ADDITIONAL

MATH E MATI CS

By Mekyle Sieunarine
SERIES AND SEQUENCES
 A sequence is a succession of terms that all follow a
particular rule.
For example:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, …
SERIES A N D
SEQ UEN CES There are 3 types of sequences (progression):
1. Arithmetic Progression (A.P.)
2. Geometric Progression (G.P.)
3. Harmonic Progression (H.P)
 In an arithmetic progression, the difference between
two consecutive terms is always the same. It is
ARITHMETIC obtained by adding a fixed number to each previous
PRO G R E S S I O N term.

Formula: 𝑇𝑛 = 𝑎 + 𝑛 − 1 𝑑
 a = first term

d = common difference

𝑻𝒏 = 𝒂 + 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝒅

GLOS SARY Tn = nth term

ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

n = term number (𝒏 ∈ 𝑵)

n = 1, 2, 3, …

l = last term
 A finite sequence has a countable
number of terms.
T YPES OF
S EQUENC ES
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

An infinite sequence does not have a

specific end as it continues until infinity.
Three dots ‘...’ is placed at the end of the
sequence to indicate an infinite series.
 For the sum of a finite
series
𝒏
THE SUM OF 𝑺𝒏 = (𝒂 + 𝒍)
𝟐
AN A.P.
ARITHMETIC PROGRESSION

For the sum of an infinite

series
𝒏
𝑺𝒏 = {𝟐𝒂 + 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝒅}
𝟐
 A geometric progression (G.P.) is formed by
multiplying the preceding term by a constant called a
ratio, r.
In A.P. you add or subtract to get a common
GEOMETRIC difference, in G.P. you multiply or divided to get the
PRO G R E S S I O N ratio.
The common ratio is found by dividing two
consecutive terms.

Formula: 𝑇𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1
 a = first term (𝑻𝟏 )

n = number of terms

GLOS SARY
GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION
𝑻𝟐
𝒓= 𝑻𝟏
= common ratio

Tn = nth term
 If the number is more than
1 (|r|>1)
𝒂(𝒓𝒏 −𝟏)
THE SUM OF 𝑺𝒏 = 𝒓−𝟏
AN G.P.
GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION

If the number is a fraction

less than 1 (|r|<1)
𝒂(𝟏−𝒓𝒏 )
𝑺𝒏 =
𝟏−𝒓

|r| refers to the absolute value

 A divergent series occurs when the sum
approaches infinity.
|r|>1

A convergent series occurs as n gets larger, and

S UM TO the terms approach 0. Thus, the sum of all the
terms approaches a fixed value. This is called
INFINIT Y the sum of infinity.
GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION |r|<1

𝑎
Formula: 𝑆∞ =
1−𝑟