LESSON 1.

1 ARITHMETIC SEQUENCES AND SERIES

Note: Each number in the list is

KEY CONCEPT:
called a “term” of the sequence and
Arithmetic Sequence – is a set of numbers listed in a specific order. is denoted by a 1 , a2 , … an ,where a n
is the nth term in the sequence.
Probe and Learn:

Sally save part of her allowance during the week. On Monday, she Day Amount
saved 30pisos. But on the succeeding days, she saves 5pisos less than what she Monday 30
was able to save on the previous day. Sally wants to know how much she save Tuesday 25
for the week. Can you help Sally figure it out? Wednesday 20
Thursday 15
a 1=30
Friday 10
a 2=25
a 3=20
a 4=15
a 5=10

Common Difference – of an arithmetic sequence, denoted by d, is derived using formula:

d=an−an−1
where a n and a n−1 are any two consecutive terms of the sequence.