APPLICATIONS OF

ARITHMETIC SEQUENCES
 OBJECTIVE:

• solves problems involving sequences.

 THINK-WRITE-SHARE

• What do you know about arithmetic sequences?

• Think back to the lesson over arithmetic sequences an

write down everything you remember. Be sure to
include formulas.
 HOW TO IDENTIFY AN ARITHMETIC
SEQUENCE

• In a word problem, look for a common difference being used

between each term.
• Example:
• Determine whether each situation has a common difference between each term.
1. The height of a plant grows 2 inches each day.
2. The cost of a video game increases by 10% each month.
3. Johnny receives 5 dollars each week for an allowance.
 STEPS TO FINDING A TERM FOR AN
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE
1. Create a picture of the word problem.
2. Write out the sequence in order to identify the
common difference, d, and the first term, .
3. Determine which formula would best fit the
situation (Recursive or Explicit)
• REMEMBER: Recursive formula helps us get the
next term given the previous term while the explicit
formula gives us a specific term.
4. Substitute d and in to the formula from step 3.
5. Evaluate the formula for the given term.
6. Interpret the result.
 EXAMPLE 1

• You visit the Grand Canyon and drop a penny off the
edge of a cliff. The distance the penny will fall is 16
feet the first second, 48 feet the next second, 80 feet
the third second, and so on in an arithmetic sequence.
What is the total distance the object will fall in 6
seconds?
 Example 1:
Picture Sequence

Formula Interpretation
 EXAMPLE 1

• You visit the Grand Canyon and drop a penny off the edge of a cliff. The
distance the penny will fall is 16 feet the first second, 48 feet the next
second, 80 feet the third second, and so on in an arithmetic sequence.
What is the total distance the object will fall in 6 seconds?
1. Identify and
The given sequence is 16, 48, 80, …
EXAMPLE 1
 EXAMPLE 1

3. Plug and in to the formula from step 2.

• If we plug in and from step 1, we get:

Simplify: Distribute
Combine Like
Terms
EXAMPLE 1

3.
4. Evaluate the formula for the given
value.
• In the problem, we are looking for the total distance
after 6 seconds. Therefore, we will plug in 6 to the
equation from step 3.
EXAMPLE 1

4.
5. Interpret the result
The problem referred to the total distance in
feet, therefore:
After 6 seconds, the penny will have fallen a
total distance of 176 feet.
EXAMPLE 2
• Tom just bought a new cactus plant for his office. The cactus is
currently 3 inches tall and will grow 2 inches every month. How
tall will the cactus be after 14 months?

There is such a thing as a zeroth term or null term. It

can be the initial value in certain real world examples.

1. Identify and
After no months
have passed, the
plant begins at 3
Difference inches tall.
between Height after 1
months month
 Example 2:
Picture Sequence

Formula Interpretation
 EXAMPLE 2

1.
2. Determine which formula would best fit
the situation.
• Since we want the distance after 14 months,
we will use the explicit formula which is used
to find a specific term.
Explicit Formula:
 EXAMPLE 2

3. Plug and in to the formula from step 2.

• If we plug in and from step 1, we get:

Simplify: Distribute
Combine Like
Terms
EXAMPLE 2

3.
4. Evaluate the formula for the given
value.
• In the problem, we are looking for the height after
14 months. Therefore, we will plug in 14 to the
equation from step 3.
EXAMPLE 2

4.
5. Interpret the result
The problem referred to the height in inches,
therefore:
After 14 months, the cactus will be 31 inches
tall.
 EXAMPLE 3

• Kayla starts with $25 in her allowance account. Each week that
she does her chores, she receives $10 from her parents. Assuming
she doesn’t spend any money, how much money will Kayla have
saved after 1 year?
1. Identify and
25
Before any weeks
have passed,
Kayla starts with
$25.

Difference between Amount after 1

weeks week
 Example 3:
Picture Sequence

Formula Interpretation
 EXAMPLE 3

1.
2. Determine which formula would best fit
the situation.
• Since we want the distance after 1 year
(Which is ___ weeks), we will use the
explicit formula which is used to find a
specific term.
Explicit Formula:
 EXAMPLE 3

3. Plug and in to the formula from step 2.

• If we plug in and from step 1, we get:

Simplify: Distribute
Combine Like
Terms
EXAMPLE 3

3.
4. Evaluate the formula for the given
value.
• In the problem, we are looking for the amount after
52 weeks. Therefore, we will plug in 52 to the
equation from step 3.
EXAMPLE 3

4.

5. Interpret the result

The problem referred to the amount of money,
therefore:
After 52 weeks, Kayla will have saved $545.
 YOU TRY!

• A theater has 26 seats in row 1, 29

seats in row 2, and 32 seats in row 3
and so on. If this pattern continues,
how many seats are in row 42?
 You Try!
Picture Sequence

Formula Interpretation
 SUMMARIZE

• Write down 3 points that every student

should remember in order to solve
arithmetic sequences in real world
situations.
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