Arithmetic Sequences

Learning Competencies

At the end of the lesson, the learners should be able

to do the following:

● Illustrate an arithmetic sequence (M10AL-Ib-1).

● Determine the th term of an arithmetic sequence.

● Solve problems involving sequences (M10AL-If-2).

 Objectives

At the end of this lesson, the learners should be able to

do the following:

● Find the common difference and the th term of an

arithmetic sequence.

● Solve problems involving arithmetic sequence.

Did you know that
you can get the
approximate age (in
years) of a tree
based on its number
of rings?
Fig. 1. Tree Rings
The number of rings
indicate the annual
pattern of the
growth of a tree. This
pattern is an
example of a
sequence.
In this lesson, we will
study a sequence
that exhibits the
same pattern with
the tree rings.
 Essential Questions

● How do you compute for the common difference of an

arithmetic sequence?

● How do you find the th term of an arithmetic

sequence?
 Learn about It!

Arithmetic Sequence

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where each term

after the first is obtained by adding a constant (called the
common difference) to the preceding term.
Example:
a.
b.
 Learn about It!

Term

A term refers to each value in a sequence.

Example:

The 1st term is 4, 2nd term is 8, 3rd term is 12, 4th term is 16
and so on.
 Learn about It!

General Term of a Sequence

The general term of a sequence is the formula used to find

the th term of a sequence, which is , where is the th term,
is the first term, is the number of terms, and is the
common difference.
 Learn about It!

General Term of a Sequence

Example:

In the sequence , the 10th term can be found by substituting

the values to the general term formula.
 Try
Let’sit!Practice

Example 1: Find the 20th term in the sequence

 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 20th term in the sequence

Solution:
Identify the common difference of the sequence.

Thus, the common difference is 7.

 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 20th term in the sequence

Solution:
List all information needed to use the formula for the general
term.
 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 20th term in the sequence

Solution:
Substitute the given information to the formula.

𝑎𝑛=𝑎1+(𝑛−1) 𝑑
 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 20th term in the sequence

Solution:

Therefore, the 20th term of the given sequence is 139.

 Try
Let’sit!Practice

Example 2: Find the 30th term of an arithmetic sequence if

the 5th term is and the common difference is 6.
 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 30th term of an arithmetic sequence if the 5th term

is and the common difference is 6.

Solution: Use the formula for arithmetic sequence, then

substitute the given information.

Solve the first term by substituting , , and to the formula.

 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 30th term of an arithmetic sequence if the 5th term

is and the common difference is 6.

Solution:

𝑎𝑛=𝑎1+(𝑛−1) 𝑑
 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 30th term of an arithmetic sequence if the 5th term

is and the common difference is 6.

Solution:
Using , solve for the 30th term of the sequence.

𝑎𝑛=𝑎1+ ( 𝑛−1) 𝑑
 Solution to Let’s Practice

Find the 30th term of an arithmetic sequence if the 5th term

is and the common difference is 6.

Solution:

Therefore, the 30th term of the sequence is 140.

 Try It!

Individual Practice:

1. Given the arithmetic sequence

, find the 10th term.

2. The 4th term of an arithmetic sequence is and the 6th

term is . Write the first eight terms of the sequence.
 Try It!

Group Practice: To be done in groups with four members

In January 2010, a new car was valued at ₱800 000. From

then on, it depreciated in value by a regular amount each
year. By January 2019, its market value is only ₱102 500.
Show that the value of the car could follow an arithmetic
sequence. How many terms are there in this sequence? By
how much did it depreciate each year?
 Key Points

● Arithmetic Sequence
An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where each term after the first is obtained by
adding a constant (called the common difference) to the preceding term.

● Term
A term refers to each value in the sequence.

● General Term of a Sequence

The general term of a sequence refers to the formula used to find the th term of a
sequence, which is , where is the th term, is the first term, is the number of terms and
is the common difference.
 Photo Credits

Fig. 1. Tree Rings by Arnoldius is licensed under

CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons.
 References
Abramson, Jay. “Arithmetic Sequences.” Precalculus. OpenStax, February 20, 2014.
https://opentextbc.ca/precalculusopenstax/chapter/arithmetic-sequences/.

Boundless.com. “Arithmetic Sequences and Series.” Lumen. Accessed November 4, 2021.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-algebra/chapter/arithmetic-sequences-and-
series/
.

Marecek, Lynn. “Arithmetic Sequences.” Intermediate Algebra. OpenStax, January 24, 2017.
https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/algebraintermediate/chapter/arithmetic-sequences/.