Department of Education

PRE - CALCULUS
SEQUENCES, SERIES and
SIGMA NOTATION
First Quarter - Module 7

VETERBO G. TORRECHILLA
Writer

DR. FELISA G. BASIJAN, CRISTINE CAROLINE C. GRATIS,

CHARISMA JOY S. LULU, BENELIN G. RUMBAOA,
EMALYN M. BALLONADO
Validators

DR. EMELITA D. BAUTISTA, ENGR. ROLANDO S. MULDONG,

JOSEPH D. NILO, KRYSTELLE R. DUMLAO
Quality Assurance Team members

Schools Division Office – Muntinlupa City

Student Center for Life Skills Bldg., Centennial Ave., Brgy. Tunasan, Muntinlupa City
(02) 8805-9935 / (02) 8805-9940
After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. illustrate the different types of patterns in nature;

2. differentiate a series from a sequence;
3. calculate the sum of a sequence and series using sigma notation.

Multiple Choice. Choose the letter of your answer to each item. Write your answer
on the space provided before each number.
1. What is the next term in the geometric sequence 324, -108, 36?
A. 4 B. -4 C. -12 D. 12

2. Find the common difference in the arithmetic sequence 1, 6/4, 2, 10/4, 3, …

A. ¼ B. ¾ C. ½ D. 3/2

3. Which term of the arithmetic sequence 5, 9, 13, 17, … is 401?

A. 99th term B. 100th term C. 111th term D. 112th term

4. What is the 7th term of the geometric sequence 10, 2, 2/5, 2/25, …?
A. 2/125 B. 2/625 C. 2/3125 D. 2/15635

5. The first term of an arithmetic sequence is 28 while the 12th term is 205. What is
the common difference of the sequence?
A. 7 B. 6 C. 5 D. 3

6. Which of the following is an arithmetic sequence?

A. 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, … C. 2, 6, 18, 54, …
B. 5, 2, -1, -4, … D. ½, -2, 1/3, -3, …

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7. What are the next three terms of -2, -1, 1, 4, 8, …
A. 13, 19, 26, … C. 4, 6, 3, …
B. 9, 10, 11, … D. 14, 19, 25, …

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8. What is the value of ∑3𝑛=1 4(2)𝑛 ?

A. 3 B. 7/2 C. 4 D. 9/2

9. Which of the following is the right summation in the series 4 + 8 + 12 + 16 + 20

+…
A. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 2𝑖 B. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 2 = 3𝑖 C. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 4𝑖 D. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 5𝑖

10. What is the value of the summation notation ∑4𝑖=1(3𝑖 − 7)?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5

A. Determine what comes next in the given patterns.

1. A, C, E, G, I, ____ ______________________
2. 15 10 14 10 13 10 ______ ______________________
3. 3 6 12 24 48 96 ______ ______________________
4. 27 30 33 36 39 ______ ______________________
5. 41 39 37 35 33 ______ ______________________

B. Observe the following illustrations. Choose among the choices what comes
next? Explain how did you get the answer.
Illustration 1:

What comes next?

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__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Illustration 2.

What comes next in the sequence?

__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

An infinite sequence is a function whose domain is the set of positive integers.

The function values a1, a2, a3, a4, … an-1, an, … are terms of the sequence. If the do-
main of the function consists of the first n positive integers only, the sequence is a
finite sequence.
Example 1:
Finite sequences
a. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
b. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 14
c. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15

Infinite sequences
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, …
b. 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, …
c. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, …

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A general sequence a1, a2, a3, a4, … an-1, an, … having the first term a1, the second
term as a2, the third term as a3 and the nth term, also called the general term of
the sequence, is an.
Example 2: Write the first three terms of the sequence whose nth term is given by
the formula an = 3n + 1.
Solution:
an = 3n + 1
a1 = 3(1) + 1 = 4
Thus, the sequences are 4, 7, and 10.
a2 = 3(2) + 1 = 7
a3 = 3(3) + 1 = 10

A "series" is what you get when you add up all the terms of a sequence; the addi-
tion, and also the resulting value, are called the "sum" or the "summation". For in-
stance, "1, 2, 3, 4" is a sequence, with terms "1", "2", "3", and "4"; the correspond-
ing series is the sum "1 + 2 + 3 + 4", and the value of the series is 10.

To indicate a series, we use either the Latin capital letter "S" or else the Greek letter
corresponding to the capital "S", which is called "sigma" (∑).

Summation notation is a convenient way of representing the sum of the terms of

a finite sequence. It is also known as “sigma notation”.
The sum of the first n terms of a sequence is represented by:
∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑎𝑖 = 𝑎1 + 𝑎2 + 𝑎3 + 𝑎4 + ⋯ 𝑎𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑛
Where i is called the index of summation, n is the upper limit of summation,
and 1 is the lower limit of summation.
Example 1: Write out the terms of each of the following series.
∑𝑛𝑖=1(4𝑖 + 3) = [4(1) + 3] + [4(2) + 3] + [4(3) + 3] + … + [4n + 3]
= (4 + 3) + (8 + 3) + (12 + 3) + … + (4n + 3)
= 7 + 11 + 15 + … (4n + 3)
∑4𝑘=1(𝑘 + 2) = = (1 + 2) + (2 + 2) + (3 + 2) + (4 + 2)
=3+4+5+6
= 18

Properties of Sums:
If {an} and {bn} are sequences and c is a constant, the:

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 𝑛 𝑛

1. ∑ 𝑐𝑎𝑖 = 𝑐 ∑ 𝑎𝑖
𝑖=1 𝑖=1

2. ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑐 = 𝑛𝑐
3. ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑎𝑘 ± 𝑏𝑘 = ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑎𝑘 ± ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑏𝑘
𝑛(𝑛+1)
4. ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑘 = 1 + 2 + 3+. . . +𝑛 = 2
𝑛(𝑛+1)(2𝑛+1)
5. ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑘 2 = 12 + 22 + 32 +. . . +𝑛2 = 6
𝑛2 (𝑛+1)2
6. ∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑘 3 = 13 + 23 + 33 +. . . +𝑛3 =
4

Example 2: Use the properties of sums to evaluate the series.

a. ∑12 12 2
𝑖=1 2𝑖 = = 2 ∑𝑖=1 𝑖
2

12(12+1)(2(12)+1)
= 2[ 6
]
12(13)(25)
= 2[ 6
]

= 1300

b. ∑6𝑖=1(𝑖 2 + 1) = ∑6𝑖=1 𝑖 2 + ∑6𝑖=1 1

6(7)(13)
=[ 6
]+6

= 97

Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences

Arithmetic Sequence Geometric Sequence

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence A geometric sequence is a sequence in

in which the difference between any which the quotient of any two consecu-
two consecutive terms, called the com- tive terms, called the common ratio, is
mon difference, is the constant. the constant.

Example: Example:
In the sequence 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, . . . In the sequence 1, 4, 16, 64, 256, . . .
the common difference is 7. the common ratio is 4.

𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 → 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 + (𝒏 − 𝟏)𝒅
𝒏
𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 → 𝑺𝒏 = (𝒂𝟏 + 𝒂𝒏 )
𝟐

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Example 1: Given the arithmetic sequence 20, 11, 2, …a15. Find a15.
Solution: Given: a1 = 20, a2 = 11 and n = 15.
d = 11-20 = -9
𝑎15 = 𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
a15 = 20 + (15-1) (-9)
= -1

𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒂 → 𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 𝒓𝒏−𝟏
[𝒂𝟏 (𝒓𝒏 − 𝟏)]
𝒔𝒖𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒆𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 → 𝑺𝒏 =
𝒓−𝟏
Example 1: Find the 10th term of the geometric sequence 3, 6, 12, …
Solution: Given: a1 = 3, r= 2, n = 10
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 𝑟 𝑛−1
a10 = 3(2)10-1
= 3(2)9
a10 = 1, 536

A. Indicate whether the following are finite or infinite sequence.

1.) 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, …
2.) 6, 5, 4. 3. 2. 1
3.) 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, …
4.) 0.1, 0.01, 0.001, 0.0001, 0.00001
5.) 90, 80, 70, 60, 50
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
__________________________________________

B. Write the first three terms of the sequence whose nth term is given by the
formula.
1.) an = n – 1 ______________________________________________________________
1
2.) an = ______________________________________________________________
𝑛+1

3.) an = 3𝑛 ______________________________________________________________
4𝑛
4.) an = ______________________________________________________________
𝑛+2

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C. Write out the terms of each of the following series.
1
1.) ∑𝑛𝑖=1 2𝑖−1 ______________________________________________________________

2.) ∑𝑛𝑖=1(2𝑖 + 3)2 ______________________________________________________________

1
3.) ∑𝑛𝑖=1 𝑖+1 ______________________________________________________________

4.) ∑𝑛𝑖=1(3𝑖 2 − 1) ______________________________________________________________

D. Use the properties of sums to evaluate the series.

1.) ∑3𝑖=1(𝑖 2 + 1) ______________________________________________________________
2.) ∑4𝑖=1(𝑖 2 − 2𝑖 + 1) ______________________________________________________________
3.) ∑5𝑖=1(2𝑖 3 − 1) ______________________________________________________________
4.) ∑4𝑖=1(2𝑖 𝑖+1 ) ______________________________________________________________

E. Write the following series in summation notation.

1.) ½ + ¼ + 1/8+ 1/16 + … ____________________________________
2.) 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + … ____________________________________
3.) 2 + 6 + 18 + 54 + 162 + …. ____________________________________

An infinite sequence is a function whose domain is the set of positive integers.

The function values a1, a2, a3, a4, … an-1, an, … are terms of the sequence. If the do-
main of the function consists of the first n positive integers only, the sequence is a
finite sequence.

Arithmetic Sequence Geometric Sequence

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence A geometric sequence is a sequence in
in which the difference between any which the quotient of any two consecu-
two consecutive terms, called the com- tive terms, called the common ratio, is
mon difference, is the constant. the constant.

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Directions:
A. Supply the missing term to check what you learned about this lesson.
1. An infinite sequence is a function whose domain is ____________________________.
2. If the domain of the function consists of the first n positive integers only, the
sequence is _______________________________.
3. The sum of the first n terms of the sequence is called __________________________.
4. _____________________________ is a convenient way of representing the sum of the
terms of a finite sequence.
5. A sequence is arithmetic if ___________________________________________________.
6. A sequence is geometric if ____________________________________________________.
7. The formula in finding the nth terms of the arithmetic sequence is _______________
__________________________________________________________________________________
8. The formula for finding the sum of the n terms of arithmetic sequence is _________
__________________________________________________________________________________
9. The formula for finding the nth terms of geometric sequence is ___________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
10. The formula for finding the sum of a finite geometric sequence is ________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

Directions: Read the question carefully and choose the letter of the best answer.
1. What is the next term in the geometric sequence 324, -108, 36?
A. 4 B. -4 C. -12 D. 12

2. Find the common difference in the arithmetic sequence 1, 6/4, 2, 10/4, 3, …

A. ¼ B. ¾ C. ½ D. 3/2

3. Which term of the arithmetic sequence 5, 9, 13, 17, … is 401?

A. 99th term B. 100th term C. 111th term D. 112th term

9
4. What is the 7th term of the geometric sequence 10, 2, 2/5, 2/25, …?
A. 2/125 B. 2/625 C. 2/3125 D. 2/15635

5. The first term of an arithmetic sequence is 28 while the 12th term is 205. What is
the common difference of the sequence?
A. 7 B. 6 C. 5 D. 3

6. Which of the following is an arithmetic sequence?

A. 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, … C. 2, 6, 18, 54, …
B. 5, 2, -1, -4, … D. ½, -2, 1/3, -3, …

7. What are the next three terms of -2, -1, 1, 4, 8, …

A. 13, 19, 26, … C. 4, 6, 3, …
B. 9, 10, 11, … D. 14, 19, 25, …

1
8. What is the value of ∑3𝑛=1 4( )𝑛 ?
2

A. 3 B. 7/2 C. 4 D. 9/2

9. Which of the following is the right summation in the series 4 + 8 + 12 + 16 + 20

+…
A. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 2𝑖 B. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 2 = 3𝑖 C. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 4𝑖 D. ∑𝑛𝑖=1 5𝑖

10. What is the value of the summation notation ∑4𝑖=1(3𝑖 − 7)?

A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5

References

1. Sirug, W. , Pre – Calculus for Senior High School. (2016) Mindshapers Co. Inc.
2. Comandante, Felipe L. Analytic Geometry Made Easy (2009) National Book
Store.
3. Acelajado, M. J. et.al., Algebra: Concepts and processes(3rd Edition) National
Bookstore, 2004.
4. https://pixabay.com/images/search/monthly%20salary/
5. https://pixabay.com/images/search/basketball%20stadium/
6. https://www.purplemath.com/modules/series.htm

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