Trakoolthai

MATH 96
Chapter 12 Sequences, Series and Binomial Theorem
12.1 – Sequences
Definition A sequence is a list of numbers written in a specific order.

a1 , a2 , a3 , a4 , . . . , an , . . .

∗∗ We use a function, an (called the general term), to generate all possible numbers in the sequence.
∗∗ We can only use positive whole numbers as inputs for sequences.

Example 1: Write the first five terms of the sequence whose general term is an = 4n − 3.

Example 2: Write the first five terms of the sequence whose general term is an = 2n + 1.
 12.1-2

Example 3: Write the first five terms of the sequence whose general term is an = (−1)n n3 .

Example 4: Find a general term for the sequence whose first five terms are shown.

4, 8, 12, 16, 20, . . .

 12.1-3

Example 5: Find a general term for the sequence whose first five terms are shown.

2, −4, 8, −16, 32, . . .

Example 6: Find a general term for the sequence whose first five terms are shown.

1 1 1 1 1
, , , , , ...
3 9 27 81 243
 12.1-4

Definition If n is a positive integer, then n factorial, denoted n! is

n! = n(n − 1)(n − 2) . . . (1)

We define 0! = 1.

1
Example 7: Write the first five terms of the sequence whose general term is an = .
n!

(n + 1)!
Example 8: Write the first five terms of the sequence whose general term is an = .
(n − 1)!
 12.1-5

Definition The partial sum of a sequence is given by the summation notation

n
!
ai = a1 + a2 + a3 + a4 + a5 + . . . + an
i=1

The i is called the index and the 1 tells us where to start. The n tells us where to end.

Example 9: Expand the partial sum and find its value.

5
!
2i
i=1

Example 10: Expand the partial sum and find its value.
3
! 1
k!
k=0
 12.1-6

Example 11: Write the sum using summation notation.

1 1 1 1
1+ + + +
2 3 4 5

Example 12: Write the sum using summation notation.

−1 + 8 − 27 + 64 − 125