Section 2.

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Introduction of Sequence:
 Sequences are ordered lists of elements, used in
discrete mathematics in many ways.
 They can be used to represent solutions to certain
counting problems.
 They are also an important data structure in computer
science.
 The terms of a sequence can be specified by providing
a formula for each term of the sequence.

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Sequence
 A sequence is a discrete structure used to represent an
ordered list of numbers or elements.
 Example: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 is a sequence with five terms
 1,3,9,27,81,…3n,… is an infinite sequence

 A sequence is a function from a subset of the set of

integers (usually either the set{0, 1, 2,...} or the set {1, 2,
3,...}) to a set S. We use the notation an to denote the image
of the integer n.
 We call an a term of the sequence.
 A sequence is just like a list of elements usually written in a
row.
 What is the difference between sequence and series?

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Example:1
 Consider the sequence {an},
1
 where an = , an= a1, a2, a3, a4,...,
𝑛
1 1 1
 1, , , , …
2 3 4
 This sequence is harmonic when we take the reciprocal
of natural number

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Example:2
 Write the first four term of a sequence define by the
formula: bj=1+2j , for all integer j≥0.
 Solution:
 b0= 1+20 = 1+1 = 2
 b1= 1+21 = 1+2 = 3
 b2= 1+22 = 1+4 = 5
 b3= 1+23 = 1+8 = 9
 bj ={b0, b1, b2 , b3} = {2, 3, 5, 9}
 Remark:
 Formula: bj=1+2j , for all integer j≥0 define an infinite
sequence having infinite of values.

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Example:3
 Write the
𝑛
first four term of a sequence define by the formula:
−1 𝑛
Cn= , for all integer n≥1.
𝑛+1
 Solution:
−1 11 −1
 C1= =
1+1 2
−1 22 2
 C2= =
2+1 3
−1 33 −3
 C3= =
3+1 4
−1 44 4
 C4= =
4+1 5
 Remark:
 A sequence whose term alternate in sign is called an alternating
sequence

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Types of Sequences

 Arithmetic Progression
 Geometric Progression
 Fibonacci Sequence

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1. Arithmetic Progression
 A Sequence in which every term after the first term is
obtained from the preceding term by adding a constant
number is called arithmetic sequence or arithmetic
progression (A.P)
 In an arithmetic sequence, the difference between
consecutive terms is constant and the difference is denoted
by d.
 Examples:
 2,4,6,8,10,…, with a common difference of 2
 1,5,9,13,17,…, with a common difference of 4
 0,-5,-10,-15,…., with a common difference of -5
 X+a,X+3a,X+5a,…., Common difference=2a

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General form of an Arithmetic
Progression
 An arithmetic progression is a sequence of the form
 a, a + d,a + 2d,... ,a + nd, . . .
 Where a is the first term a and d be the common difference
of an Arithmetic sequence.
 If ai for i ≥0, represents the term of the sequence then
 a1=1st term=a+(1-1)d=a
 a2=2nd term=a+(2-1)d=a+d
 a3=3nd term=a+(3-1)d=a+2d
 a4=4nd term=a+(4-1)d=a+3d
 By summary
 an= nth term= a+(n-1)d for all integer n ≥1

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Example
 The sequences {sn} with sn = −1 + 4n and {tn} with
tn = 7 − 3n are both arithmetic progressions with initial
terms and common differences equal to −1 and 4, and 7
and −3, respectively, if we start at n = 0. The list of terms
s0, s1, s2, s3,... begins with
−1, 3, 7, 11,...,
and the list of terms t0, t1, t2, t3,... begins with
7, 4, 1, −2,....

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String in sequence
 Sequences of the form a1, a2,...,an are often used in
computer science.
 These finite sequences are also called strings.
 This string is also denoted by a1a2 ...an.
 The length of a string is the number of terms in string.
 The empty string, denoted by λ, is the string that has
no terms.
 The empty string has length zero
 What is the string length of ABCD?

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Strings
Definition: A string is a finite sequence of characters
from a finite set (an alphabet).
 Sequences of characters or bits are important in
computer science.
 The empty string is represented by λ.
 The string abcde has length 5.

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Examples: Arithmetic Progression

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Examples: Arithmetic Progression

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Examples: Arithmetic Progression

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Cont.. Example

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2. Geometric Progression

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2. Geometric Progression general
form

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2. Geometric Progression

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2. Geometric Progression

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2. Geometric Progression Example

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2. Geometric Progression

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Recurrence Relation

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Recurrence Relation Example
 Let {an} be a sequence that satisfies the recurrence
relation an = an−1 + 3 for n = 1, 2, 3,..., and suppose that
a0 = 2. What are a1, a2, and a3?
 Solution: by recurrence relation we see
 a1 = an-1+3=a1-1 + 3 =a0 + 3 =2+3= 5.
 a2 = a1 + 3 =5+3= 8
 a3 = a2 + 3 = 8+3=11.

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Recurrence Relation Example
 Let {an} be a sequence that satisfies the recurrence
relation an = an−1 − an−2 for n = 2, 3, 4,..., and suppose
that a0 = 3 and a1 = 5. What are a2 and a3?

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Recurrence Relation Solution
 We see from the recurrence relation that
 a2 = a1 − a0 = 5 − 3 = 2 and a3 = a2 − a1 = 2 − 5 = −3.
 We can find a4, a5, and each successive term in a
similar way.

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Solving Recurrence Relations
 Finding a formula for the nth term of the sequence
generated by a recurrence relation is called solving the
recurrence relation.
 Such a formula is called a closed formula.

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Close form
 A closed form of a sequence is an expression that
allows you to find the nth term of the sequence
directly, without needing to compute all the previous
terms.
 For example:Consider the sequence an=2n+1 for
n=1,2,3,…

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3.Fibonacci Sequence

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Useful sequences

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Factorial concept (Optional)
 A factorial is a mathematical operation that is used in
various areas of mathematics, particularly in
combinatorics, probability, and algebra.
 It is denoted by the symbol n!, where n is a non-
negative integer.

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Factorial concept (Optional)

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Series
 The sum of the terms of the sequence form a series, if
 A1,a2,a3,… represent a sequence of number then the
corresponding series is

SUMMATIONS

 By adding all in a series taking too much time so we

can use the summation which can generalize all the
values.

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Summation
 The process of adding a sequence of numbers, often
represented by the sum of terms in a series or
sequence.
 It is a fundamental operation in mathematics used to
calculate the total of a collection of numbers.
 denoted by the summation symbol sigma ∑
 The summation notation is written as:
 σ𝑛𝑖=1 𝑎𝑖
 Where i= 1st term and n is final term of the sequence

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Example
 Use summation notation to express the sum of the first
100 terms of the sequence {aj }, where aj = 1/j for j = 1, 2,
3,....
 Solution: The lower limit for the index of summation is
1, and the upper limit is 100. We write this sum as
100
1
෍
𝑗=1 j

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Summation:

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Example
 What is the value of σ5𝑗=1 𝑗2

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Example
 What is the value of σ5𝑗=1 𝑗2
 Solution:
 σ5𝑗=1 𝑗2 =12 + 22 + 32 + 42 + 52
= 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 + 25
= 55.

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Example
8
 What is the value of ෌k=4(−1)k

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Example
8
 What is the value of ෌k=4(−1)k
Solution:
8
෌k=4(−1)k = (−1)4 + (−1)5 + (−1)6 + (−1)7 + (−1)8
=1 + (−1) + 1 + (−1) + 1
=1

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Some useful close form of
summation

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