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Geometric Series

The document provides the formula to calculate the sum of terms (sn) of a finite geometric sequence given the first term (a1), common ratio (r), and number of terms (n). It then works through 6 examples applying the formula to find the sum of terms for different geometric sequences where the first term, common ratio, and number of terms are given.

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297 views9 pages

Geometric Series

The document provides the formula to calculate the sum of terms (sn) of a finite geometric sequence given the first term (a1), common ratio (r), and number of terms (n). It then works through 6 examples applying the formula to find the sum of terms for different geometric sequences where the first term, common ratio, and number of terms are given.

Uploaded by

astralaboz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Find the sum of the terms of a given

finite Geometric Sequence


Formula:
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 ) 𝑎1 (𝑟 𝑛 −1)
𝑠𝑛 = or 𝑠𝑛 =
1 −𝑟 𝑟 −1

r≠1
Where
𝑠𝑛 = 𝑠𝑢𝑚 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑛 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑠
𝑎1 = 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚
r = common ratio
n = number of terms
Example 1:
Find the sum of the first 9 terms of geometric sequence if the first
term is 3 and the common ratio 𝑛is 2.
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 )
𝑠𝑛 =
1 −𝑟
3 (1 − 29 )
𝑎1 = 3 𝑠9 =
1 −2
r=2 𝑠9 =
3(1−512)
−1
n=9 𝑠9 =
3(−511)
−1
−1533
𝑠9 =
−1
𝑠9 = 1533
Example 2:
Find the sum of the first 7 terms of geometric sequence if the first
term is 4 and the common ratio is 3.
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑠𝑛 =
1 −𝑟
4 (1 − 37 )
𝑎1 = 4 𝑠7 =
1 −3
r=3 𝑠7 =
4(1−2187)
−2
n=7 𝑠7 =
4(−2186)
−2
− 8744
𝑠7 =
−2
𝑠7 = 4372
Example 3:
Find the sum of the first 6 terms of geometric sequence 20, 10, 5, …
63 40 63 63 315
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 ) 𝑠6 = 40 ( ) ( ) = 5( ) =
𝑎1 = 20 𝑠𝑛 = 1 −𝑟 64 1 64 8 8
1
r= 20(1 −(
1 6
) ) 315
2 𝑠6 = 2
1 𝑠6 =
n=6 1 −
2
8
1
20(1 − ) 1 64 −1 63
𝑠6 = 1
64 1 -
64
=
64
=
64
2
63 20
20( )
𝑠6 = 64 1 = 20 • 2 = 40
1 2
2
Example 4:
Find the sum of the first 8 terms of geometric sequence 2, 6, 18, …
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑠𝑛 =
1 −𝑟
2 (1 − 38 )
𝑎1 = 2 𝑠8 =
1 −3
2(1−6561)
r=3 𝑠8 =
−2
n=8 𝑠8 =
2(−6560)
−2
− 13120
𝑠8 =
−2
𝑠8 = 6560
Example 5:
Find the sum of the terms of geometric sequence 2, 6, 18, … , 1458.
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑠𝑛 =
1 −𝑟
𝑎1 = 2 2, 6, 18, 54, 162, 486, 1458 𝑠 = 2 (1 − 37)
7
r=3 n=7 1 −3
2(1−2187)
n=? 𝑠7 =
−2
𝑎𝑛 = 1458 𝑠7 =
2(−2186) 2
−2 = -1
−2
𝑠7 = -1(-2186)
𝑠7 = 2186
Example 6:
Find the sum of the terms of geometric sequence 1, 4, 16, … 1024
𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑠𝑛 =
𝑎1 = 1 1, 4, 16, 64, 256, 1024 1 −𝑟
1 (1 − 46 )
n=6 𝑠6 =
r=4 1 −4
1(1−4096)
n=? 𝑠6 =
−3
𝑎𝑛 = 1024 𝑠6 =
1(−4095)
−3
𝑠6 = 1(1365)
𝑠6 = 1365
Let’s Try!
Answer the following
1. Find the sum of the first 8 terms of geometric sequence if the first
term is 2 and the common ratio is 3.

2. Find the sum of the first 6 terms of geometric sequence 3, 9, 27, …

3.Find the sum of the first 6 terms of geometric sequence 48, 24, 12, …

4. Find the sum of the terms of geometric sequence 1, 5, 25, … 15625.

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