Arithmetic Sequences and Series - College Algebra | MATH 101, Study notes of Algebra

Download Arithmetic Sequences and Series - College Algebra | MATH 101 and more Study notes Algebra in PDF only on Docsity! 4/27/2009 1 Arithmetic Sequences & Series MATH 101 College Algebra S. Rook 2 Overview • Section 8.2 in the textbook: – Arithmetic Sequences – Arithmetic Series Arithmetic Sequences 4/27/2009 2 Arithmetic Sequences • Arithmetic sequence: a sequence where the difference of any two successive terms is equal to the same constant value ai+1 – ai = d for every natural number i where d is the difference • Ex: ; starts at -1 with a difference of 3 • Ex: starts at 2 with a difference ½ 4 43,,8,5,2,1 −− nK 2 3 ,, 2 7 ,3, 2 5 ,2 +n K Arithmetic Sequences (Continued) • The formula for the nth term of an arithmetic sequence is where a1 is the first term of the sequence and d is the difference between any two successive terms 5 ( )dnaan 11 −+= Arithmetic Sequences (Example) Ex 1: Find the indicated terms for the arithmetic series: a) Find the 12th term of the arithmetic sequence where the first term is -1 and the second term is 3 b) Find the 20th term of the arithmetic sequence where the first term is 2 and the fifth term is 4 6