SEQUENCES

PATRICIA JEAN A. FAJILAGO

Instructor

Module 1: Mathematics in the Modern World Chapter 1: Nature of Mathematics

 Sequence
The sequence refers to an ordered list of numbers called terms that
can be repeated. The order of these terms is determined by a specific rule.

The elements of the sequence are called terms.

 Types of Sequences

• Arithmetic Sequence

• Geometric Sequence

• Harmonic Sequence

• Fibonacci Sequence
Arithmetic Sequence
• It is a sequence of numbers that follows a specific pattern.
• To determine if the series of numbers follows an arithmetic sequence,
check the difference between two consecutive terms. If a common
difference is found, the pattern is clearly determined by an arithmetic
sequence.
 Arithmetic Sequence
Is the sequence –45, –30, –15, 0, 15, 30, … arithmetic?

Yes, the common difference is 15

 Arithmetic Sequence
Find the next four terms of – 9, −2, 5, …

Arithmetic Sequence
−2 − (−9) = 7 and (5) − (−2) = 7
7 is referred to as the common difference (d)
Common Difference (d) – what we ADD to get next term

Next four terms……12, 19, 26, 33

Find the next four terms of -3x, -2x, -x, …
Arithmetic Sequence, d = x
0, x, 2x, 3x

Find the next four terms of 5k, -k, -7k, …

Arithmetic Sequence, d = -6k

-13k, -19k, -25k, -31k
 How do you find any term in this
sequence?
Use the formula:

𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 + (𝒏 – 𝟏)𝒅

𝒂𝒏𝟏𝒅
Vocabulary of Sequences (Universal)

a1 → First term
an → nth term
n → number of terms
d → common difference

nth term of arithmetic sequence → an = a1 + n−1 d

 Arithmetic Sequence
Example: Find the 14th term of the arithmetic sequence 4, 7, 10, 13,…

an = a1 + (n − 1)d
a14 = 4 +(14 − 1) 3
= 4 + (13)3

= 4 + 39

= 43
Try this one: Find a16 if a1 = 1.5 and d = 0.5

1.5 a1 → First term

a16 an → nth term
16 n → number of terms
0.5 d → common difference

an = a1 + (n − 1) d a16 = 1.5 + (16 - 1)(0.5)

a16 = 1.5 + (15)(0.5)
a16 = 1.5+7.5
a16 = 9
Example: In the arithmetic sequence 4, 7, 10, 13,…, which
term has a value of 301?

an = a1 + (n − 1)d
301 = 4 + (n − 1)3
301 = 4 + 3n − 3
301 = 1 + 3n
300 = 3n
100 = n
Try this one: Find n if an = 633, a1 = 9, and d = 24
9 a1 → First term
633 an → nth term
n n → number of terms
24 d → common difference

an = a1 + (n − 1) d

633 = 9 + (n - 1)(24)
633 = 9 + 24n - 24
633 = 24n – 15
648 = 24n
n = 27
Given an arithmetic sequence with a15 = 38 and d = −3, find a1.

a1 a1 → First term
38 an → nth term
15 n → number of terms
-3 d → common difference

an = a1 + (n − 1) d
38 = a1 + (15 - 1)(-3)
38 = a1 + (14)(-3)
38 = a1 - 42
a1 = 80
Find d if a1 = −6 and a29 = 20
-6 a1 → First term
20 an → nth term
29 n → number of terms
d d → common difference

an = a1 + (n − 1) d
20 = -6 + (29 - 1)(d)
20 = -6 + (28)(d)
26 = 28d
13
d=
14
Finding the sum of the term of arithmetic
series
Use the formula:

no. of terms

𝒏
𝑺𝒏 = ( )(𝒂𝟏 + 𝒂𝒏 )
𝟐
Sum of the nth term
nth term 1st term
 Arithmetic Series
Example:

1. Find the sum of the first 37 even numbers.

2. Find the sum of the series: 1 + 8 + 15 + … + 78

3. The sum of the first 15 terms in the series 3, 7, 11, 15, 19, …
 Geometric Sequence

• In a geometric sequence, the ratio of successive terms

is the same number r, called the common ratio.

 Geometric Sequence
Geometric sequences can be thought of as functions. The term
number, or position in the sequence, is the input, and the term
itself is the output.

1 2 3 4 Position

3 6 12 24 Term
a1 a2 a3 a4

To find a term in a geometric sequence, multiply the previous term

by r.
Finding the nth term in Geometric
Sequence
Find the next three terms in the geometric sequence.

1, 4, 16, 64,…

Step 1 Find the value of r by dividing each term by the one before it.
1 4 16 64

The value of r is 4.

Step 2 Multiply each term by 4 to find the next three terms.

64 256 1024 4096

4 4 4
The next three terms are 256, 1024, and 4096.
 Find the next three terms in the geometric sequence.

The value
– of r is .

Helpful Hint
When the terms in a geometric sequence alternate between positive
and negative, the value of r is negative.
The next three terms are
Find the next three terms in the geometric sequence.

1. 5, –10, 20,–40,…

2. 512, 384, 288,…

 Geometric Sequence

If the first term of a geometric sequence is a1, the nth term is an ,

and the common ratio is r, then

an = a1rn–1
nth term 1st term Common ratio
 Finding the nth term in Geometric Sequence

Example: The first term of a geometric sequence is 500, and the

common ratio is 0.2. What is the 7th term of the sequence?

an = a1rn–1 Write the formula.

a7 = 500(0.2)7–1 Substitute 500 for a1,7 for n, and
0.2 for r.
= 500(0.2)6 Simplify the exponent.
= 0.032 Use a calculator.

The 7th term of the sequence is 0.032.

 Finding the nth term in Geometric Sequence

Example: For a geometric sequence, a1 = 5, and r = 2. Find the 6th

term of the sequence.

an = a1rn–1 Write the formula.

a6 = 5(2)6–1 Substitute 5 for a1,6 for n, and 2
for r.
= 5(2)5 Simplify the exponent.
= 160

The 6th term of the sequence is 160.

 Finding the nth term in Geometric Sequence
Example: What is the 9th term of the geometric sequence 2, –6, 18,
–54, …?

2 –6 18 –54
The value of r is
–3.

an = a1rn–1 Write the formula.

a9 = 2(–3)9–1 Substitute 2 for a1,9 for n, and –3
for r.
= 2(–3)8 Simplify the exponent.
= 13,122 Use a calculator.
The 9th term of the sequence is 13,122.
 Geometric Series
The sum of the first nth terms of the sequence can be found using
the formula:

𝑎1
𝑆𝑛 = Infinite Series
1−𝑟

𝑎1 (1 − 𝑟 𝑛 )
𝑆𝑛 = Finite Series
1−𝑟
 Geometric Series
Example:

1. Find the sum of the series 16, 8, 4, 2, 1, …

2. What is the sum of first 15 terms of the series 1, 2, 4, 8, …?

3. Calculate the sum of the finite geometric series if a = 5, r =

1.5 and n = 10.

 Harmonic Sequence

• A Harmonic Sequence is a sequence of quantities whose reciprocals

form an arithmetic sequence. There is no general method of finding
the sum of a harmonic sequence.

• The Sequence “𝑠1 , 𝑠2 , … , 𝑠𝑛 ” is a Harmonic sequence if

1 1 1
“ , , … , ” forms an Arithmetic sequence.
𝑠1 𝑠2 𝑠𝑛
 Harmonic Sequence

• A Harmonic Sequence is a set of values that, once

reciprocated, results to an Arithmetic Sequence. To check , the
reciprocated values must possess a rational common
difference. Once this has been identified, we may say that the
sequence is a Harmonic Sequence.
Example: Determine which of the following are Harmonic
sequence.

1 1 1
1) 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ,…

1 1 1
2) 1 ,4 ,5 ,7 ,…

1 1 1 1
3) , , ,
2 5 8 11
, …
 Finding the nth term in Harmonic Sequence
1 1 1 1
Example: Find the 𝑎13 of the Harmonic Sequence , , , ,…
9 12 15 18
Example: Determine the next three terms of each of the following
Harmonic Sequence

1) 24 , 12 , 8 , 6 , …

Solution: (Reciprocate)
24 , 12 , 8 , 6 , … = 1/24 , 1/12 , 1/8 , 1/6

* Find the common difference: 1/12 – 1/24

= 2/24 – 1/24
= 1/24
To get the next three terms:

5th Term = 1/6 + 1/24 6th Term = 5/24 + 1/24

= 4/24 + 1/24 = 6/24
= 5/24 =¼

* Reciprocate = 24/5 * Reciprocate = 4

7th Term = 1/4 + 1/24

= 6/24 + 1/24
= 7/24

* Reciprocate = 24/7
 Fibonacci Sequence
• This particular sequence was named after the Italian mathematician Leonardo
Pisano Bigollo (1170 - 1250).
• He discovered the sequence while studying rabbits. The Fibonacci sequence is a
series of numbers that follow an unusual arithmetic rule.
• The sequence is organized so that a number can be obtained by adding the two
preceding numbers.
 Fibonacci Sequence
• To learn a little more about the Fibonacci sequence, the location of the term was
commonly referred to as Fib(𝑛). This means that Fib(1) = 1, Fib(2) = 1, Fib(3) = 2,
and Fib(4) = 3. In this method, Fib(𝑛) actually refers to the 𝑛th term of the
sequence. It is also possible to do some kind of addition in this sequence. For
example: Fib (2) + Fib (6) = _?__

• Fib(2) refers to the 2nd term of the sequence, which is "1". And Fib(6) refers to the
6th term, which is "8". So, the answer to this equation is simply "9".
Fibonacci Sequence
 Fibonacci Sequence
Solve the following:

1. Fib(25): __________________________
2. Fib(33): __________________________
3. Fib(40): __________________________
4. Fib(50): __________________________
5. Fib(63): __________________________