Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

Sequence and Series

1. Special Sequences

1) Arithmetic Sequences

In an Arithmetic Sequence the difference between one term and the next is a constant.
In other words, you just add some value each time ... on to infinity.

Example:
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, ...
This sequence has a difference of 3 between each number.
Its Rule is xn = 3n-2

In General you 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")
And you can make the rule by:
xn = a + d(n-1), (We use "n-1" because d is not used in the 1st term).

2) Geometric Sequences

In a Geometric Sequence each term is found by multiplying the previous term by a constant.

Example:
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, ...
This sequence has a factor of 2 between each number.
Its Rule is xn = 2n

In General you could write an arithmetic sequence like this: {a, ar, ar2, ar3, ... }
where:
a is the first term, and
r is the factor between the terms (called the "common ratio")

Note: r should not be 0 or 1.

• When r = 0, you get the sequence {a,0,0,...} which is not geometric
• When r = 1, you get the sequence {a,a,a,...} which is not geometric

And the rule is:

xn = ar(n-1), (We use "n-1" because ar0 is the 1st term)

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

3) Triangular Numbers
1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, ...
This sequence is generated from a pattern of dots which form a triangle.
By adding another row of dots and counting all the dots we can find the next number of the
sequence:

But it is easier to use this Rule: xn = n ( n + 1) / 2 .

Example:
the 5th Triangular Number is x5 = 5(5+1)/2 = 15, and the sixth is x6 = 6(6+1)/2 = 21

4) Square Numbers
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, ...
The next number is made by squaring where it is in the pattern.
Rule is xn = n 2

5) Cube Numbers
1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343, 512, 729, ...
The next number is made by cubing where it is in the pattern.
Rule xn = n3

6) Fibonacci Sequence

This is the Fibonacci Sequence

0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, ...
The next number is found by adding the two numbers before it together:
• The 2 is found by adding the two numbers before it (1+1)
• The 21 is found by adding the two numbers before it (8+13)
etc...

Rule is xn = xn −1 + xn −2
That rule is interesting because it depends on the values of the previous two terms.
Rules like that are called recursive formulas.

The Fibonacci Sequence is numbered from 0 onwards like this:

n= 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 ...
xn = 0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 ...
Example: term "6" would be calculated like this:

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

x6 = x6-1 + x6-2 = x5 + x4 = 5 + 3 = 8

2. Series and Partial Sums

Now you know about sequences, the next thing to learn about is how to sum them up. Read our page
on Partial Sums.

When you sum up just part of a sequence it is called a Partial Sum.

But when you sum up an infinite sequence it is called a "Series" (it sounds like another name for
sequence, but it is actually a sum).

Example: Odd numbers

Sequence: {1, 3, 5, 7,...}

Series: 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 +...
Partial Sum of first 3 terms: 1 + 3 + 5

1) Definition of a Series

Example
Consider the sequence
an = n2 {1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ...}

We make the following definition.

S1 = a1 = 1
S2 = a1 + a2 = 1 + 5 = 5
S3 = a1 + a2 + a3 = 1 + 4 + 9 = 13

Exercise 1
Find S4 and S5.
S4 = 29 , S5 = 54
In general, for a sequence {an}, we define a new sequence called the sequence of partial sums by
Sn = a1 + a2 + a3 + ... + an .

Exercise 2
Find S5 for 1) an = 2n + 1; 2) an = (-1)n .

1) an = 2n + 1, S5 = 35.
2) an = (-1)n, S5 = -1.

2) Sigma Notation

“ Σ “ instead of using the " ... " notation, we use the following notation:

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

Example 1
6
1

i =3 i
= 1/3 + 1/4 + 1/5 + 1/6

We read this as
"The sum from i equals 3 to 6 of 1 over i."
i is called the index of summation. Think of sigma as a big plus sign. The bottom number tells you
where to start and the top number tells you where to end.

Example 2
6

1 + i
i =2
2
= (1 + 4) + (1 + 9) + (1 + 16) + ( 1 + 25) + (1 + 36)

Example 3
Write 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + ... + 23 in sigma notation.

Solution
Step 1
Identify an (this goes to the right of the sigma sign)
We see that an = 2n + 1

Step 2
Solve for n to find out what n the first term uses. (this goes on the bottom of the sigma sign)
Since 2n+ 1 = 3 has solution n = 1
the first term uses n = 1

Step 3
Find out what n the last term uses (this goes on the top of the sigma sign)
We solve: 2n + 1 = 23 has solution n = 12

Step 4
last n
Write  an
i = first n
12
for the example,  (2i + 1)
i =1

3) Arithmetic Series

First we see that

1+ 2 + 3 + ... + 100 = 101 + 101 + ... + 101 (50 times) = 101(50)

In general
n(n -1)
1 + 2 + 3 + ... + n =
2

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

Example 1
What is S = 1 + 4 + 7 + 10 + 13 +... + 46?

Solution
S = 1 + (1 + 1(3)) + (1 + 2(3)) + (1 + 3(3)) + ... + (1 + 15(3))
= (1 + 1 + ... + 1) + 3(1 + 2 + 3 + ... + 15)
= 16 + 3(15)(16)/2

In General
d (n − 1)(n)
Sn = n(a1 ) +
2
= 1/2 [2n(a1) + d(n - 1)(n)]
= 1/2[2n(a1)+ dn2 - dn]
= (n/2)[2(a1)+ dn - d]= (n/2)[2(a1) + d(n - 1)]

Or Alternatively Sn = n/2(a1 + an)

Example 2
How much will I receive over my 35 year career if my starting salary is $40,000, and I receive a
1,000 salary raise for each year I work here?

Solution
We have the series:
40,000 + 41,000 + 42,000 + ... + 74,000
= 35/2 (40,000 + 74,000) = $1,995,500

4) Geometric Series

a1 (1 − r n )
Theorem Sn =
1− r

Example 1
Find the sum 5 + 10 + 20 + 40 + ... + 2560.

Solution: a1 = 5 and r = 2 and n = 10

a (1 − r n ) 5(1 − 210 )
so that: Sn = 1 = = 5115
1− r 1− 2
a1
For an infinite geometric series if |r| <1 then S =
1− r

Example 2
How much is going to taxes? Suppose that we track a tax refund of $100. Each time money is spent
8% goes towards taxes and the rest gets spent again. How much of the original $100 will go back to
taxes?

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

Solution
a1 = 8, r = 0.92 (The next amount to be taxed is 92% less than the current amount)

a1 8 8
S = = = = 100
1 − r 1 − 0.92 0.08

Hence all of the refund will eventually find its way back to the government coffers.

Formula

n(n − 1)
1) 1 + 2 + 3 +  + n =
2

2) 1 + 2 + 3 +  + (2n − 1) = n 2

3) 2 + 4 + 6 +  + (2n) = n(n + 1)

n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
4) 12 + 22 + 32 +  + n2 =
6

n(4n2 − 1)
5) 12 + 32 + 52 +  + (2n − 1) 2 =
3

n 2 (n + 1)2
6) 13 + 23 + 33 +  + n3 =
4

7) 13 + 33 + 53 +  + (2n − 1)3 = n 2 (2n 2 − 1)

►In-class questions

T2
1. Let T = 17 . Given that 1 − r + r 3 − r 4 + r 6 − r 7 + = , compute r .
1+ T + T 2

2. Let T = 21. Define the sequence a1 , a2 , a3 ,  by a1 = 4 2, a2 = 2 , and for n  3 , an = an −1an − 2 .

Compute the least value of k such that ak is an integer multiple of 2 
T 

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Euclid Stage 3 Class 4 Notes

3. A sequence T ₁, T ₂,  is called ( a, b ) − nacci if T ₁ = a, T ₂ = b , and for n  3 , Tn = Tn −1 + Tn − 2 .

Compute the number of ( a, b ) − nacci sequences of positive integers such that b  a and there
exists an integer k  3 with Tk = 50 .

4. The increasing infinite arithmetic sequence of integers x1 , x2 , x3 ,  contains the terms 17!
and 18!. Compute the greatest integer X for which X! must also appear in the sequence.

5. Compute the third least positive integer n such that each of n, n + 1, and n + 2 is a product
of exactly two (not necessarily distinct) primes.

6. In the sequence an  with general term an = n3 − ( 2n + 1) , does there exist a term that is
2

divisible by 2006?

7. Let a1 = a2 = a3 = 1 . For n > 3, let an be the number of real numbers x such that
x4 − 2an−1 x 2 + an−2an−3 = 0
Compute the sum a 1 + a2 +  + a1000 .