SEQUENCES Chapter 3

Topic Outline:

3.1 Sequences
3.2 Arithmetic Sequence
3.3 Geometric Sequence
3.4 Applications of Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences

No Terms Explanation

1 Sequence A set of real number a1 , a 2 , a3 ...a n ... which is

arranged (ordered )

2 Finite sequence ex: 21 ,2 2 ,2 3 ,2 4 ,...215

3 Infinite sequence ex: 21 ,2 2 ,2 3 ,2 4 ,...215 ,...

4 Series Sum of a sequence finite (terminal) or infinite

( unending )

5 Arithmetic Sequence A sequence for which any element except the

first can be obtained by adding a constant to the
preceeding element.

T1 , T2 , T3 ,...,Tn  a, a  d , a  2d ,..., a  n  1d

Tn  a  n  1d

6 Arithmetic Series S n  T1  T2  T3  ...  Tn

S n  a  a  d   a  2d   ...  a  n  1d

7 First term, a T1  a

8 Common difference, d Constant

d  Tn  Tn1

9 Geometric Sequence A sequence of number in which any term can be

obtained from the previous term by multiplying
the preceeding term by constant nonzero real
number.

 
T1 , T2 , T3 , T4 ,...,Tn  a, ar , ar 2 ,..., ar n1
 SEQUENCES Chapter 3

Geometric Series S n  T1  T2  T3  T4  ...  Tn

 
S n  a  ar   ar 2  ...  ar n1

Common ratio , r Tn
r
Tn 1

Sn 
n
a  Tn  Sn 

a 1 rn 
,r 1
2 1 r
Tn  a  n  1d
T1  a Tn  ar n 1

ARITHMETIC GEOMETRIC
SEQ/SERIES SEQ/SERIES
d  Tn  Tn1 Tn  S n  S n1 Tn
r
Tn 1
Sn 
n
2a  n  1d  S 
a
2 1 r

Example 1

List the first four terms and the tenth term of each sequence

n2
a) Tn   1
n 1

3n  1

b) Tn  4

Example 2

What are the formulas that describe the following sequences?

a) 1,3,5,7,9…

b) 3,9,27,81,243,…

c) 2,5,10,17,26
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Example 3

Find the formulas ( the nth terms) for the following arithmetic sequences

a) 1,3,5,7,9,…

b) -6,-4.5,-3,-1.5,…

Example 4

Find the first element of an arithmetic sequence whose common difference is -5 and whose
eighteenth element is -21

Example 5

The fifth and eleventh terms of an arithmetic sequence are 3 and 6 respectively.Find the
common difference, first term and the nth term of this arithmetic sequence.

Example 6

Find S 63 of -19,-13,-7,…

Example 7

a) Find the sum of the first 50 terms of an arithmetic sequence 2,4,6,…,2n,…

b) Find the sum of an integers which lies between 100 and 500 and is divisibleby 7.

c) Find n for the series in which a  5, d  3 and S n  440

Example 8
Find T5 and Tn for the geometric sequence 4,12,36,108,...

Example 9
n 1
 3
The n term, Tn , of a sequence is given by Tn   
th
4
(a) Show that the sequence is geometric sequence.
243
(b) Which term of the sequence is ?
1024

Example 10

If x  2,2,2 x  3 are three consecutive terms of a geometric sequence, find the possible
values of x.

Example 11
1
Find the number of terms in the geometric series  1  2  ...  128 and hence find the sum
2
of the series.
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Example 12

In a geometric sequence, the sum of the first 6 terms in 9 times the sum of the three terms.
Find the common ratio.

Example 13

Given 4  6  9  ... is geometric series. Find

(a) The sum to the first n terms.
(b) The least number of terms that must be added for the sum to exceed 8000.

Example 14
7
Find 23
i2
i

Example 15
The sum to infinity of a geometric series is 16. If the second term of the series is 3, find the
possible values of the common ratio.

Example 16
Find a rational number that corresponds to 0.125 .

Example 17
 i
1 10
Given  p     1  3 j , where p is a constant. Find the value of p .
i 0  3 j 3

Exercise

1.How many terms of the sequence 6,18,54,… are to required to give a sum of 59046?
2. The sum of the first six terms of geometric progression is 4 times the sum of the first three
terms.
3. The first term of geometric progression is 10 and its sum to infinity is 15. Find the 3rd term.
4. The first term of a geometric sequence is 3 and the comon ratio is r , where r  1. The sum
8
of the first three terms of the sequence is of the sum of the first six terms. Find the sum to
9
infinity.
3
5. The sum of the first nth terms and the sum to infinity of the geometric series 6  3   ...
2
are S n and S  respectively. Determine the smallest value of n such that S n  S   0.001.
Answer:
1. 9
2. r  1.4422
10
3. T3 
9
4. S   6

5. 12
 SEQUENCES Chapter 3

Applications of Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences

Example 18

Alan starts a job on a salary of RM 9000 per year, and this increases by an annual increment
of RM 1000. Assuming that apart from the increment, Alan’s salary does not increase,
find,
a) his salary in the 12th year.
b) the length of time he has been working when his total
earnings are RM 100 0000.

Example 19

Ali saves his money to buy a new car. The first month he saves RM200 and the second month
RM400. Every month his saving increases by RM200 such as RM600, RM800 and so on.
Find,

a) How much money he will save in the 8th month.

b) the total saving after 8 months.

Example 20

The price of a new car is RM42,000. If the value of the car depreciates at a rate of 10% each
year, find the value of the car after 10 years.

Example 21

The value of a land in a certain area has increased by 5% each year. In year 2001, the land
was valued at RM10000. Find the value of the land in year 2015.

Example 22

Hadi settles his debt of RM4980 by paying RM50 at the end of the first month, and for the
following months, he pays RM8 more than previous month. Find,

a) the number of months he takes to settle his debt.

b) the amount of the last payment.