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Geometric Progression, Sequences & Series Revision Notes From A-Level Maths Tutor

A geometrical progression or series is one where one term divided by a previous term will give a constant number - called the 'common ratio'.Here you will find proofs of the summation of terms and the geometrical mean, along with a number of worked examples.

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A-level Maths Tutor
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4K views

Geometric Progression, Sequences & Series Revision Notes From A-Level Maths Tutor

A geometrical progression or series is one where one term divided by a previous term will give a constant number - called the 'common ratio'.Here you will find proofs of the summation of terms and the geometrical mean, along with a number of worked examples.

Uploaded by

A-level Maths Tutor
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Geometrical Series

Geometrical series structure

A geometricall series starts with the first term, usually given the letter 'a'. For each
subsequent term of the series the first term is multiplied by another term. The term is a
multiple of the letter 'r' called 'the common ratio '.

So the series has the structure:

where Snis the sum to 'n' terms, the letter 'l' is the last term.

The common ratio 'r' is calculated by dividing any term by the term before it.

The nth term(sometimes called the 'general term')is given by:

Proof of the sum of a geometrical series

NB an alternative formula for r > 1 , just multiply numerator & denominator by -1

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Example #1

In a geometrical progression the sum of the 3rd & 4th terms is 60 and the sum of the 4th
& 5th terms is 120.

Find the 1st term and the common ratio.

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Example #2

What is the smallest number of terms of the geometrical progression

2 + 6 + 18 + 54 + 162 ...

that will give a total greater than 1000?

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Geometic Mean

This is a method of finding a term sandwiched between two other terms.

So if we have a sequence of terms: a b c and a and c are known. The ratio of successive
terms gives the common ratio. Equating these:

Example

If the 4th term of a geometrical progression is 40 and the 6th is 160, what is the 5th
term?

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]


Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Sum to infinity

This concerns geometrical progressions that as the number of terms increase, the value of
the sum approaches one specific number. This number is called the sum to infinity.

In this example as 'n' increases the sum approaches 2.

So if the term rn tends to zero, with increasing n the equation for the sum to n terms
changes:

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Sequences & Series Pure Maths topic notes

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

Example

Express 0.055555... as a fraction.

A-level Maths Tutor www.a-levelmathstutor.com [email protected]

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