Unit: 3

Arithmetic Progression & Geometric Progression

Basic Mathematics – Anusthapan 2020 – Foundation Course

• Arithmetic Progression:

Example 1: Find the 7th term of the A.P. 8, 5, 2, –1, –4,…..

Example 2: If 5th and 12th terms of an A.P. are 14 and 35 respectively, find the A.P.

Hence, the required A.P. is 2, 5, 8, 11, 14,……………

Example: 3 The last term of the series 5, 7, 9, ..... to 21 terms is

Tn = 5 + (21 – 1). 2

Sum of the first n terms of a AP:

1.

S100 = 100/2 {2*9 + (100-1)*-4}

S100 = 50{18 + 99 * -4}
S100 = 50{18-396}
=50*-378
=-18,900

• Self-Practice Sums:
1. Find the 10th term of the arithmetic progression 1, 3.5, 6, 8.5,...
2. Find the nth term of AP: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…., an, if the number of terms are 15.
3. The 20th term of the progression 1, 4, 7, 10 .......................... is
4. The last term of the A.P. 0.6, 1.2, 1.8,… to 13 terms is
Geometric Progression:

15/5 = 3
Example 1: If a, ar, ar2, ar3, …. be in G.P. Find the common ratio.
Solution: 1st term = a, 2nd term = ar
Ratio of any term to its preceding term = ar/a = r = common ratio.
Example 2: Which term of the progression 1, 2, 4, 8,… is 256?
Solution: a = 1, r = 2/1 = 2, n = ? tn = 256
tn = ar n–1
or

2561 × 2 n–1 i.e., 28 = 2 n–1 or, n – 1 = 8 i.e., n = 9 Thus 9th term of the G. P. is
256
Exmple 3: t8 of the series 6, 12, 24,…is ?

Tn = ar^n-1
T8 = 6*2^8-1
6*128 = 768

Example 4: The second term of a G P is 24 and the fifth term is 81. The series is ???

T2= ar 16,24, 36,54, 81…..

24 = ar

24 = a* 1.5
a =16
ar^4/ar = 81/24
r = 1.5

T5 = ar^5-1
81 = ar^4

T5/t2
Sum of the first n terms of a GP:

Example 1: Find the sum of 1,2,4,8….up to 8th term. 2/1 = 2 >1

S8 = 1(2^8 -1)/ (2-1) = 256 – 1 = 255

Self-Practice Sums:
1. The 7th term of the series 6, 12, 24,……is
2. t12 of the series –128, 64, –32, ….is
3. The 4th term of the series 0.04, 0.2, 1, … is
4. Find the G.P where 4th term is 8 and 8th term is 128/625