Sequences – Quadratic – Demonstration

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1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+2 +2 +2 Quadratic = 1n2
+4 +6 +8 + 10

96, 10, 16, 24, 34

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 6 10 16 24 34
Quadratic: 1n2 1 4 9 16 25
Remainder 5 6 7 8 9 n+4

1n2 + n + 4
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+2 +2 +2 Quadratic = 1n2
+5 +7 +9 + 11

96, 11, 18, 27, 38

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 6 11 18 27 38
Quadratic: 1n2 1 4 9 16 25
Remainder 5 7 9 11 13 2n + 3

1n2 + 2n + 3
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+2 +2 +2 Quadratic = 1n2
+6 +8 + 10 + 12

92, 8, 16, 26, 38

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 2 8 16 26 38
Quadratic: 1n2 1 4 9 16 25
Remainder 1 4 7 10 13 3n − 2

1n2 + 3n − 2
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+2 +2 +2 Quadratic = 1n2
+1 +3 +5 +7

93, 4, 7, 12, 19
n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 3 4 7 12 19
Quadratic: 1n2 1 4 9 16 25
Remainder 2 0 −2 −4 −6 −2n + 4

1n2 − 2n + 4
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+1 +1 +1 Quadratic = 0.5n2
+ 3.5 + 4.5 + 5.5 + 6.5

93.5, 7, 11.5, 17, 23.5

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 3.5 7 11.5 17 23.5
Quadratic: 0.5n2 0.5 2 4.5 8 12.5
Remainder 3 5 7 9 11 2n + 1

0.5n2 + 2n + 1
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+1 +1 +1 Quadratic = 0.5n2
+ 5.5 + 6.5 + 7.5 + 8.5

92.5, 8, 14.5, 22, 30.5

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 2.5 8 14.5 22 30.5
Quadratic: 0.5n2 0.5 2 4.5 8 12.5
Remainder 2 6 10 14 18 4n − 2

0.5n2 + 4n − 2
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+1 +1 +1 Quadratic = 0.5n2
− 1.5 − 0.5 + 0.5 + 1.5

9−4.5, −6, −6.5, −6, −4.5

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original −4.5 −6 −6.5 −6 −4.5
Quadratic: 0.5n2 0.5 2 4.5 8 12.5
Remainder −5 −8 −11 −14 −17 −3n − 2

0.5n2 − 3n − 2
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+4 +4 +4 Quadratic = 2n2
+7 + 11 + 15 + 19

96, 13, 24, 39, 58

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 6 13 24 39 58
Quadratic: 2n2 2 8 18 32 50
Remainder 4 5 6 7 8 n+3

2n2 + n + 3
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence
+4 +4 +4 Quadratic = 2n2
+3 +7 + 11 + 15

94, 7, 14, 25, 40

n 1 2 3 4 5
Original 4 7 14 25 40
Quadratic: 2n2 2 8 18 32 50
Remainder 2 −1 −4 −7 −10 −3n + 5

2n2 − 3n + 5
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence

Find the nth term for

these quadratic sequences

a) 8, 14, 22, 32, 44

b) −2.5, 1, 5.5, 11, 17.5

c) 0, 2, 8, 18, 32
1) Find the 2nd difference & halve it to find the n2 coefficient Quadratic Sequences
2) Subtract the quadratic from the original sequence
3) Express the remainder as a linear sequence
4) Join the quadratic with the linear sequence

Find the nth term for

these quadratic sequences

a) 8, 14, 22, 32, 44

n2 + 3n + 4

b) −2.5, 1, 5.5, 11, 17.5

0.5n2 + 2n − 5

c) 0, 2, 8, 18, 32
2n2 − 4n + 2
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