Department of Education

Mathematics 10
PROBLEMS INVOLVING SEQUENCES
First Quarter – Week 5

DR. FELISA G. BASIJAN

Writer

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

This next lesson is applying what you had learned about sequences to real-life
situations. You will be given tasks which will demonstrate your understanding of
arithmetic and geometric sequences.
As you go through this module, you are expected to:
1. Solve real-life problems involving arithmetic and geometric sequences.
2. Appreciate the importance of sequences in solving real-life problems.

Write the letter that best answers each question. Please take note of the
items/questions that you will not be able to answer correctly and revisit them as
you go through this module for self-assessment.

For # 1-2 The sum of all the terms of an infinite geometric series is 12 while the
sum of the squares of all the terms is 72.
1. What is the common ratio?
A. ½ B. 2 C. 1/3 D. 3
2. What is the first term?
A. 6 B. 8 C. 10 D. 12

For # 3-5 On a swing, a pendulum travels 80% as far as on its previous swing. If
the first swing reaches 80 centimetres long, determine the total distance travelled
by the pendulum by the time it comes to rest.
3. Which is the first term in the problem?
A. 80 B. 90 C. 100 4. D. not possible
What is the common ratio?
A. 0.08 B. 0.008 C. 0.8 D. 8.0
5. Find the total distance the pendulum travels before coming to rest.
A. 80cm B. 320cm C. 400cm D. 420cm

For # 6- 8 A car cost Php275,000.00 and decreases in value by 15% per year.
Find the value of the car after 4 years.
6. What would be the common ratio if it value decreases by 15% per year?

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 A. 0.85 B. 0.95 C. 0.75 D. 1.15

7. What is the first term?

A. 275,000,000.00 C. 75,000.00
B. 275,000.0 D. 2,750.00
8. How much will be the cost of the car after 4 years
A. 143,551.72 C. 143,551.04
B. 143.551.09 D. 143,551.69

For # 9- 10 An element has a half-life of 3hours if at a particular moment we have

40grams of the element, how much of it remains 24hours later?
9. How many 3-hours in 24 hours?
A. 5 B. 6 C. 7 D. 8
10.What is the common ratio?

A. B. C. D.
11.If a school offers a monthly starting salary of ₱20 000 and an increase of
₱100 per month, what is the salary on the 36th month?
A. ₱23 500 B. ₱23 500 C. ₱23 500 D. ₱23 500
12.A pile of bricks has 30 bricks in the bottom row, 29 bricks in the second
row, and so on to 14 bricks in the top row, how many bricks are in the pile?
A. 300 B. 330 C. 303 D. 333
13.Each time a ball bounces, the height attained is 10cm less than the
previous bounce. If its first bounce reaches a height of 140 cm, find the
height attained on the 11th bounce.
A. 35cm B. 40cm C. 45cm D. 48cm

For #14-15: The length of the arc formed by the first swing of the bob of a

pendulum is 20cm. if each succeeding swing is of the preceding one,

14.How far will it travel in the first six swings?

A. 𝑐𝑚 B. 𝑐𝑚 C. 𝑐𝑚 D. cm
15.How far will it travel until it comes to rest?
A. 75cm B. 78cm C. 80cm D. 82cm

The secret of Karl

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 What is 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + 50 + 51 + . . . + 98 + 99 + 100?
A famous story tells that this was the problem given by a elementary
school teacher to a famous mathematician to keep him busy. Do you know that he
was able to get the sum within seconds only? Can you beat that? His name was
Karl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1885).
Do you know how he did it?

Arithmetic and geometric sequences can be applied in several real-life situations.

The concept of geometric sequences and series can be used in solving problems like
bouncing ball, exponential growth and decay, depreciation, compound interest, etc.
Examples:

1. Trish saves ₱1.00 on the first day and double her savings on each
succeeding day.
a). How much will she saved on the 15th day?
b). What will be her total savings for the first 15 days?
Solution:
a) The terms of the geometric sequences 1, 2, 4, 8,…

The formula an=a1 𝑟𝑛−1 can be used to find the money saved on the 15th day.

a15=(1)(2)15−1

=(1)(2)14

= 16,384
Thus, Trish saves ₱16.394.00 on the 15th day.

b) The total savings for the first 15 days can be solved by the formula
𝑛
𝑎1(1−𝑟 )
Sn=
1−𝑟
15
1[1−2 ) Sn= 1−2

=
=32,767
Hence, the total savings after 15days will be ₱32,767.00.

2. A pile of blocks has 60 blocks in the bottom row, 54 blocks in the second
row, 48 blocks in the third, and so on until there are only 6 blocks on the
top row. How many blocks are in the 8th row?
Given:
a1 = 60 , d = -6 , n = 8, Find: a 8
Solution:
an = a1 + (n-1)d
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 a8 = 60 + (8-1)(-6)

= 60 + (7)(-6)
= 60 + (-42)
=18
Thus, there are 18 blocks in the 8th row.

3. An auditorium has 20 seats in the first row, 24 seats in the second row,
28 seats in the third row, and so on, for 15 rows. How many seats are
there in the last row? How many seats are there in the auditorium?
Solution:
The terms of the arithmetic sequence are 20, 24, 28, …

a. With n = 15, a1= 20, d = 4, the number of seats in the last

row can b solved by the formula:

an= a1 + (n-1)d

a15= 20 + (15-1)(4)

= 20 + 56

= 76
Hence, there are 76 seats in the last row.
b. with n = 15, a1= 20, and an = 76, the total number of seats
in the auditorium can be solved by the formula:

𝑛
Sn= (a1+ an)
2

15
S15= (20 + 76)
2

= (96)

= 720
Thus, there are 720 seats in the auditorium.

4. A houseboy receives a salary of ₱42 000 a year with a contract to receive

an increase of ₱450 annually for 8 years. What is his total income for 8
years?

Solution:
42 000, 42 450, 42 000, 43
350, . . . Given: a1= ₱42 000
d = ₱450 n=8
Find: S8
𝑛
Sn= (2a1+ (n-1)d)
2

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 8 a 8= {2(42
000) + (8-1) (450)}
2

= 4 (84 000 + 3 150)

= 4(87 150)

= 348 600
Hence, the houseboy’s total income for 8 years is ₱348 600.

Solve the following problems.

1. A ball is dropped from a height of 9m. how far will this ball travel before

coming to rest if it rebounds as far every time it strikes the ground?

2. An auditorium will be constructed in such a way that there will be 20
rows of steel seats with 24 seats in the first row. If the seats will be
increased by 2 per row, how many steel seats are needed in completing
this auditorium?
3. Mr. Ocampo bought a vehicle in 2001 at ₱688 000. If the value of the
vehicle depreciates by 12% every year, how much is its value in 2021?
4. Find the total number of grains the inventor of chess Grand Vizier asked
from King Sharman if India if he wished” Majesty, I just ask for one grain
of wheat for the first square on the chessboard, two grains for the
second, four on the third, eight on the fourth, and so on, until every
square on the chessboard is covered.”
5. Suppose a graduating student saves ₱25 on June, ₱50 on July, ₱100 on
August, and so on. How much will he save on February if each month he
plans to save twice as much of what he saves the month before?

An Arithmetic sequence is a sequence where every term after the first is obtained by a
adding a constant called the common difference. The nth term of an arithmetic
sequence is given by
an = a1 + (n-1) d
where a1 = the first term,
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an = the nth term n = the
number of terms d = the
common difference
A geometric sequence, or geometric progression, is a sequence in which each term after
the first is obtained by multiplying the preceding term by a nonzero constant. This nonzero
constant multiplier or factor is called the common ratio and is denoted by r. It is also
assumed that the first term is not zero.
The nth term in a geometric sequence with first term a 1≠0 and common ratio r≠0 is given
by the formula: an = a1rn-1
Application problems using real-life situations will help you understand how the concept of
sequences like arithmetic and geometric can be applied.

Fill in the Blank.

A. ABS-CBN decided to celebrate Christmas by donating 1M on December 1, 2M on
December 2, 4M on December 3 and so on, up to December 25 to the Sagip
Kapamilya Charity intended for covid-19 victims. What is the total amount of the
donation?
Solution: Given:
#1. a1 = ___ #2. n = __ #3. r = ___
S25 = 1+2+4+…
𝑛
𝑎1(1−𝑟 )
S25 =
1−𝑟
25
1(1−2 )
S25 = 1−2

S25 = #4 ___
Hence, the total amount of donation is #5 _________?

B. Boxes were stacked in 20 rows with 2 in the top row, 5 in the 2 nd row, 8 in the 3rd
row, and so on. How many boxes were stacked?
Solution:
1. a1 = _______

2. d = ________

3. n = ________

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 4. The formula to be used is _________________

5. The total number of boxes that were stacked is ______

Directions: Read each item carefully. Write down the letter that corresponds to the
correct answer.
1. A culture of bacteria doubles every 2 hours. If there are 500 bacteris at the
beginning, how many bacteria will there be after 24 hours?
A. 2 048 000 B. 1 024 000 C. 8 388 000 D. 4 194 000

2. A person wants to save ₱6 580 over an 8-month period. If ₱700 is saved the
first month and each month the amount saved is to be increased by a fixed
sum, what should this fixed sum be?
A. ₱25 B. ₱30 C. ₱35 D. ₱25
3. A computer is worth ₱12 000 the first year, 75% of its first-year value the
second year, 75% of its second-year value the third year, and so on. What is
the computer’s value during the fourth year?
A. ₱5 602.50 B. ₱5 062.50 C. ₱5 620.50 D. ₱5 260.50

4. A ball is dropped from a height of 3m. it bounces back to a height of the

distance from which it fell. Find the total distance traveled by the ball before
it comes to rest.
A. 5m B. 10m C. 12m D. 15m

5. Eleven years ago, an investment earns ₱50 000 for the year. Last year, the
investment earned ₱200 000. If the earnings of this investment have
increased the same amount each year, what is the yearly increase?
A. ₱15 000 B. ₱20 000 C.₱25 000 D. ₱30 000

6. To recruit members of an organization, a member recruits two persons; thee

two persons recruit 4 more persons; 4 persons recruit 8 persons; and so
forth. Each member is requested to recruit two persons. How many persons
will be recruited in this organization after 10 steps of recruitment? A. 221
B. 1 023 C. 1 200 D. 2 050

7. Mrs. Santos opened a savings account for her daughter by depositing ₱50 on
the day that she was born. On each subsequent birthday, she deposited ₱30
more than the previous year. How much money was deposited on her
daughter’s eighteenth birthday?
A. ₱590 B. ₱509 C. ₱950 D. ₱905

8. The population of a city is 100 000. A soiologist determines that every 5

years the population increases by 20% of what it was at the beginning of the
5-year period. What will the city’s population be in 20 years? A. 207 306
B. 207 630 C. 206 360 D. 207 063

9. If the third term of a geometric sequence is 28 and the fifth term is 112, find
the first term of the sequence.

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 A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 7
10.It is known that the number of bacteria in a particular culture doubles every
6 hours. If there are 10 000 bacteria to begin with, how many will there be in
24 hours?
A. 160 000 B. 106 000 C. 100 600 D. 100 060

11.A theater in the round has 70 seats in the first row, 78 seats in the second
row, 86 seats in the third row, and so on in an arithmetic sequence. If the
theater has 24 rows of seats, find the total number of seats it contains. A. 3
088 B. 3 888 C. 3 808 D. 3 800

12.Find the amount of money that an investment of ₱1 500 earns at the interest
rate of 8% compounded annually for 5 years.
A. ₱703.99 B. ₱730.99 C. ₱703.09 D. ₱709.39

13.Find the sum of the even integers between 21 and 45.

A. 369 B. 693 C. 963 D. 396
14.A stock boy in a grocery store stacks several boxes of cereal so that there are
30 boxes in the first row, 27 boxes in the second row, 24 boxes in the third
row, and so on. How many boxes of cereal does he have if there are 3 boxes
in the top row?
A. 156 B. 516 C. 165 D. 615
15.The first tread of a flight of stairs is 22cm above the ground. If each tread
after the first is 14.5cm above the level of the preceding step, how high above
ground level is the thirtieth step?
A. 442.5cm B. 424.5cm C. 445.2cm D. 452.4cm

References:
Learner’s Module for Mathematics (Grade 10), 2015, Department of Education,Phil.
Bernabe, Julieta G., et al. (2014), Our World of Math 10,Vibal Group,Inc.,Quezon City

Concepcion, Benjamin, et.al. (2004), Algebra with Recreational

Math,Ymas Publishing,Manila
Oronce,Orlando A..et.al,(2003),Exploring Mathematics,Rex Bookstore,Inc. Manila