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Core 1
for Edexcel
C1.6 Sequences
and series
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Sequences
Sequences
Contents
Sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is a succession of numbers,
called terms, that follow a given rule. For example:
9, 16, 25, 36, 49,
is a sequence of square numbers starting with 9.
A sequence can be infinite, as shown by the at the end of
the sequence shown above, or it can be finite. For example:
3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96
is a finite sequence containing six terms.
A sequence can be defined by:
a formula for the nth term of the sequence, or
a recurrence relation together with the first term of the
sequence.
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Recurrence relations
Sequences
Contents
Recurrence relations
This sequence can also be defined by a recurrence relation.
To define a sequence using a recurrence relation we need the
value of the first term and an expression relating each term to a
previous term.
For the sequence 1, 3, 7, 11, 15, , each term can be found
by adding 4 to the previous term.
We can write:
u1 = 1
u2 = u1 + 4 = 3
u3 = u2 + 4 = 7
u4 = u3 + 4 = 11 and so on.
In general:
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un+1 = un + 4
Boardworks Ltd 2005
Recurrence relations
A recurrence relation together with the first term of a
sequence is called an inductive definition.
So the inductive definition for the sequence 1, 3, 7, 11, 15,
is u1 = 1, un+1 = un + 4.
A sequence is given by the recurrence relation un+1 = 2un + 1
with u1 = 3. Write down the first five terms of the sequence.
u1 = 3
u2 = (2 3) + 1 = 7
u3 = (2 7) + 1 = 15
u4 = (2 15) + 1 = 31
u5 = (2 31) + 1 = 63
So the first five terms in the sequence are 3, 7, 15, 31 and 63.
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Arithmetic sequences
Sequences
Contents
Arithmetic sequences
In an arithmetic sequence (or arithmetic progression) the
difference between any two consecutive terms is always the
same. This is called the common difference.
For example, the sequence:
8, 11, 14, 17, 20,
is an arithmetic sequence with 3 as the common difference.
We could write this sequence as:
8, 8 + 3, 8 + 3 + 3, 8 + 3 + 3 + 3, 8 + 3 + 3 + 3 + 3,
or
8,
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8 + 3,
8 + (2 3), 8 (3 3),
8 + (4 3),
Boardworks Ltd 2005
Arithmetic sequences
If we call the first term of an arithmetic sequence a and the
common difference d we can write a general arithmetic
sequence as:
a,
a + d,
a + 2d,
a + 3d,
a + 4d,
Arithmetic sequences
What is the formula for the nth term of the
sequence 10, 7, 4, 1, 2 ?
This is an arithmetic sequence with first term a = 10 and
common difference d = 3.
The nth term is given by a + (n 1)d so:
un = 10 3(n 1)
= 10 3n + 3
= 13 3n
Lets check this formula for the first few terms in the sequence:
u1 = 13 3 1 = 10
u2 = 13 3 2 = 7
u3 = 13 3 3 = 4
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Arithmetic sequences
Find the number of terms in the finite
arithmetic sequence 7, 1, 5, 71.
This is an arithmetic sequence with first term a = 7 and
common difference d = 6.
The nth term is given by a + (n 1)d so:
un = 7 + 6(n 1)
= 7 + 6n 6
= 6n 13
We can find the value of n for the last term by solving:
6n 13 = 71
6n = 84
n = 14
So, there are 14 terms in the sequence.
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Arithmetic sequences
The 4th term in an arithmetic sequence is 12 and the 20th term
is 92. What is the formula for the nth term of this sequence?
Using the 4th term:
a + 3d = 12
Using the 20th term: a + 19d = 92
Subtracting the first equation from the second equation gives:
16d = 80
d=5
Substitute this into the first equation:
a + 15 = 12
a = 3
The nth term of an arithmetic sequence with a = 3 and d = 5 is:
un = 3 + 5(n 1)
= 3 + 5n 5
= 5n 8
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Arithmetic series
Sequences
Contents
Series
The sum of all the terms of a sequence is called a series.
For example:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, is a sequence
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + is a series.
while:
When the difference between each term in a series is constant,
as in this example, the series is called an arithmetic series or
arithmetic progression (AP for short).
The sum of a series containing n terms is often denoted by Sn,
so for the series given above we could write:
S5 = 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9
= 25
When n is large, a more systematic approach for calculating the
sum of a given number of terms is required.
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Gauss method
It is said that when the famous mathematician Karl Friedrich
Gauss was a young boy at school, his teacher asked the class
to add together every whole number from one to a hundred.
Gauss method
Gauss worked the answer out by noticing that you can quickly
add together consecutive numbers by writing the numbers
once in order and once in reverse order and adding them
together.
So to add the numbers from 1 to 100:
S=
S=
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + + 98 + 99 + 100
100 + 99 + 98 + 97 + 96 + + 3 + 2 + 1
2S = 100 101
= 10 100
S = 5050
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Contents
+ + (n 2) + (n 1) +
S=
+ (n 1) + (n 2) + +
n
1
2S = (n + 1) + (n + 1) + (n + 1) + + (n + 1) + (n + 1) + (n + 1)
This gives us:
2S = n(n + 1)
So:
The sum of the first n natural numbers is given by
1
2 n( n +1)
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+ (a + d) + (a + 2d) + + (l 2d) + (l d) +
Sn =
2Sn= (a + l) + (a + l) + (a + l) + + (a + l) + (a + l) + (a + l)
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2Sn = n(a + l)
So:
The sum of the first n terms in an arithmetic series is
n
Sn = (a + l )
2
where a is the first term and l is the last.
If the last term is not known this formula can be written in terms
of a and n by substituting (a + (n 1)d) for l in the above.
An alternative formula for the sum of an arithmetic series is
then:
n
Sn = (2a + (n 1)d )
2
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Arithmetic series
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Using notation
Sequences
Contents
Using notation
When working with series, the Greek symbol (the capital
letter sigma) is used to mean the sum of.
For example:
r =1
Using notation
For example, suppose we want to find the sum of the first 4
terms of the series whose nth term is of the form 3n 1.
We can write:
4
3r 1 = (3 1 1) + (3 2 1) + (3 3 1) + (3 4 1)
r =1
= 2 + 5 + 8 + 11
The initial value of r doesnt have to be 1. For example:
8
2
r
= 3 2 + 4 2 + 52 + 62 + 72 + 82
r=3
1
1 1 1
= + + + ...
2 3 4
r = 1 r +1
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Using notation
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Using notation
15
Evaluate 25 2r
r=2
Examination-style questions
Sequences
Contents
Examination-style question
The sum of the first 3 terms of an arithmetic series is 21 and
the sum of the next three terms is 66.
a) Find the value of the first term and the common difference.
b) Write an expression for the nth term of the series un.
c) Find the sum of the first 10 terms.
a) The sum of the first 3 terms can be written as:
a + (a + d) + (a + 2d) = 3a + 3d
So
3a + 3d = 21
1
a+d=7
The sum of the next 3 terms can be written as:
(a + 3d) + (a + 4d) + (a + 5d) = 3a + 12d
So
3a + 12d = 66
a + 4d = 22 2
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Examination-style question
2
3d = 15
d=5
a=2
u10 = (5 10) 3
= 47
n
Now using the formula Sn = (a + l ) with a = 2 and l = 47:
2
10
S10 = (2 + 47)
2
= 245
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