MODULE 1

IN
MATHEMATICS 10

Unit 1
Arithmetic Sequences and Series

Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series

 Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences

Unit I
Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences pg. 1
 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, students must be able to:

 Correctly generate and illustrate patterns;

 Accurately identify the next term in a given pattern; and
 Correctly find the general rule for the nth term of a sequence.

Learn about it!

The pages on the right side of a book are an example of a pattern or a sequence of odd
numbers. Each succeeding number or term in that sequence can be obtained by adding 2 to the
previous term. Thus, we can say that the pattern forms a sequence and there is a common
difference of 2.
1 3 5 7 9
+2 +2 +2 +2
Definition 1.1
A sequence is a set of values that follow a particular order. It can be finite or infinite.
Each value in a sequence is called a term.
As a rule, the nth term or a nof the sequence above may be expressed as 2 n−1 or a n=¿ 2 n−1 ,
where nis any positive integer. The expression2 n−1 is called the general term of this sequence.
We can solve for any term in this sequence using the rule for finding the nth term. For
instance, if we need the 12th term, we simply substitute n=12 into the general term2 n−1 , which
results in the following solution:
a n=2 n−1

a 12=2(12)−1
a 12=24−1

a 12=23

Hence, the 12th term of the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 . . . is 23.

There is a special pattern called square numbers whose terms are 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 . . . . The
terms of this sequence can be determined by finding the square of each positive integer:
2 2 2 2 2 2
1 ,2 , 3 , 4 , ¿ 5 , and so on. Thus, the general term of this sequence is n .
The general term of a sequence can be defined in two ways, depending on the nature of its
formula. A formula to find the nth term may be explicit, which gives the value of the term depending
on its location in the sequence. All of our examples so far involve explicit formulas such as
a n=2 n−1 and a n=¿ n2 .
Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences pg. 2
 A formula may also be recursive, where the value of each term is expressed in terms of the
preceding terms and the first term, or the seed. The recursive formula for the explicit formula
a n=2 n−1, can be written as a n=a n−1 +2 , where the first term or the seed is a 1=1.

When studying mathematical sequences, we often come across situations that require us to
calculate the sum of the terms in a sequence. This sum is known as a series, written as
a 1+ a2 +a3 + a4 +. . ...+ an, where a 1 , a2 , a 3 anda n are the terms of the sequence.

The corresponding series of the first five terms of the sequences in the discussions above are
listed below.
a. 1+3+5+7 +9=25
b. 1+4 +9+16 +25=55

Let’s Practice

Example 1
Find the first four terms of the sequence whose nth term isa n=3 n+2.

Solution:
Our domain is the set{ 1 , 2, 3 , 4 } . Substituting the values from the domain in the given rule will result in
the following terms:
First Term: Second Term
n=1 n=2
a n=3 n+2 a n=3 n+2

a 1=3(1)+ 2 a 2=3(2)+2
a 1=3+2 a 2=6+2

a 1=5 a 2=8

Third Term: Fourth Term:

n=3 n=4
a n=3 n+2 a n=3 n+2

a 3=3(3)+2 a 4=3 (4)+2

a 3=9+2 a 4=12+2

a 3=11 a 4=14

Therefore, the first four term of a n=3 n+2 are 5, 8, 11, and 14.

Example 2
Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences pg. 3
 2
n +1
Find the seventh term of the sequence whose nth term is, a n= 2
n −1
Solution:
Substitute 7 forn .
2
n +1
a n= 2
n −1
2
7 +1
a 7= 2
7 −1
49+1
a 7=
49−1
50
a 7=
48
50 ÷2
a 7= Reduce to lowest term.
48 ÷ 2
25
a 7=
24
2
n +1 25
Hence, the seventh term of a n= 2 is
24
n −1

Example 3
Find the general term for the sequence 9 , 11, 13 ,15 , 17 , 19 .. . . Express the answer as an explicit
formula.
Solution:
Step 1
Write the domain and the terms of the sequence in tabular form.

n 1 2 3 4 5 6 n
an 9 11 13 15 17 19 ?

Step 2
Since the common difference is a constant, the general term or formula is linear in
nature. Hence, the formula may be written as a linear equation in one unknown in the form
an+ b=an, where a and b are constants.

Step 3
Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series
Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences pg. 4
 We now form two equations using the general forman+ b=an, and solve the resulting
system of equations.
Equation 1: Equation 2:
Given n=1 and a n=9 , Given n=2 anda n=11,
a (1)+b=9 a (2)+ b=11
we have a+ b=9 we have 2 a+b=11
Step 4
Solving the system using elimination by subtracting Equation 1 from Equation 2, we find that
a=2. The value b of can be determined by substituting a into any of the two equations, yielding
Sincea=2 andb−7 , we can now determine the general term by substituting the values of a andb into
an+ b=an.

an+ b=an

2 n+7=an

Therefore, the general term of the given sequence isa n=2 n+7

Reference:
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Chapter 1 Arithmetic Sequences and Series

Lesson 1 Patterns and Sequences pg. 5