Arithmetic Sequence

and Series
Arithmetic Sequence
and Series
An arithmetic progression (AP),
also called an arithmetic
sequence, is a sequence of
numbers which differ from each
other by a common difference.
 Important
terminologies
• Initial term: In an arithmetic progression,
the first number in the series is called the
"initial term.“

• Common difference: The value by which

consecutive terms increase or decrease is
called the "common difference."
Recursive
formula
Term = Pevious Term + Common Difference
OR
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎𝑛−1 + 𝑑
 explicit
formula
Term = I. T + C. D. × No. of steps from the I. T.
OR
𝑎𝑛 = 𝑎1 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑
examples
What is the sequence described by
𝑎𝑛 = 2 + 4(𝑛 − 1)?

2, 6, 10, 14, 18 …
examples
What is the explicit formula for the
arithmetic progression 3, 6, 9, 12 …?

𝑎𝑛 = 3𝑛
examples
What is the 7th term of the arithmetic
progression 2, 7, 12, 17, …?

𝑎7 = 32
Warm up questions
If 9, b, c, 18 is an arithmetic
progression, what is the value of c?

𝑐 = 15
Warm up questions
Suppose a, b, c, d, ... is an arithmetic
sequence with b = 8. What is the
arithmetic mean of a, b, and c?

8
 Warm up questions
Which set/s show/s arithmetic sequence?
A:{16,12,8,4}
B:{8,3,-2,-7}

Both A and B
 Warm up questions
Which set/s show/s arithmetic sequence?
A:{6,4,2,0,-2,-4,-6}
B:{6,4,2,0,2,4,6}

A only
 Warm up questions
My doctor gave me some pills with the following
instructions: "Take 12 pills on the first day, and then
reduce the amount by 3 pills on each subsequent day
until you don't have to take any." When will be the first
day that I don't have to take any pills?

Fifth day
Warm up questions
An arithmetic progression has first term
a1 = 2 and d = 6 What is the 5th term of
the progression?

𝑎5 = 26
Good job!
Sum of arithmetic
progression
The sum of the first n terms of an AP with initial
term a and common difference d is given by:
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = 2𝑎1 + 𝑛 − 1 𝑑
2
𝑛
𝑆𝑛 = 𝑇1 + 𝑇𝑛
2
𝑆𝑛 = 𝑛 × 𝑀𝑇
Example
What is the sum of the first 100 positive
integers?

𝑆𝑛 = 5050
Example
What is the sum of the first 50 odd
positive integers?

𝑆𝑛 = 2500
 properties of arithmetic
progression

If the common difference is positive, i.e. d > 0,

then the arithmetic progression is an
increasing sequence and satisfies the
condition 𝑎𝑛−1 < 𝑎𝑛 : 𝑎1 < 𝑎2 < 𝑎3 < ⋯
 properties of arithmetic
progression

If the common difference is negative, i.e. d < 0,

then the arithmetic progression is an
increasing sequence and satisfies the
condition 𝑎𝑛−1 > 𝑎𝑛 : 𝑎1 > 𝑎2 > 𝑎3 > ⋯
 properties of arithmetic
progression
If 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 are in arithmetic progression, then
2𝑏 = 𝑎 + 𝑐.

If each term of an AP is increased, decreased,

multiplied, or divided by a constant non-zero
number, then the resulting sequence is also in
AP.
 properties of arithmetic
progression

If the nth term of any sequence is of the

form, 𝑎𝑛 + 𝑏 then the sequence is in AP
where the common difference is a.
Example
100001 + 100003 + 10005 + ⋯ + 199999
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + ⋯ + 99999

3
Nice!
challenges
 Level 1
(5 items)
1 point for each correct answer
Level 1
Consider an arithmetic progression whose first term
and common difference are both 100. If the nth term
of this progression is equal to 100!, find n.

𝑛 = 99!
Level 1
An arithmetic sequence has 11 terms which sum to
220. What is the middle term in the sequence?

M. T. = 20
Level 1
What is the value of n in the following expression?
1 + 2 + ⋯ + 𝑛 − 1 + 𝑛 + 𝑛 − 1 + ⋯ + 2 + 1 = 289

n = 17
Level 1
In an arithmetic progression of 200 terms, the 27th
term is equal to 2 and the 174th term is equal to 4.
Find the sum of all the terms of the arithmetic
progression.

𝑆𝑛 = 600
Level 1
100 + 99 + 98 + ⋯ + 50 =?

𝑆𝑛 = 3825
Count your score
 Level 2
(5 items)
2 points for each correct answer
Level 2
1 + 2 − 3 − 4 + 5 + 6 − 7 − 8 + ⋯ + 301 + 302 =?

𝑆𝑛 = 303
Level 2
Real numbers 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , … 𝑎99 are in AP. Suppose
that 𝑎2 + 𝑎5 + 𝑎8 + ⋯ + 𝑎98 = 205.
99

Find the value of ෍ 𝑎𝑘 .

𝑘=1

99

෍ 𝑎𝑘 = 615
𝑘=1
Level 2
𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , 𝑎3 , … 𝑎98 are terms in an arithmetic
progression with 𝑑 = 1 such that their sum is 137.
What is the value of 𝑎2 + 𝑎4 + 𝑎6 + ⋯ + 𝑎98 ?

93
Level 2
What is the minimum number of terms used to make
a total value of 513 if 54 + 51 + 48 + 45 + ⋯?

n = 18
Level 2
Consider an arithmetic progression with 2 and 101
as its first term and last term respectively. If the sum
of the first 5 terms of this arithmetic progression is
40, find the last five terms.

𝑆𝑛 = 475
Count your score
 Level 3
(5 items)
3 points for each correct answer
Level 3
𝑎
, 𝑎𝑏, 𝑎
− 𝑏, 𝑎 + 𝑏, … form an arithmetic progression
𝑏
in order. Find the next term of the sequence.

117
𝑎5 = −
40
Level 3
The interior angles of a convex polygon are in an
arithmetic progression. If the smallest angle is 100°
and the common difference is 4° , then find the
number of sides.

n=5
Level 3
Suppose that all the terms of an arithmetic
progression (AP) are positive integers. If the ratio of
the sum of the first nine terms to the sum of the first
eleven terms is 8 : 11, and the tenth term lies
between 190 and 200, what is the common
difference of this AP?

d = 15
Level 3
In a non-constant arithmetic progression, the 2019
times 2019th term is equal to 2020 times the 2020th
term. Which term of this arithmetic progression is 0?

n = 4039
Level 3
Consider an arithmetic progression with terms 𝑎1 , 𝑎2 , … and
1 1
the sum of the first 𝑘 terms is 𝑆𝑘 . If 𝑎19 = ; 𝑎20 = , then
20 19
𝑐
𝑆380 can be expressed in the form 𝑏 + where 𝑏, 𝑐, 𝑑 ∈ ℜ
𝑑
and gcd 𝑐, 𝑑 = 1. Find 𝑏 + 𝑐 + 𝑑.

382
Count your score
 Level 4
(3 items)
7 points for each correct answer
Level 4
In a non-constant arithmetic progression, the 2020
times 2020th term is equal to 2021 times the 2021th
term. Show that the 4041th term of this arithmetic
progression is 0.
Level 4
2 2 2
Let 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐 be real numbers such that 𝑎 , 𝑏 , 𝑐
form an arithmetic progression. Prove that the
1 1 1
numbers , , form also an arithmetic
𝑏+𝑐 𝑐+𝑎 𝑎+𝑏
progression.
Level 4
Let 1, 2, … 𝑛 form an AP. Denote 𝑘 as any number
from 1 to 𝑛 (inclusive). Suppose there exist 𝑥 ∈ ℜ
between 𝑘 and 𝑛 such that the sum of the numbers
from its left to 𝑘 is equal to the sum of the numbers
from its right to 𝑛. Show that
𝑛2 +𝑛
i) 𝑥 = ; for k=1
2

𝑛2 +𝑘 2 +𝑛−𝑘
ii) 𝑥 = ; for k≠1
2
Count your score
(score +1)
Highest possible score is 50