6.

1 Sequences
6.1.1 Finding a Rule
Position-to-term and nth term
Recap from Freshman topic:
Generating Sequence
• 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, … is a
sequence of numbers.
• T1 = 3 (first term), T2 = 6
(second term), …
• 3 and 6 are consecutive
terms.
• Term-to-term rule = add 3
 Example 1
(Term-to-term rule)
Write down the term-to-term rule and the next two terms
of this sequence.
(a) 2, 6, 10, 14, _, _
(b) 2, 4, 6, 8, _, _
(c) 5, 9, 13, 17, _, _
(d) 3, 8, 13, 18, _, _
Example 2

The first term of a sequence is 5.

The term-to-term rule of the sequence is ‘Multiply by 2
and then add 1’.
Write down the first three terms of the sequence.
Position-to-term rule
Reminder: The key to determining rules for
sequences is finding the difference between terms.


Position-to-term: each term in the sequence is
calculated according to its position in the sequence.

In other words, position-to-term rule defines as the

value of each term with respect to its position.
Example 1
Work out the position-to-term rule for the following sequence:

5, 6, 7, 8, …

Term-to-term rule: add 1

First, write out the sequence and the positions of each term.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 5 6 7 8
Next, the term-to-term rule is ‘add 1’, write down the multiple of 1.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 5 6 7 8
Multiple of 1 1 2 3 4
In this example, each term in the sequence is four more than a multiple of 1.

Position-to-term rule:

1 (term-to-term rule) x position number + 4 (difference between term and multiple of 1)

If the position is n, then the position to term rule is n + 4

Example 2
Work out the position-to-term rule for the following sequence:

3, 6, 9, 12, …

Term-to-term rule: add 3

First, write out the sequence and the positions of each term.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 3 6 9 12

Next, the term-to-term rule is ‘add 3’, write down the multiple of 3.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 3 6 9 12
Multiple of 3 3 6 9 12

In this example, each term in the sequence matches exactly the multiples of 3.

Position-to-term rule: 3 x position number

If the position is n, then the position to term rule is 3n

Example 3
Work out the position-to-term rule for the following sequence:

5, 9, 13, 17, …

Term-to-term rule: add 4

First, write out the sequence and the positions of each term.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 5 9 13 17

Next, the term-to-term rule is ‘add 4’, write down the multiple of 4.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 5 9 13 17
Multiple of 4 4 8 12 16

In this example, each term in the sequence is one more than a multiple of 4.

Position-to-term rule: 4 x position number + 1

If the position is n, then the position to term rule is 4n+1

Example 4
Work out the position-to-term rule for the following sequence:

1, 4, 7, 10, …

Term-to-term rule: add 3

First, write out the sequence and the positions of each term.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 1 4 7 10

Next, the term-to-term rule is ‘add 3’, write down the multiple of 3.
Position 1 2 3 4
Term 1 4 7 10
Multiple of 3 3 6 9 12

In this example, each term in the sequence is two less than a multiple of 3.

Position-to-term rule: 3 x position number – 2

If the position is n, then the position to term rule is 3n–2

nth term rule
The nth term is a formula with ’n' in it which enables
the finding of any term of a sequence without having to
go up from one term to the next.

’n' stands for the term’s position number.

Example: to find the 100th term, 100 is substituted in

place of ’n' in the formula.

You can use a formula to find the nth term.

nth term formula = a + d(n–1)

Example 1
5, 8, 11, …

Find the nth term for the above sequence.

Solution: you may use formula to find the nth term.

nth term formula = a + d(n–1)

nth term = 5 + 3(n – 1)

nth term = 5 + 3n – 3

nth term = 2 + 3n
Example 2
3, 7, 11, 15, …

Find the nth term for the above sequence.

Solution: you may use formula to find the nth term.

nth term formula = a + d(n–1)

nth term = 3 + 4(n – 1)

nth term = 3 + 4n – 4

nth term = –1 + 4n

nth term = 4n – 1
Example 3
1, 4, 7, 10, …

nth term = a + d(n–1)

nth term = 1 + 3 (n–1)

nth term = 1 + 3n – 3

nth term = –2 + 3n

nth term = 3n – 2