SEQUENCE AND

PATTERNS
 Simple Sequences

In mathematics, a sequence
• A sequence is an ordered list of numbers (or other elements like
geometric objects), that often follow a specific pattern or function.
Sequences can be both finite and infinite.
•  is a chain of numbers (or other objects) that usually follow a particular
pattern. The individual elements in a sequence are called terms
Here are a few examples of sequences. Can you find their
patterns and calculate the next two terms?
 Arithmetic Sequences and Sums

Sequence
• A Sequence is a set of things (usually numbers) that are in
order.
Each number in the sequence is called a term (or sometimes
"element" or "member"), read Sequences and Series for more
details.
 Arithmetic Sequence
• In an Arithmetic Sequence the difference between one term and the
next is a constant.
• In other words, we just add the same value each time ... infinitely.
• Example:
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, ...
This sequence has a difference of 3 between each number.
The pattern is continued by adding 3 to the last number each time, like this:
• In General we could write an arithmetic sequence like this:
{a, a+d, a+2d, a+3d, ... }
where:
a is the first term, and
d is the difference between the terms (called the "common difference")
 Example: (continued)
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22,
25, ...

Has:
a = 1 (the first term)
d = 3 (the "common difference" between terms)

And we get:
{a, a+d, a+2d, a+3d, ... }

{1, 1+3, 1+2×3, 1+3×3, ... }

{1, 4, 7, 10, ... }
 Rule:
We can write an Arithmetic Sequence as a rule:
xn = a + d(n−1)
(We use "n−1" because d is not used in the 1st term).
Example: Write a rule, and calculate the 9th term, for this Arithmetic
Sequence:
3, 8, 13, 18, 23, 28, 33, 38, ...
This sequence has a difference of 5 between each number
The values of a and d are:
a = 3 (the first term)
d = 5 (the "common difference")
Using the Arithmetic Sequence rule:
xn = a + d(n−1)
= 3 + 5(n−1)
= 3 + 5n − 5
= 5n − 2
• So the 9th term is:
• x9 = 5×9 − 2
= 43
 Arithmetic Sequences are sometimes called Arithmetic
Progressions (A.P.’s)

Advanced Topic: Summing an Arithmetic Series

• To sum up the terms of this arithmetic sequence:
a + (a+d) + (a+2d) + (a+3d) + ...
use this formula:

It is called Sigma Notation
 For example:
Example: Add up the first 10 terms of the arithmetic sequence:
{ 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, ... }
• The values of a, d and n are:
• a = 1 (the first term)
• d = 3 (the "common difference" between terms)
• n = 10 (how many terms to add up)
 Becomes:

= 5(2+9·3) = 5(29) = 145

examples;:
 Geometric Sequences

• A geometric sequence is an ordered list of numbers in which each term

after the first is found by multiplying the previous one by a constant
called rr, the common ratio.
• Definition
  of Geometric Sequences
• A geometric progression, also known as a geometric sequence, is an ordered list of
numbers in which each term after the first is found by multiplying the previous one
by a fixed non-zero number called the common ratio r. For example, the
sequence 2,6,18,54, ⋯2,6,18,54, ⋯ is a geometric progression with common ratio 3.
Similarly 10,5,2.5,1.25, ⋯10,5,2.5,1.25, ⋯ is a geometric sequence with common
ratio 12.
• Thus, the general form of a geometric sequence is:
• a, ar, ,,,⋯a,ar,,,,⋯
• The nth term of a geometric sequence with initial value aa and common ratio r is
given by
•An=
 
Such a geometric sequence also follows the recursive relation:
An=
for every integer n≥1.
 
  
Behavior of Geometric Sequences
Generally, to check whether a given sequence is geometric, one simply
checks whether successive entries in the sequence all have the same ratio.
The common ratio of a geometric series may be negative, resulting in an
alternating sequence. An alternating sequence will have numbers that switch
back and forth between positive and negative signs. For instance: 1,
−3,9,−27,81,−243,⋯1,−3,9,−27,81,−243,⋯ is a geometric sequence with
common ratio −3.
 The behavior of a geometric sequence depends on the value of the
common ratio. If the common ratio is:

• Positive, the terms will all be the same sign as the initial term
• Negative, the terms will alternate between positive and negative
• Greater than 1, there will be exponential growth towards positive infinity (+∞)
• 1, the progression will be a constant sequence
• Between −1 and 1 but not 0, there will be exponential decay toward 0
• −1, the progression is an alternating sequence (see alternating series)
• Less than −1, for the absolute values there is exponential growth toward positive and
negative infinity (due to the alternating sign)
• Geometric sequences (with common ratio not equal to −1, 1 or 0) show
exponential growth or exponential decay, as opposed to the linear growth (or
decline) of an arithmetic progression such
as 4,15,26,37,48,⋯4,15,26,37,48,⋯ (with common difference 11). This result
was taken by T.R. Malthus as the mathematical foundation of his Principle of
Population. Note that the two kinds of progression are related: exponentiating
each term of an arithmetic progression yields a geometric progression, while
taking the logarithm of each term in a geometric progression with a positive
common ratio yields an arithmetic progression.
•  An interesting result of the definition of a geometric progression is that for
any value of the common ratio, any three consecutive terms a, b,
and c will satisfy the following equation:
=ac
 Summing the First n Terms in a Geometric Sequence

• geometric series: An infinite sequence of numbers to be added, whose

terms are found by multiplying the previous term by a fixed, non-zero
number called the common ratio.
• geometric progression: A series of numbers in which each term after the
first is found by multiplying the previous one by a fixed, non-zero number
called the common ratio.
Geometric series are examples of infinite series with finite sums, although
not all of them have this property. Historically, geometric series played an
important role in the early development of calculus, and they continue to be
central in the study of the convergence of series. Geometric series are used
throughout mathematics, and they have important applications in physics,
engineering, biology, economics, computer science, queueing theory, and
finance.
 The terms of a geometric series form a geometric
progression, meaning that the ratio of successive terms in
the series is constant. For example, the following series:
• is geometric, because each successive term can be obtained by
multiplying the previous term by 12.
The general form of an infinite geometric series is:

It is possible to visualize this concept with a diagram:

where a is the first term of the series, and r is the
common ratio.
Therefore, by utilizing the common ratio and the first term
of the sequence, we can sum the first n terms.
Infinite Geometric Series
• A geometric series is an infinite series whose terms are in a geometric
progression, or whose successive terms have a common ratio. If the terms
of a geometric series approach zero, the sum of its terms will be finite. As
the numbers near zero, they become insignificantly small, allowing a sum
to be calculated despite the series being infinite.
• A geometric series with a finite sum is said to converge. A series
converges if and only if the absolute value of the common ratio is less
than one:
• |r|<1