ARITHMETIC SEQUENCES

PREPARED BY: MS. LEAH ROSE DUCUT

WHAT IS ARITHMETIC SEQUENCES?

Tell whether if the following sequence is an arithmetic or not.

1. -10, -7, -4, -1, 2, …
2. 4, 2, 1, ½, ¼, …
3. 3, 12, 21, 30, 39, …
4. 13, 7, 1, -5, -11, …
5. 4, 16, 64, 256, 1024, …
An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where every term after the
first is obtained by adding a constant called the common difference.
General rule of Arithmetic Sequence
= + (n – 1)d
where:
= the 1st term of the sequence
d = common difference
n = nth term
Examples:
1. What is the 10th term of the arithmetic sequence 5, 12, 19, 26, …
?
=5 d=7
= + (n – 1)d
= 5 + (10 – 1)(7)
= 5 + 63
= 68
2. Find the 25th term of the arithmetic sequence 3, 7, 11, 15,
19, …
=3 d=4
= + (n – 1)d
= 3 + (25 – 1)(4)
= 3 + 96
= 99
3. In an arithmetic sequence, the common difference is -2 and the 8th term is
12. What is the first term?
= 12 d = -2 =?
= + (n – 1)d
- (n – 1)d =
= - (n – 1)d
= - (8 – 1)(-2)
= 12 - 7(-2)
= 12 + 14
= 26 Therefore, the first term of the
arithmetic sequence is 26.
4. The second term of an arithmetic sequence is 24 and the fifth term is 3. Find
the first term and the common difference.
=? d=?
= + (n – 1)d 24 = + d
-3 = - -4d
= + (2 – 1)d
21 = -3d
24 = + d (first equation) d = -7
= + (n – 1)d 24 = + d (first eq)
= + (5 – 1)d 24 = + (-7)
24 + 7 =
3 = + 4d (second equation) = 31
Arithmetic Series
The sum of the terms of an
arithmetic sequence.
What is 1 + 2 + 3 + … + 98 + 99 + 100?

Sum of all terms

If , , , …, , … is an arithmetic sequence with common
difference d, then the nth partial sum is given by either
Example:

1. Find the sum of the first 10 terms of the arithmetic sequence 5, 9,

13, 17, …

Solution:
Let n = 10 =5 d=4

= 230
Example:

2. Find the sum of the first 20 terms of the arithmetic sequence -2, -5,
-8, -11, …

Solution:
Let n = 20 = -2 d = -3

= -610
Example:

3. Find the sum of all the even integers from 2 through 100.
2, 4, 6, …, 100
Solution:
Let n = 50 =2 d=2

=
= 2250
 Arithmetic Mean
In a finite arithmetic sequence , , … , , the terms and are called
extremes, whereas , …, are called the arithmetic means.
The arithmetic mean of two numbers a and b
is defined as . This is the average of a and b.
Find the arithmetic mean of the two numbers.

1. 23 and 72

= 47.5
2. 2 and 34

= 18

3. 29 and – 31
= -1
Example:
Insert three arithmetic means between 2 and 9.

• The terms between any two nonconsecutive terms of an arithmetic sequence

are known as arithmetic means.

2, , , , 9
Let n = 5 = 9 =2

= + (n – 1) d = 2 + (2 – 1) () = 2 + (3 – 1) () = 2 + (4 – 1) ()
= = =
= 2 + (5 – 1) d
9 = 2 + 4d
9 – 2 = 4d
Final Answer: The three arithmetic means between 2 and 9 are ,
7 = 4d and .
d=
Example #2:
Insert four arithmetic means between 5 and 25.

5, , , , , 25

Let n = 6 = 25 = 5

= 5 + (2 – 1) (4) = 5 + (3 – 1) (4)
= + (n – 1) d
=9 =13
= 5 + (6 – 1) d
25 = 5 + 5d = 5 + (4 – 1) (4) = 5 + (5 – 1) (4)
25- 5 = 5d =17 =21
20 = 5d
d= 4 Final Answer: The four arithmetic means between 5 and 25 are
9, 13, 17 and 21.