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Sequences and Series

The document defines arithmetic progressions (AP), geometric progressions (GP), sequences, and series. It provides formulas for the nth term and sum of terms of APs and GPs. The arithmetic mean and geometric mean of two numbers are defined. Relations between arithmetic and geometric means are described. Examples are included to demonstrate calculating terms and sums.

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179 views3 pages

Sequences and Series

The document defines arithmetic progressions (AP), geometric progressions (GP), sequences, and series. It provides formulas for the nth term and sum of terms of APs and GPs. The arithmetic mean and geometric mean of two numbers are defined. Relations between arithmetic and geometric means are described. Examples are included to demonstrate calculating terms and sums.

Uploaded by

SteveMathewKuruvilla
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Sequences and Series

nth term of an AP

The nth term (an) of an AP with first term a and common difference d is given by an = a + (n 1) d.
Here, an is called the general term of the AP.

nth term from the end of an AP

The nth term from the end of an AP with last term l and common difference d is given by l (n 1) d.

Example:
Find the 12th term of the AP 5, 9, 13
Solution:
Here, a = 5, d = 9 5 = 4, n = 12
a12 = a + (n 1) d
=5+ 4
= 5 + 11 4
= 5 + 44
= 49

Sum of n terms of an AP
The sum of the first n terms of an AP is given by

, where a is the first term and d is the common difference.

If there are only n terms in an AP, then , where l = an is the last term.

Example :
Find the value of 2 + 10 + 18 + . + 802.
Solution:

2, 10, 18 802 is an AP where a = 2, d = 8, and l = 802.

Let there be n terms in the series. Then,


an = 802
a + (n 1) d = 802
2 + (n 1) 8= 802
8(n 1) = 800
n 1= 100
n = 101
Thus, required sum =

Properties of an Arithmetic progression


If a constant is added or subtracted or multiplied to each term of an A.P. then the resulting sequence is also an A.P.
If each term of an A.P. is divided by a non-zero constant then the resulting sequence is also an A.P.

Arithmetic mean
For any two numbers a and b, we can insert a number A between them such that a, A, b is an A.P. Such a number i.e., A is called the arithmetic
mean of numbers a and b and it is given by .
For any two given numbers a and b, we can insert as many numbers between them as we want such that the resulting sequence becomes an
A.P.

Let A1, A2 An be n numbers between a and b such that a, A1, A2 An, b is an A.P.

Here, common difference (d) is given by .

Example:
Insert three numbers between 2 and 18 such that the resulting sequence is an A.P.
Solution:
Let A1, A2, and A3 be three numbers between 2 and 18 such that 2, A1, A2, A3, 18 are in an A.P.
Here, a = 2, b = 18, n = 5
18 = 2 + d
20 = 4 d
d=5
Thus, A1 = a + d = 2 + 5 = 3
A2 = a + 2d = 2 + 10 = 8
A3 = a + 3d = 2 + 15 = 13
Hence, the required three numbers between 2 and 18 are 3, 8, and 13.

Geometric Progression: A sequence is said to be a geometric progression if the ratio of any term to its preceding term is the same throughout.
This constant factor is called the common ratio and it is denoted by r.

In standard form, the G.P. is written as a, ar, ar2 ... where, a is the first term and r is the common ratio.
General Term of a G.P.: The nth term of a G.P. is given by an = ar n 1

Example: Find the number of terms in G.P. 5, 20, 80 ... 5120.


Solution: Let the number of terms be n.
Here a = 5, r = 4 and tn = 5120
nth term of G.P. = arn1

Sum of n Term of a G.P.: The sum of n terms (Sn) of a G.P. is given by

Example: Find the sum of the series 1 + 3 + 9 + 27 + ... to 10 terms.


Solution: The sequence 1, 3, 9, 27, ... is a G.P.
Here, a = 1, r = 3.

Sum of n terms of G.P. =


S10 = 1 + 3 + 9 + 27 + ... to 10 terms

Geometric Mean: For any two positive numbers a and b, we can insert a number G between them such that a, G, b is a G.P. Such a number i.e., G is
called a geometric mean and is given by G =

In general, if G1, G2, ,Gn be n numbers between positive numbers a and b such that a, G1, G2, , Gn, b is a G.P., then G1, G2, , Gn are given by
G1= ar, G2 = ar2,, Gn = arn
Where, r is calculated from the relation b = arn+1 , that is .

Example: Insert three geometric means between 2 and 162.


Solution:
Let G1, G2, G3 be 3 G.M.s between 2 and 162.
Therefor 2, G1, G2, G3, 162 are in G.P.
Let r be the common ratio of G.P.
Here, a = 2, b = 162 and n = 3

G1 = ar = 2 3 = 6
G2 = ar2 = 2 2 = 2 9 = 18
G3 = ar3 = 2 3 = 2 27 = 54

Thus, the required three geometric means between 2 and 162 are 6, 18, and 54.

Relation between A.M. and G.M.: Let A and G be the respective A.M. and G.M. of two given positive real numbers a and b. Accordingly,
.

Then, we will always have the following relationship between the A.M. and G.M.: A G

Sequence: A sequence is an arrangement of numbers in definite order according to some rule.


Also, we define a sequence as a function whose domain is the set of natural numbers or some subset of the type {1, 2, 3 k}.

A sequence containing finite number of terms is called a finite sequence.


sequence containing infinite number of terms is called an infinite sequence.

A general sequence can be written as

a1, a2, a3 an 1 , an,


Here, a1, a2 etc. are called the terms of the sequence and an is called the general term or nth of the sequence.

Fibonacci sequence: An arrangement of numbers such as 1, 2, 4, 6, 10 has no visible pattern. However, the sequence is generated by the
recurrence relation given by

This sequence is called the Fibonacci sequence.

Let a1, a2, ... an, be a given sequence. Accordingly, the sum of this sequence is given by the expression a1 + a2 + ... + an + ...
This is called the series associated with the given sequence.
The series is finite or infinite according as the given sequence.
A series is usually represented in a compact form using sigma notation .
This means the series a1 + a2 + ... + an1 +an ... can be written as .

Sum of n-terms of some special series:


Sum of first n natural numbers

Sum of squares of the first n natural numbers

Sum of cubes of the first n natural numbers

Example: Find the sum of n terms of the series whose nth term is n(n + 1)(n 2).
Solution: It is given that

Thus, the sum of n terms is given by

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