Introduction to Sequences and Series

A sequence is an ordered set of numbers

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence in which the difference between each term and the term
preceding it is a constant called the common difference. Ex. 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, ….

A geometric sequence is a sequence in which the ratio of each term to the preceding term is a
constant called the common ratio. Ex. 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, ….

NOTE: Not all sequences are arithmetic or geometric!

A series is the sum of an ordered set of numbers.

Ex) 2+5+8+11+14+.. (Arithmetic Series)
Ex) 3+6+12+24+48+… (Geometric Series)

A finite series has a finite fixed number of terms whereas an infinite series has an infinite
number of terms.
Ex) 2+5+8+11+14+…+23 (finite series) vs. 2+5+8+11+14+… (infinite series)

Note: Sequences may begin with the same 3 or 4 terms, so it is necessary to list enough terms
to show a particular pattern
a) 5, 7, 11, 17, 25, … b) 5, 7, 11, 19, 35, …
49 343
c) 5, 7, 12, 19, 31, … d) 5, 7, 5 , 25 , …

Terms in a sequence are numbered with subscripts: 𝑡1 , 𝑡2 , 𝑡3 , … , 𝑡𝑛 , 𝑡𝑛+1 , … where 𝑡𝑛 is the general
or nth term and 𝑛 ∈ 𝑁.

Sample Questions:
1. Given the formula for the nth term, 𝑡𝑛 , find the first 4 terms of the following sequence
a) 𝑡𝑛 = 2𝑛 + 1 b) 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑛2 + 3

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2. Find the formula for the general term, 𝑡𝑛 , and use it to find the indicated term
a) 6, 11, 16, 21, … ; 𝑡100 b) 3, 9, 27, 81, … ; 𝑡7 c) 0, 3, 8, 15, 24, … 𝑡15

Recursion Formulas

A sequence is defined recursively if you have to calculate a term in a sequence from one or more
previous terms. The recursion formula consists of two parts:
1. Given value of 𝑡1 (or more terms if required)
2. A formula to calculate each successive term

Ex) Write the first five terms for each of the following sequences:

a) 𝑡1 = 11; 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑡𝑛−1 − 4; 𝑛 > 1 b) 𝑡1 = 2, 𝑡2 = 5; 𝑡𝑛 = −3𝑡𝑛−1 + 𝑡𝑛−2 ; 𝑛 > 2

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Arithmetic Sequences
Recall: A sequence is an ordered list of numbers

Consider the sequence: 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, …

Each term after the first term is found by adding the same number to the preceding
term
o This is called an arithmetic sequence
The fixed quantity added is called the common difference
o 𝑑 = 𝑡𝑛 − 𝑡𝑛−1 for any value of n

An arithmetic sequence with first term, 𝑎, and common difference, 𝑑, follows the following
pattern
𝑎, 𝑎 + 𝑑, 𝑎 + 2𝑑, 𝑎 + 3𝑑, 𝑎 + 4𝑑, …

The general term is: 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑, 𝑛𝜖𝑁, 𝑑𝜖𝑅 where 𝑡𝑛 is the nth term.

Ex 1) The first four terms of an arithmetic sequence are given. Determine 𝑡𝑛 and 𝑡20 .
7 5
4, 2 , 3, 2 , ….

Ex 2) Determine the number of terms in the arithmetic sequence

5,11, 17, 23, … , 119

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Ex 3) Determine 𝑡20 in the arithmetic sequence where 𝑡5 = 27 and 𝑡9 = 43.

Geometric Sequences
Consider the sequence: 2, 6, 18, 54, 162, …

Each successive term of the sequence after the first one is found by multiplying the previous
term by the constant 3.
The fixed multiplier is called the common ratio “r”
𝑡
o 𝑟=𝑡 𝑛
𝑛−1
Sequences that satisfy this property are called Geometric Sequences

A geometric sequence with the first term, a, and common ratio, r, follows the following pattern
𝑎, 𝑎𝑟, 𝑎𝑟 2 , 𝑎𝑟 3 , 𝑎𝑟 4 , … ..

The general term is: 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1 , 𝑛𝜖𝑁, 𝑟𝜖𝑅 where 𝑡𝑛 is the nth term.
Note: The exponent of r in each term is one less than the term number.

Ex 1) The first four terms of a geometric sequence are given. Determine 𝑡𝑛 and 𝑡10 .
10 20 40
5, − 3 , 9 , − 27 , ….

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Ex 2) Determine the number of terms in the geometric sequence
5, -10, 20, -40, ….., 1280

Ex 3) Determine 𝑡9 in the geometric sequence where 𝑡3 = 12 and 𝑡6 = −96.

Ex 4) Write a recursive formula for each sequence and classify the sequence as arithmetic,
geometric, or neither.

a) 7, 2, -3, -8, … b) 5, 35, 245, 1715, … c) 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, …

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Warm up – Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences
1. For the sequence 2, -6, 18, -54

a) decide whether it is arithmetic, geometric, both, or neither._____________

b) Find the general term. __________________________

c) Find the 12th term d) Find what term is -39366

2. A geometric sequence has a common ratio of -4. Find 𝑡8 if 𝑡5 = 3072.

3. For the sequence 10, 6, 2, -2, -6, ….

a) Find the general term. ______________________________

b) Find n if 𝑡𝑛 = −6854. c) Prove that -116 is not a term

of the sequence.

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4. In an arithmetic sequence, 𝑡6 = 12 and 𝑡20 = −58. Find the sequence (i.e. state the first 5
terms).

5. In a geometric sequence 𝑡5 = 4 and 𝑡10 = 972. Find the sequence.

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Arithmetic Series
Sequences Series
2, 4, 6, 8, … 2+4+6+8+…
1 2 3 1 2 3
1, 2 , 3 , 4 , … 1+2+3+4+⋯
𝑡1 , 𝑡2 , 𝑡3 , 𝑡4 , … 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡3 + 𝑡4 , …

The sum of the terms of a sequence is called a series

An arithmetic series is created by adding the terms of an arithmetic sequence.

In general: 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑆𝑛−1 + 𝑡𝑛 or 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑆𝑛 − 𝑆𝑛−1

The partial sum, 𝑆𝑛 , of a series is the sum of a finite number of terms from the series
𝑆𝑛 = 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡3 + ⋯ + 𝑡𝑛

Gauss’s method of finding an arithmetic series in general:

𝑆𝑛 = 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡3 + ⋯ + 𝑡𝑛
+ 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑡𝑛 + 𝑡𝑛−1 + 𝑡𝑛−2 + ⋯ 𝑡1

2𝑆𝑛 = 𝑛(𝑡1 + 𝑡𝑛 )

For the general arithmetic series 𝑎 + (𝑎 + 𝑑) + (𝑎 + 2𝑑) + ⋯ + 𝑡𝑛 , with first term, 𝑎, and common
difference, 𝑑, the sum of the first 𝑛 terms is:

Arithmetic Series Formula:

first term last term
Sn (number of terms)
2
a tn
n
2
a [a (n 1)d ]
n
2
n
2a (n 1)d
2

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Ex 1) Determine 𝑆30 for the arithmetic series 5+9+13+17+…+(4n+1).

Ex 2) Evaluate 2+5+8+11+…+98.

Ex 3) In an arithmetic sequence 𝑡5 = 31 and 𝑡18 = 122. Find 𝑆15.

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Geometric Series
Geometric Sequence Geometric Series
3, 12, 48, 192,… 3+12+48+192+…
𝑡1 , 𝑡2 , 𝑡3 , 𝑡4 , … 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡3 + 𝑡4 , …

A geometric series is created by adding the terms of an geometric sequence.

Method for finding Geometric Series Formula

Recall: 𝑡𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1 and 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑡1 + 𝑡2 + 𝑡3 + 𝑡4 , … + 𝑡𝑛 .

Therefore: 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎 + 𝑎𝑟 + 𝑎𝑟 2 + 𝑎𝑟 3 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1

The trick: Find 𝑟 ∙ 𝑆𝑛 and compute 𝑟 ∙ 𝑆𝑛 − 𝑆𝑛

𝑟𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎𝑟 + 𝑎𝑟 2 + 𝑎𝑟 3 + 𝑎𝑟 4 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1 + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛
− 𝑆𝑛 = 𝑎 + 𝑎𝑟 + 𝑎𝑟 2 + 𝑎𝑟 3 + 𝑎𝑟 4 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑟 𝑛−1

For the general geometric series a ar ar 2 ar 3 ........t n , with first term, a, and common
ratio, r, the sum of n terms can be calculated using:

a(r n 1) a(1 r n )
Sn , where r 1 or Sn , where r 1
r 1 1 r

Ex 1) For the geometric series with 𝑎 = 7 and 𝑟 = 2, determine 𝑆9 .

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Ex 2) Find the sum of the first 12 terms of the geometric sequence 8, -24, 72, -…

Ex 3) Determine the sum of the geometric series 15 -45 + 135 -405 + … -32805.

Ex 4) In a geometric sequence 𝑡4 = 2058 and 𝑡7 = 705894, find 𝑆5 .

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Warm up – Arithmetic and Geometric Series
1. Each of two summer jobs is for 3 months, or 12 weeks. Job A pays $500 per month. Job B pays
$100 per week with a $5 raise each week, if the person performs well. Which is the better paying
job?

2. The sum of the first 4 terms in an arithmetic series is 38 and the sum of the first 3 terms is 21.
Find the series.

3. You go to your parents and tell them that you would like an allowance for all of your hard work. Your
allowance starts at 1¢ and after every day your allowance doubles. Your allowance for one week would
look like: 1¢, 2¢, 4¢, 8¢, 16¢, 32¢, 64¢ for each day totalling $1.27. If this allowance continued for 3
weeks
a) How much money would your parents have to give you on the 21st day?

b) How much money would you have earned over this 21 day period?

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7yd
15
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 The Mathematics of Investing Money:
Simple and Compound Interest

HOW DO BANKS MAKE MONEY???

Ex: Suppose Amy deposits $1000 into a commercial bank. As a thank you the bank pays her a certain
fraction of the $1000 she put in, called . Let’s say they give her $50 after one year or
5% interest. At the same time, Marc wants to buy a computer and needs to borrow $1000. To borrow
$1000, the bank charges him a fee of 12% interest or $_________ for one year of borrowing.

How much money did the bank make in the above scenario?

SIMPLE INTEREST
Simple interest: interest that is calculated on the principal only

1) Jessica is considering investing $1000 in a bank that pays 5% simple interest per year.
a) How much interest does she have after 4 years?

b) How much money does she have in total?

c) Complete the following chart to see how this scenario relate to sequences:

Year Calculation of Total Amount Total Amount

0
1
2
3
4

d) What kind of sequence is created by listing her total amounts in order? Explain.

2) Create a formula to calculate simple interest, I. Use P to represent the principal invested, r to
represent the annual rate of interest and t to represent the number of years of the investment.

3) For how many days will $1500 have to be invested at 6% simple interest in order to earn $200
interest?

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COMPOUND INTEREST
Compound Interest: interest that is paid on the principal and previously earned interest

In an investment that pays compound interest, the interest that is made at the end of one pay period is
added to the initial amount invested, so that the interest for the next pay period is based on a larger
investment. i.e. the interest earns interest.

1) Jessica does some more research and finds a bank that pays 5% interest compounded annually.

a) Complete the chart to show how her accumulated amount increases. What does she accumulate after
4 years of compounded interest?

Years Calculation of Total Amount Total Amount

0
1
2
3
4

b) How much money would she accumulate after 10 years? After n years?

c) How does compound interest relate to sequences?

2) Jessica does some more research and finds a different bank that pays 5% interest compounded
semi-annually.

a) Complete the chart to see a pattern to help find how her accumulated amount increases. What does
she accumulate after 4 years?

Years Calculation of Total Amount Total Amount

0
0.5
1
1.5
4

b) How much money would she accumulate after 10 years? After t years?

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 In general, the accumulated amount of an investment with compound interest is given by the
formula:
A= P(1+i)n
where,
A= the accumulated amount P= the principal invested
i = the interest rate n= the number of compound periods

3) Laura invests $3500 at 6% interest compounded quarterly. How much is her investment worth after
10 years?

PRESENT VALUE

1) How much money would a grade 9 student need to invest now at 5% interest compounded annually in
order to have the $8000 needed for first year university tuition fees in 4 years?

In the above question, you determined the present value of $4000 due in 4 years at 5% interest
compounded annually. In other words, you found today’s value of having $4000, 4 years from now.

The present value of an amount is the principal that you must invest today in order to grow to the
amount at a certain interest rate and for a certain amount of time.

2) Isolate P in the compound interest formula to create a formula for present value.

3) Find the present value of having a million dollars 30 years from now, assuming an annual compound
interest rate of 10%, compounded semi-annually.

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 Compounding Periods

Interest can be calculated at many different intervals. This is called the compounding frequency. The
frequency at which the interest is compounded will affect the values for ‘i’ and ‘n’ in the formula
A=P(1+i)n.

FREQUENCY # of times a year FREQUENCY # of times a year

Annually or yearly 1 Bi-weekly 26
Semi-annually 2 Weekly 52
Quarterly 4 Daily 365
Monthly 12

Determining ‘n’ and ‘i’:

Since ‘n’ is the number of compounding periods, you simply multiply the length of the investment in years
by the frequency of the compounding.

Ex: a 4 year long investment compounded bi-weekly

n = 4 x 26 = 104

Since ‘i’ is the interest rate per compounding period, you simply divide the annual interest rate by the
frequency of the compounding.

Ex: an investment at 8% per year compounded bi-weekly

i = 0.08 ÷ 26 = 0.003077

Complete the chart:

Length of Annual Compounding # of times ‘n’ ‘i’

investment interest rate frequency a year
3 years 8% Quarterly

6 years 5% Weekly

12 years 4% Bi-weekly

2.5 years 12% Monthly

8 years 8% Daily

40 months 6% Monthly

4 years 10% Semi-annually

2 ½ years 5.2% Weekly

6 years 8.25% Daily

7 years 6.95% Monthly

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Warm up – Simple and Compound Interest
1. Jeremy invests $500 in an account that earns 6% per annum simple interest. Determine the
value of his investment after 5 years.

2. Jenney invests $5000 in a savings account that pays 5.25% per annum compounded annually.
Determine the amount in the account after 20 years.

3. How much would Victoria have to invest now to accumulate $2800 if the money was invested
at 6% per annum compounded monthly for 10 years.

4. Tony invested $2500 8 years ago in a GIC (Guaranteed Investment Certificate) that paid
interest at a rate that was compounded monthly. If he has $3726.46, what was the interest
rate?

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Future Value Annuities
DEFINITION: An annuity is a series of equal deposits made at equal time intervals. Each deposit is
made at the end of each time interval.

Example #1: John is saving up for a down-payment on his house. He saves $2000 each year on his
birthday, from 18th to his 24th inclusive. If his investment earns 8%/a compounded annually, what will the
size of his down-payment be?

Solution:
The money he invests on his 18th birthday will collect interest for 6 years.
A = $2000(1.08)6 = $3173.75
The money he invests on his 19th birthday will collect interest for 5 years.
A = $2000(1.08)5 = $2938.66
The money he invests on his 20th birthday will collect interest for 4 years.
A = $2000(1.08)4 = $2720.98
The money he invests on his 21st birthday will collect interest for 3 years.
A = $2000(1.08)3 = $2519.42
The money he invests on his 22nd birthday will collect interest for 2 years.
A = $2000(1.08)2 = $2332.80
The money he invests on his 23rd birthday will collect interest for 1 year.
A = $2000(1.08)6 = $2160.00
The money he invests on his 24th birthday will collect no interest.
A = $2000 = $2000

The total principal that John invested is $2000x7 = 14 000

The total amount of his investment is the sum of each individual amount.

$3173.75 + $2938.66 + $2720.98 + $2519.42 + $2332.80 + $2160.00 + $2000 = $17 845.61

A diagram called a time line can help to organize this information

Year 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Deposit $2000 $2000 $2000 $2000 $2000 $2000 $2000

$2000
$2000(1.08)1 =$2160.00
$2000(1.08)2 =$2332.80
$2000(1.08)3 =$2519.42
$2000(1.08)4 =$2720.98
$2000(1.08)5 =$2938.66
$2000(1.08)6 =$3173.75

The balance is the sum of the amounts:

$3173.75 + $2938.66 + $2720.98 + $2519.42 + $2332.80 + $2160.00 + $2000 = $17 845.61

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We can look at this annuity as a geometric series. The amounts can be written in exponential form:

Total = 2000 + 2000(1.08)1 + 2000(1.08)2 + 2000(1.08)3 + 2000(1.08)4 + 2000(1.08)5 + 2000(1.08)6

This is a geometric series that has a first term 2000, a ratio of 1.08 and 7 terms.

S7 = 2000(1.087 - 1)
1.08 – 1

= 2000(1.087 - 1)
0.08

= 17 845.61

The formula for the amount of an annuity can be given by:

A = R[(1+i) n – 1] Where:
i A is the amount in dollars
R is the regular deposit in dollars
i is the interest rate per compounding period
n is the number of deposits

Example #2: Shelly is saving up for a trip. She can afford to save $50 each month. If her investment
earns 6%/annum compounded monthly, how much will she have at the end of 3 years?

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Example #3: Bob deposits $1000 a years at the end of each year for 5 years. If the account pays
interest at a rate of 9%/a compounded annually, what is his accumulated amount at the end of 5 years?

Example #4: Suppose you deposit $300 every 6 months for 4 years into an account that pays 5%/a
interest compounded semi-annually. How much will you accumulate?

Example #5: Genevieve would like to have $4000 in 3 years to help pay for university. What must she
deposit every month into an account that pays 6% interest compounded monthly?

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Warm-Up Annuities (FV)

1. If you live at home and go to University, chances are the minimum tuition for 4 years you would have
to pay is $35,000. If a bank offers you a savings account which earns 4%/a interest compounded
semi-annually.
a. How much money would you have to place in the bank every 6 months in order to pay your
debt?
b. How much money will you save with the savings account?

2. Kelsey invests $50 each month at 8% compounded monthly. How much will she have at the end of 10
years?

3. Horace invests $5000 at the end of each year at 10% compounded yearly. Determine what his
investment will be worth in 6 years.

25
4. Allison wants $6000 at the end of 3 years. If her investment can earn 6% compounded monthly, how
much should she invest each month?

Challenge:
5. Suppose you wish to purchase a condo and you need to pay a down payment of $40,000. You are able
to save $750 every month and put this money into a savings account which earns interest at 3%/a
compounded monthly. How long would you have to wait till you could pay the down payment?
[50.12781271 months or 4 and a half years]

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Present Value Annuities
The present value of an annuity is today’s value of having equally spaced payments some time in the
future.

Example #1: Ritchie Rich wants to invest a sum of money into an account that pays 8% interest
compounded annually, so that every year for 5 years he can withdraw $500. What sum should he invest
today?
(This is equivalent to asking: What is the present value of having $500 a year for the next 6 years at 8%
interest?)

Again, instead of drawing time diagrams every time we want to calculate the present value of an annuity,
we can use the above example to build a formula to do this for us.
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The Present Value P of equal payments/withdrawal of R dollars that are paid/withdrawn at the end of
each period for n periods, at an interest rate of i per period is

P=

This formula can be used when:

1) the payment interval is the same as the compounding interval.
2) the payment is made at the end of each compounding period.

Example #2: The University of Toronto is setting up a scholarship that will pay out $4000 a semester for
the next ten years. What must U of T invest today at 6% compounded semi-annually in order to make
these scholarship payments in the future?

Example #3: Marci needs $17 500 to pay for a car. The dealership arranges a loan of this amount with a
finance company at an interest rate of 1.9% compounded monthly for 4 years. What are Marci’s monthly
payments?

28
 Problem Solving: Sequences and Series

1. ln an auditorium there are 25 seats in the front row. Each row after that has two more
seats. How many seats are there in all if the auditorium has fifteen rows? [585]

2. A pile of logs has 25 logs in the bottom row. 24 logs in the next row, and so on. If there are
12 logs in the top row, how many logs are there in all in the pile? [259]

3. In a lottery the first prize is $1 000 000. Each succeeding prize is 1/2 of the preceding
prize.
a) How much is the sixth prize? [$31 250]
b) How much money is allotted in 7 prizes? [$1 984 375]

4. Sunil climbed 60 m up a cliff in the first hour of climbing. In each of the next 4 h, he
climbed only 75% of the distance of the previous hour. How far had he climbed ater 5
hours? [183m]

5. To belong to a fitness club, there are two possible ways of paying your membership. Pay
$0.10 the first week, $0.15 the second week, $0.20 the third week and so on, or pay a fixed
flat rate of$12/week. If a person belonged for 20 weeks, which would be the better plan?
[first plan]

6. Under conditions favourable to growth, certain bacteria can divide into two every 20
minutes. How many times the original number of bacteria will there be at the end of a 3 h
period? [512 times]

7. For a rock concert the seats are arranged in semi-circles. The number of seats in each
semi-circle increases by 8 seats. Lf the front row has 75 seats, how many seats are there in
all for 38 semi-circles?
8. Find n if
a) 28+26+24+…+tn=154 [n=7 or 22] b) 3+9+27+…+tn=9840 [n=8]

9. a) Find the sum of the whole numbers less than 200 which end in 9. [2080]
b) Find the sum of all two-digit odd numbers. [2575]
c ) Find the sum of six terms of the arithmetic series (𝑎 + 𝑏)2 + (𝑎2 + 𝑏 2 ) + (𝑎 − 𝑏)2 +
⋯ [6𝑎2 − 18𝑎𝑏 + 6𝑏 2 ]

10. For a geometric series. S4:S8 = 1:17. Find the common ratio for the series. [𝑟 = ±2]
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 Money, Money, Money

1. Jeremy has $5000 to invest and has 2 choices:

Option A: 5% simple interest for 5 years.
Option B: 0.75°/o per annum compounded weekly for 5 years.
Which option should he choose? [A]

2. When William is born, William’s grandfather places $1000 in an account for William’s college
tuition. The interest of the money is compounded annually. When William is 16 years old, he
discovers there is $2540.35 in the trust account. What is the annual rate of interest being
paid on the trust account? [6%]

3. The Pilons are buying a home in the future. They want to accumulate enough money for a
$30000 down payment. They plan on depositing $475 at the end of each month in an account
that pays 6%/a, compounded monthly.
1. Draw a time line to represent the annuity.
2. Determine how long it will take them to save for the down payment. [55 months]
3. Determine the monthly deposit needed to buy a home at the end of the next four
years. [$554.55]

4. Hilary’s grandparents would like to have $150 000 when they retire in 9 years. How much
should they invest now, at an interest rate of 5.75%/a, compounded annually? [$90 691.77)]

5. The Bayview math department is planning a fundraising event to help finance a trip to Greece
in 2 years. They plan to invest the money from this event for 24 months in an account with
an interest rate of 4.5%/a, compounded monthly. The math department hopes the money
from this investment will provide $8000 toward the cost of the trip.
a) How much money does the math department need to raise to achieve this goal?
[$7312.68]
b) How much interest should the math department earn to meet this goal? [$687.32]

6. Since the birth of his daughter, Kay, Mr. Kemp has deposited $450 at the end of every
three months in an education savings plan. The interest rate is 8%/a, compounded quarterly.
What will be the fund's value when Kay turns 17?
a) Draw a time line to represent the annuity.
b) Find the amount in the savings plan when Kay turns 17 and the total interest earned.
[63 995.64, interest earned=$33 395.64]

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