/n)n }

Calculations:

 a1 = (-1/1)1 = -1
 a2 = (-1/2)2 = 1/4
 a3 = (-1/3)3 = -1/27
 a4 = (-1/4)4 = 1/256

Answer:

{an} = { -1, 1/4, -1/27, 1/256, ... }

Special Sequences
Now let's look at some special sequences, and their rules.
 Arithmetic Sequences
In an Arithmetic Sequence the difference between one term and the next
is a constant.

In other words, we just add some value each time ... on to infinity.

Example:

1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, ...

This sequence has a difference of 3 between each number.

Its Rule is xn = 3n-2

In General we can write an arithmetic sequence like this:

{a, a+d, a+2d, a+3d, ... }

where:

 a is the first term, and

 d is the difference between the terms (called the "common difference")

And we can make the rule:

xn = a + d(n-1)
(We use "n-1" because d is not used in the 1st term).

Geometric Sequences
In a Geometric Sequence each term is found by multiplying the previous
term by a constant.

Example:

2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, ...

 This sequence has a factor of 2 between each number.
Its Rule is xn = 2n

In General we can write a geometric sequence like this:

{a, ar, ar2, ar3, ... }

where:

 a is the first term, and

 r is the factor between the terms (called the "common ratio")
Note: r should not be 0.

 When r=0, we get the sequence {a,0,0,...} which is not geometric

And the rule is:

xn = ar(n-1)

(We use "n-1" because ar0 is the 1st term)

Triangular Numbers
1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, ...

The Triangular Number Sequence is generated from a pattern of dots which

form a triangle:

By adding another row of dots and counting all the dots we can find the next
number of the sequence.

But it is easier to use this Rule:

xn = n(n+1)/2
Example:
  the 5th Triangular Number is x5 = 5(5+1)/2 = 15,
 and the sixth is x6 = 6(6+1)/2 = 21

Square Numbers
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, ...

The next number is made by squaring where it is in the pattern.

Rule is xn = n2

Cube Numbers
1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, ...

The next number is made by cubing where it is in the pattern.

Rule is xn = n3

Fibonacci Sequence
This is the Fibonacci Sequence

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...

The next number is found by adding the two numbers before it together:

 The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1)

 The 21 is found by adding the two numbers before it (8+13)
 etc...

Rule is xn = xn-1 + xn-2

That rule is interesting because it depends on the values of the previous two
terms.

Rules like that are called recursive formulas.

The Fibonacci Sequence is numbered from 0 onwards like this:

n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 ...

Example: term "6" is calculated like this:

x6 = x6-1 + x6-2 = x5 + x4 = 5 + 3 = 8

Series and Partial Sums

Now you know about sequences, the next thing to learn about is how to sum
them up. Read our page on Partial Sums .

When we sum up just part of a sequence it is called a Partial Sum .

But a sum of an infinite sequence it is called a "Series" (it sounds like another
name for sequence, but it is actually a sum). See Infinite Series .

Example: Odd numbers

Sequence: {1, 3, 5, 7, ...}

Series: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + ...

Partial Sum of first 3 terms: 1 + 3 + 5

 Infinite Series
The sum of infinite terms that follow a rule.

When we have an infinite sequence of values:

12 , 14 , 18 , 116 , ...

which follow a rule (in this case each term is half the previous one),

and we add them all up:

12 + 14 + 18 + 116 + ... = S

we get an infinite series.

"Series" sounds like it is the list of numbers, but it is actually when we add
them up.

(Note: The dots "..." mean "continuing on indefinitely")

First Example
You might think it is impossible to work out the answer, but sometimes it can
be done!

Using the example from above:

12 + 14 + 18 + 116 + ... = 1

And here is why:

(We also show a proof using Algebra below)

Notation
We often use Sigma Notation for infinite series. Our example from above looks
like:

This symbol (called Sigma) means

"sum up"

Try putting 1/2^n into the Sigma Calculator .

Another Example
14 + 116 + 164 + 1256 + ... = 13

Each term is a quarter of the previous one, and the sum equals 1/3:

Of the 3 spaces (1, 2 and 3) only number 2 gets filled up, hence 1/3.

Converge
Let's add the terms one at a time. When the "sum so far" approaches a finite
value, the series is said to be "convergent":

Our first example:

12 + 14 + 18 + 116 + ...

Adds up like this:

Term Sum so far

 1/2 0.5

1/4 0.75

1/8 0.875

1/16 0.9375

1/32 0.96875

... ...

The sums are heading towards 1, so this series is convergent.

The "sum so far" is called a partial sum .

So, more formally, we say it is a convergent series when:

"the sequence of partial sums has a finite limit ."

Diverge
If the sums do not converge, the series is said to diverge.

It can go to +infinity, −infinity or just go up and down without settling on any

value.

Example:

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ...
Adds up like this:

Term Sum so far

1 1

2 3

3 6
 4 10

5 15

... ...

The sums are just getting larger and larger, not heading to any finite value.

It does not converge, so it is divergent, and heads to infinity.

Example: 1 − 1 + 1 − 1 + 1 ...

It goes up and down without settling towards some value, so it is divergent.

More Examples

Arithmetic Series

When the difference between each term and the next is a constant, it is called
an arithmetic series.

(The difference between each term is 2.)

Geometric Series

When the ratio between each term and the next is a constant, it is called
a geometric series.

Our first example from above is a geometric series:

 (The ratio between each term is ½)

And, as promised, we can show you why that series equals 1 using Algebra:

First, we will call the whole sum "S": S = 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + ...

Next, divide S by 2:S/2 = 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + 1/32 + ...

Now subtract S/2 from S

All the terms from 1/4 onwards cancel out.

And we get:S − S/2 = 1/2

Simplify:S/2 = 1/2

And so:S = 1

Harmonic Series

This is the Harmonic Series:

It is divergent.

How do we know? Let's compare it to another series:

1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 + + + + + + + + + ...
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

etc...
 1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 + + + + + + + + + ...
2 4 4 8 8 8 8 16

In each case, the top values are equal or greater than the bottom ones.

Now, let's add up the bottom groups:

1 1 1
1 1 1 1 1
1 + + + + + + + + ... + ...
2 4 4 8 8 8 8 16

1 1 1 1
1 + + + + + ... = ∞
2 2 2 2

That series is divergent.

So the harmonic series must also be divergent.

Here is another way:

We can sketch the area of each term and compare it to the area under
the 1/x curve:

1/x vs harmonic series area

Calculus tells us the area under 1/x (from 1 onwards) approaches infinity, and
the harmonic series is greater than that, so it must be divergent.

Alternating Series

An example of an Alternating Series (based on the Harmonic Series above):

It moves up and down, but in this case converges on the natural logarithm of
2

Advanced Explanation:

To show WHY, first we start with a square of area 1, and then pair up the minus
and plus fractions to show how they cut the area down to the area under the
curve y=1/x between 1 and 2:

Can you see what remains is the area of 1/x from 1 to 2?

Using integral calculus (trust me) that area is ln(2):

∫
1

1/x dx = ln(2) − ln(1) = ln(2)

(As an interesting exercise, see if those rectangles really do make the area
shown!)