Sequences & Series

SEQUENCES
A sequence is an ordered list of numbers. The following is a sequence of odd numbers:

1, 3, 5, 7, . . .

A term of a sequence is identified by its position in the sequence. In the above sequence, 1 is the first term,
3 is the second term, etc. The ellipsis symbol (. . .) indicates that the sequence continues forever.

Example 1: In sequence S, the 3rd term is 4, the 2nd term is three times the 1st, and the 3rd term is four
times the 2nd. What is the 1st term in sequence S?
1 3
(A) 0 (B) (C) 1 (D) (E) 4
3 2

We know the 3rd term of S is 4, and that the 3rd term is four times the 2nd. This is equivalent to
1 1
saying the 2nd term is the 3rd term: 4 = 1. Further, we know the 2nd term is three times the 1st.
4 4
1 1 1
This is equivalent to saying the 1st term is the 2nd term: 1 = . Hence, the first term of the sequence
3 3 3
is fully determined:

1
, 1, 4
3

The answer is (B).

Example 2: Except for the first two numbers, every number in the sequence 1, 3, 3, . . . is the product
of the two immediately preceding numbers. How many numbers of this sequence are odd?
(A) one (B) two (C) three (D) four (E) more than four

Since every number in the sequence 1, 3, 3, . . . is the product of the two immediately preceding
numbers, the forth term of the sequence is 9 = 3(3). The first 6 terms of this sequence are

1, 3, 3, 9, 27, 243, . . .

At least six numbers in this sequence are odd: 1, 3, 3, 9, 27, 243. The answer is (E).

Arithmetic Progressions

An arithmetic progression is a sequence in which the difference between any two consecutive terms is the
same. This is the same as saying: each term exceeds the previous term by a fixed amount. For example, 0,
6, 12, 18, . . . is an arithmetic progression in which the common difference is 6. The sequence 8, 4, 0, 4, . . .
is arithmetic with a common difference of 4.

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Example 3: The seventh number in a sequence of numbers is 31 and each number after the first number
in the sequence is 4 less than the number immediately preceding it. What is the fourth num-
ber in the sequence?
(A) 15 (B) 19 (C) 35 (D) 43 (E) 51

Since each number in the sequence is 4 less than the number immediately preceding it, the sixth term is
31 + 4 = 35; the fifth number in the sequence is 35 + 4 = 39; and the fourth number in the sequence is 39 +
4 = 43. The answer is (D). Following is the sequence written out:

55, 51, 47, 43, 39, 35, 31, 27, 23, 19, 15, 11, . . .

Advanced concepts: (Sequence Formulas)

Students with strong backgrounds in mathematics may prefer to solve sequence problems by using
formulas. Note, none of the formulas in this section are necessary to answer questions about sequences on
the GRE.

Since each term of an arithmetic progression exceeds the previous term by a fixed amount, we get
the following:

first term a + 0d where a is the first term and d is the common difference
second term a + 1d
third term a + 2d
fourth term a + 3d

...

nth term a + (n 1)d This formula generates the nth term

The sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic sequence is

n
2
[2a + (n 1)d ]
Geometric Progressions
A geometric progression is a sequence in which the ratio of any two consecutive terms is the same. Thus,
each term is generated by multiplying the preceding term by a fixed number. For example, 3, 6, 12, 24, .
. . is a geometric progression in which the common ratio is 2. The sequence 32, 16, 8, 4, . . . is geometric
1
with common ratio .
2

10
Example 4: What is the sixth term of the sequence 90, 30, 10, ,...?
3
1 10 100
(A) (B) 0 (C) (D) 3 (E)
3 27 3

1 10 1 10
Since the common ratio between any two consecutive terms is , the fifth term is = .
3 9 3 3
10 1 10
Hence, the sixth number in the sequence is = . The answer is (C).
27 3 9

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Advanced concepts: (Sequence Formulas)

Note, none of the formulas in this section are necessary to answer questions about sequences on the GRE.

Since each term of a geometric progression is generated by multiplying the preceding term by a fixed
number, we get the following:

first term a
second term ar1 where r is the common ratio
third term ar 2
fourth term ar 3
...

n 1
nth term an = ar This formula generates the nth term
The sum of the first n terms of an geometric sequence is

(
a 1 rn )
1 r
SERIES
A series is simply the sum of the terms of a sequence. The following is a series of even numbers formed
from the sequence 2, 4, 6, 8, . . . :

2 + 4 + 6 + 8+L

A term of a series is identified by its position in the series. In the above series, 2 is the first term, 4 is the
second term, etc. The ellipsis symbol (. . .) indicates that the series continues forever.

Example 5: The sum of the squares of the first n positive integers 12 + 2 2 + 32 + K + n 2 is

n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
. What is the sum of the squares of the first 9 positive integers?
6
(A) 90 (B) 125 (C) 200 (D) 285 (E) 682

We are given a formula for the sum of the squares of the first n positive integers. Plugging n = 9 into this
formula yields

n( n + 1)( 2n + 1) 9( 9 + 1)( 2 9 + 1) 9(10 )(19 )

= = = 285
6 6 6

The answer is (D).

Example 6: For all integers x > 1, x = 2 x + (2 x 1) + (2 x 2)+K+2 + 1. What is the value of

3 2 ?
(A) 60 (B) 116 (C) 210 (D) 263 (E) 478

3 = 2(3) + (2 3 1) + (2 3 2) + (2 3 3) + (2 3 4) + (2 3 5) = 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 21

2 = 2(2) + (2 2 1) + (2 2 2) + (2 2 3) = 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10

Hence, 3 2 = 2110 = 210 , and the answer is (C).

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Problem Set Y:
1. Column A 1 Column B
By dividing 21 into 1, the fraction can be writ-
21
ten as a repeating decimal: 0.476190476190 . . .
where the block of digits 476190 repeats.
6 The 54th digit following
the decimal point

2. The positive integers P, Q, R, S, and T increase in order of size such that the value of each successive
integer is one more than the preceding integer and the value of T is 6. What is the value of R?
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4

3. Let u represent the sum of the integers from 1 through 20, and let v represent the sum of the integers
from 21 through 40. What is the value of v u ?
(A) 21 (B) 39 (C) 200 (D) 320 (E) 400

4. In the pattern of dots to the right, each row

after the first row has two more dots than the
row immediately above it. Row 6 contains
how many dots?
(A) 6 (B) 8 (C) 10 (D) 11 (E) 12

5. Column A In sequence S, all odd numbered terms are equal and Column B
all even numbered terms are equal. The first term in
the sequence is 2 and the second term is 2.
The sum of two The product of two
consecutive terms of consecutive terms of
the sequence the sequence

6. The sum of the first n even, positive integers is 2 + 4 + 6 + L + 2n is n(n + 1). What is the sum of
the first 20 even, positive integers?
(A) 120 (B) 188 (C) 362 (D) 406 (E) 420

7. In the array of numbers to the right, each number above 27 x 81 108

the bottom row is equal to three times the number 9 18 27 36
immediately below it. What is value of x + y ? 3 6 y 12
1 2 3 4
(A) 45 (B) 15 (C) 2 (D) 20 (E) 77

8. The first term of a sequence is 2. All subsequent terms are found by adding 3 to the immediately pre-
ceding term and then multiplying the sum by 2. Which of the following describes the terms of the
sequence?
(A) Each term is odd (B) Each term is even (C) The terms are: even, odd, even, odd, etc.
(D) The terms are: even, odd, odd, odd, etc. (E) The terms are: even, odd, odd, even, odd, odd, etc.

9. Except for the first two numbers, every number in the sequence 1, 3, 2, . . . is the sum of the two
immediately preceding numbers. How many numbers of this sequence are even?
(A) none (B) one (C) two (D) three (E) more than three

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10. In the sequence w, x, y, 30, adding any one of the first three terms to the term immediately following
w
it yields . What is the value of w ?
2
(A) 60 (B) 30 (C) 0 (D) 5 (E) 25

11. Column A Column B

1 1 1 1 1
2
1
2
1
2
1
2
1 + + + +L+ 2
1 + + + +L+
2 3 4 81 2 3 4 81

12. Column A Column B

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
3 + 2 + 3+ 4 + 5 1+ + 2 + 3 + 4
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3
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Answers and Solutions to Problem Set Y

1. The sixth digit following the decimal point is the number zero: 0.476190476190 . . . Since the digits
repeat in blocks of six numbers, 0 will appear in the space for all multiplies of six. Since 54 is a multiple of
six, the 54th digit following the decimal point is 0. Hence, Column A is larger. The answer is (A).

2. We know that T is 6; and therefore from the fact that each successive integer is one more than the
preceding integer we see that S is 5. Continuing in this manner yields the following unique sequence:

P Q R S T
2 3 4 5 6

Hence, the value of R is 4. The answer is (E).

3. Forming the series for u and v yields

u = 1 + 2 + L + 19 + 20
v = 21 + 22 + L + 39 + 40
Subtracting the series for u from the series for v yields
v u = 20
1444 L444
+ 20 + 2 + 20 + 3
20 = 20 20 = 400
20 times
The answer is (E).

4. Extending the dots to six rows yields

Row 6 has twelve dots. Hence, the answer is (E).

5. Since the the first term in the sequence is 2 and all odd numbered terms are equal, all odd
numbered terms equal 2 . Since the the second term is 2 and all even numbered terms are equal,
all even numbered terms equal 2. Hence, the sum of any two consecutive terms of the sequence is
2 + ( 2 ) 0.6 (remember, 2 1. 4 ). Further, the product of any two consecutive terms of the
sequence is 2 ( 2 ) 2.8. Since 0.6 is greater than 2.8, Column A is larger. The answer is (A).

6. We are given a formula for the sum of the first n even, positive integers. Plugging n = 20 into this
formula yields

n(n + 1) = 20(20 + 1) = 20(21) = 420

The answer is (E).

7. Since each number above the bottom row is equal to three times the number immediately below it,
x = 3(18) = 54 and y = 3(3) = 9. Hence, x + y = 54 + 9 = 45. The answer is (A).

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8. The first term is even, and all subsequent terms are found by multiplying a number by 2. Hence, all
terms of the sequence are even. The answer is (B). Following is the sequence:

2, 10, 26, 58, . . .

9. Since every number in the sequence 1, 3, 2, . . . is the sum of the two immediately preceding
numbers, the forth term of the sequence is 5 = 3 + 2. The first 12 terms of this sequence are

1, 3, 2, 5, 7, 12, 19, 31, 50, 81, 131, 212, . . .

At least four numbers in this sequence are even: 2, 12, 50, and 212. The answer is (E).

w
10. Since adding any one of the first three terms to the term immediately following it yields , we get
2

w
w+x =
2
w
x+y=
2
w
y + 30 =
2

Subtracting the last equation from the second equation yields x 30 = 0. That is x = 30. Plugging x = 30
into the first equation yields
w
w + 30 =
2
Multiplying both sides by 2 yields 2w + 60 = w
Subtracting w from both sides yields w + 60 = 0
Finally, subtracting 60 from both sides yields w = 60
The answer is (A).

11. Observe that each term of the series in Column B is less than the corresponding term of the series in
Column A, except the first term. (Recall that squaring a fraction between 0 and 1 makes it smaller.) Hence,
the sum of the series in the Column B is less than the sum of the series in Column A. The answer is (A).

12. Distributing the 3 in Column A yields

1 1 1 1 1
3 + 2 + 3+ 4 + 5 =
3 3 3 3 3
3 3 3 3 3
+ 2 + 3+ 4 + 5 =
3 3 3 3 3
1 1 1 1
1+ + 2 + 3 + 4
3 3 3 3

This final expression is the same as the one in Column B. Hence, Column A and Column B are equal. The
answer is (C).