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Arithmetic Sequence S N (A + A) / 2 Problem 1

The document discusses arithmetic and geometric sequences. It provides examples of finding formulas for the nth term, calculating specific term values, and summing sequence terms. For arithmetic sequences, it covers finding the nth term formula given the first term and common difference, and using the formula. For geometric sequences, it discusses using the definition and nth term formula to calculate terms, common ratios, and exact values. Problems include finding specific terms, common differences/ratios, and summing sequence terms.

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John Paul Ababa Landoy
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
505 views

Arithmetic Sequence S N (A + A) / 2 Problem 1

The document discusses arithmetic and geometric sequences. It provides examples of finding formulas for the nth term, calculating specific term values, and summing sequence terms. For arithmetic sequences, it covers finding the nth term formula given the first term and common difference, and using the formula. For geometric sequences, it discusses using the definition and nth term formula to calculate terms, common ratios, and exact values. Problems include finding specific terms, common differences/ratios, and summing sequence terms.

Uploaded by

John Paul Ababa Landoy
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Arithmetic Sequence

sn = n (a1 + an) / 2
Problem 1:
The first term of an arithmetic sequence is equal to 6 and the common difference is equal to 3. Find a formula for the
n th term and the value of the 50 th term
Solution to Problem 1:

Use the value of the common difference d = 3 and the first term a1 = 6 in the formula for the n th term given
above
an = a1 + (n - 1 )d
= 6 + 3 (n - 1)
=3n+3

The 50 th term is found by setting n = 50 in the above formula.


a50 = 3 (50) + 3 = 153

Problem 2:
The first term of an arithmetic sequence is equal to 200 and the common difference is equal to
-10. Find the value of the 20 th term
Solution to Problem 2:

Use the value of the common difference d = -10 and the first term a1 = 200 in the formula for the n th term
given above and then apply it to the 20 th term
a20 = 200 + (-10) (20 - 1 ) = 10

Problem 3:
An arithmetic sequence has a common difference equal to 10 and its 6 th term is equal to 52. Find its 15 th term.
Solution to Problem 3:

We use the n th term formula for the 6 th term, which is known, to write
a6 = 52 = a1 + 10 (6 - 1 )

The above equation allows us to calculate a1.


a1 = 2

Now that we know the first term and the common difference, we use the n th term formula to find the 15 th
term as follows.

a15 = 2 + 10 (15 - 1) = 142

Problem 4:
An arithmetic sequence has a its 5 th term equal to 22 and its 15 th term equal to 62. Find its 100 th term.
Solution to Problem 4:

We use the n th term formula for the 5 th and 15 th terms to write


a5 = a1 + (5 - 1 ) d = 22
a15 = a1 + (15 - 1 ) d = 62

We obtain a system of 2 linear equations where the unknown are a1 and d. Subtract the right and left term of
the two equations to obtain
62 - 22 = 14 d - 4 d

Solve for d.
d=4

Now use the value of d in one of the equations to find a1.


a1 + (5 - 1 ) 4 = 22

Solve for a1 to obtain.


a1 = 6

Now that we have calculated a1 and d we use them in the n th term formula to find the 100 th formula.
a100 = 6 + 4 (100 - 1 )= 402

Problem 5:
Find the sum of all the integers from 1 to 1000.
Solution to Problem 5:

The sequence of integers starting from 1 to 1000 is given by


1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , ... , 1000

The above sequence has 1000 terms. The first term is 1 and the last term is 1000 and the common
difference is equal to 1. We have the formula that gives the sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic
sequence knowing the first and last term of the sequence and the number of terms (see formula above).
s1000 = 1000 (1 + 1000) / 2 = 500500

Geometric Sequence
Problem 1:
Find the terms a2, a3, a4 and a5 of a geometric sequence if a1 = 10 and the common ratio r = - 1.
Solution to Problem 1:

Use the definition of a geometric sequence


a2 = a1 * r = 10 * (-1) = - 10
a3 = a2 * r = - 10 * (-1) = 10
a4 = a3 * r = 10 * (-1) = - 10
a5 = a4 * r = - 10 * (-1) = 10

Problem 2:
Find the 10 th term of a geometric sequence if a1 = 45 and the common ration r = 0.2.
Solution to Problem 2:

Use the formula an = a1 * rn-1 that gives the n th term to find a10 as follows
a10 = a1 * rn-1
= 45 * 0.29 = 2.304 * 10-5

Problem 3:
Find a20 of a geometric sequence if the first few terms of the sequence are given by

-1/2 , 1/4 , -1/8 , 1 / 16 , ...


Solution to Problem 3:

We first use the first few terms to find the common ratio
r = a2 / a1 = (1/4) / (-1/2) = -1/2
r = a3 / a2 = (-1/8) / (1/4) = -1/2
r = a4 / a3 = (1/16) / (-1/8) = -1/2

The common ration r = -1/2. We now use the formula an = a1 * rn-1 for the n th term to find a20 as follows.
a20 = a1 * r20-1
= (-1/2) * (-1/2)20-1 = 1 / (2020)

Problem 4:
Given the terms a10 = 3 / 512 and a15 = 3 / 16384 of a geometric sequence, find the exact value of the term a30 of the
sequence.
Solution to Problem 4:

We first use the formula for the n th term to write a10 and a15 as follows
a10 = a1 * r10-1 = 3 / 512
a15 = a1 * r15-1 = 3 / 16384

We now divide the terms a10 and a15 to write


a15 / a10 = (a1 * r14 / a1 * r9) = (3 / 16384) / (3 / 512)

Solve for r to obtain.


r5 = 1 / 32 which gives r = 1/2

We now use a10 to find a1 as follows.


a10 = 3 / 512 = a1(1/2)9

Solve for a1 to obtain.


a1 = 3

We now use the formula for the n th term to find a30 as follows.
a30 = 3(1/2)29 = 3 / 536870912

Problem 5:
Find the sum

6
S = 3k-1
k=1

Solution to Problem 5:

We first rewrite the sum S as follows


S = 1 + 3 + 9 + 27 + 81 + 243 = 364

Another method is to first note that the terms making the sum are those of an arithmetic sequence with a 1 =
1 and r = 3 using the formula sn = a1 (1 - rn) / (1 - r) with n = 6.
s6 = 1 (1 - 36) / (1 - 3) = 364

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