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Arithmetic Sequence

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where the difference between successive terms is constant. The document provides formulas for finding the nth term and sum of terms in an arithmetic sequence. Examples are worked through to find the nth term when given a sequence, identify which term is a given value, and calculate the sum of terms up to that value.

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Kim Resurreccion Cornel
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171 views3 pages

Arithmetic Sequence

An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where the difference between successive terms is constant. The document provides formulas for finding the nth term and sum of terms in an arithmetic sequence. Examples are worked through to find the nth term when given a sequence, identify which term is a given value, and calculate the sum of terms up to that value.

Uploaded by

Kim Resurreccion Cornel
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Arithmetic Sequence

The arithmetic sequence is the sequence where the common difference remains constant between any
two successive terms. Let us recall what is a sequence. A sequence is a collection of numbers that follow
a pattern. For example, the sequence 1, 6, 11, 16, … is an arithmetic sequence because there is a pattern
where each number is obtained by adding 5 to its previous term. We have two arithmetic sequence
formulas.

The formula for finding nth term of an arithmetic sequence

The formula to find the sum of first n terms of an arithmetic sequence

If we want to find any term in the arithmetic sequence then we can use the arithmetic sequence
formula. Let us learn the definition of an arithmetic sequence and arithmetic sequence formulas along
with derivations and a lot more examples for a better understanding.

What is an Arithmetic Sequence?

An arithmetic sequence is defined in two ways. It is a "sequence where the differences between every
two successive terms are the same" (or) In an arithmetic sequence, "every term is obtained by adding a
fixed number (positive or negative or zero) to its previous term". The following is an arithmetic sequence
as every term is obtained by adding a fixed number 4 to its previous term.
 Example 1: Find the nth term of the arithmetic sequence -5, -7/2, -2, ....

Solution:

The given sequence is -5, -7/2, -2, ...

Here, the first term is a = -5, and the common difference is, d = -(7/2) - (-5) = -2 - (-7/2) = ... = 3/2.

The nth term of an arithmetic sequence is given by

an = a1 + (n−1)d

an = -5 +(n - 1) (3/2)

= -5+ (3/2)n - 3/2

= 3n/2 - 13/2

Answer: The nth term of the given arithmetic sequence is, a n = 3n/2 - 13/2.

 Example 2: Which term of the arithmetic sequence -3, -8, -13, -18,... is -248?

Solution:

The given arithmetic sequence is -3, -8, -13, -18,...

The first term is, a = -3

The common difference is, d = -8 - (-3) = -13 - (-8) = ... = -5.

It is given that the nth term is, an = -248.

Substitute all these values in the nth term of an arithmetic sequence formula,

an = a1 + (n−1)d


⇒ -248 = -3 + (-5)(n - 1)
⇒ -248 = -3 -5n + 5
⇒ -248 = 2 - 5n
⇒ -250 = -5n
⇒ n = 50

Answer: -248 is the 50th term of the given sequence.

 Example 3: Find the sum of the arithmetic sequence -3, -8, -13, -18,.., -248.

Solution:

This sequence is the same as the one that is given in Example 2.

There we found that a = -3, d = -5, and n = 50.

So we have to find the sum of the 50 terms of the given arithmetic series.

Sn = n/2[a1 + an]


S50 = [50 (-3 - 248)]/2 = -6275

Answer: The sum of the given arithmetic sequence is -6275

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