A7 Sequences

KS4 Mathematics
A7 Sequences
1 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Contents
A7 Sequences
A A7.1 Generating sequences from rules
A A7.2 Linear sequences
A A7.3 Quadratic sequences
A A7.4 Geometric sequences
A A7.5 Other types of sequence

Sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is a succession of numbers that

follow a given rule.
Each number in a sequence is called a term.
For example,
2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, . . .
1st term 6th term
If terms are next to each other they are referred to as

consecutive terms.

Predicting terms in a sequence
Sometimes, we can predict how a sequence will continue by

looking for patterns.
For example,
What are the next two terms in the following sequence,
102, 95, 88, 81, 74 . . . ?
Look at the difference between each consecutive term.

102 95 88 81 74 67 60
–7 –7 –7 –7 –7 –7
We can predict that this sequence continues by subtracting
7 each time. We can use this to find the next two terms.

Predicting terms in a sequence
If we are not given the rule for a sequence, or if it is not

generated from a practical context, we cannot be certain how
it will continue.
For example, a sequence starts with the numbers 2, 4, 8, . . .
How could this sequence continue?
2 4 8 14 22 32 44
+2 +4 +6 +8 +10 +12
2 4 8 16 32 64 128
×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2

Defining sequences
There are two ways to define a sequence.

The first is to use a term-to-term rule.
To define a sequence using a term-to-term rule we need to
know the first term in the sequence and what must be done
to each term to give the value of the next term.
The second is to use a position-to-term rule.
To define a sequence using a position-to-term rule we use
a formula for the nth term of the sequence.
Term-to-term rules are usually easier to find for a given
sequence.
Position-to-term rules are harder to find for a given sequence
but are more useful for finding any term in a sequence.

Sequences from term-to-term rules
Write the first five terms of each sequence

given the first term and the term-to-term rule.
1st term Term-to-term rule First five terms

–7 Add 3 –7, –4, –1, 2, 5
100 Subtract 8 100, 92, 84, 76, 68
3 Double 3, 6, 12, 24, 48
0.04 Multiply by 10 0.04, 0.4, 4, 40, 400
1.3 Subtract 0.6 1.3, 0.7, 0.1, –0.5, –1.1
111 Divide by 5 111, 22.2, 4.44, 0.888, 0.1776

Sequences from position-to-term rules
When a sequence is defined by a position-to-term rule it can

sometimes help to put the terms in a table. For example,
The nth term in a sequence is n2, where n is the term’s
position in the sequence.
Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th … nth
Term 1 4 9 16 25 … n2
Each term can be found by squaring its position in the

sequence.
What is the 20th term in this sequence?
202 = 400
Writing sequences from position-to-term rules
The nth term, or the general term, of a sequence is often

called un.
The 1st term is then called u1,
the 2nd term u2,
the 3rd term u3,
the 4th term u4,
the 5th term u5 and so on.
Any term in the sequence can then be found by substituting

its position number into the formula for un.

For example, suppose the nth term of a sequence is 4n – 5.

We can write this rule as:
un = 4n – 5
Find the first five terms in the sequence.
u1 = 4 × 1 – 5 = –1
u2 = 4 × 2 – 5 = 3
u3 = 4 × 3 – 5 = 7
u4 = 4 × 4 – 5 = 11
u5 = 4 × 5 – 5 = 15
The first five terms in the sequence are: –1, 3, 7, 11 and 15.

The nth term of a sequence is 2n2 + 3.

We can write this rule as:
un = 2n2 + 3
Find the first 4 terms in the sequence.
u1 = 2 × 12 + 3 = 5
u2 = 2 × 22 + 3 = 11
u3 = 2 × 32 + 3 = 21
u4 = 2 × 42 + 3 = 35
The first 4 terms in the sequence are: 5, 11, 21, and 35.
This sequence is a quadratic sequence.


Matching sequences to rules

Contents
A7 Sequences

Sequences that increase in equal steps
To work out a rule for a sequence it is often helpful to find the

difference between consecutive terms.
For example, look at the difference between each term in
this sequence:
2, 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, 38, 44, . . .
+6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6 +6
This sequence starts with 2 and increases by adding 6 each

time.
Every term in this sequence is 4 less than a multiple of 6.

Sequences that decrease in equal steps
Can you work out the next three terms in this sequence?
10, 7, 4, 1, –2, –5, –8, –11, . . .
–3 –3 –3 –3 –3 –3 –3
How did you work these out?
This sequence starts with 10 and decreases by subtracting 3

from each term to give the next term.
When the difference between each term in a sequence is

always the same we have a linear or arithmetic sequence.

Generating linear sequences
When we describe linear sequences we call the constant

difference between consecutive terms the common
difference, d.
We call the first term in a linear sequence a.
If we are given the values of a and d in a linear sequence
then we can use them to generate the sequence.
For example, if a linear sequence has a = 5 and d = –3,
we have the sequence:
5, 2, –1, –4, –7, –10, ...
Linear sequences can also be generated given the rule for
the nth term in the sequence.

The nth term of a linear sequence
Suppose we are given a linear sequence and asked to

find the nth term, un, of the sequence. For example,
Find the nth term of the sequence 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, …
This sequence continues by adding 3 each time and so

the common difference d is 3.
We compare the terms in the sequence to the multiples of 3.
Position 1 2 3 4 5 … n
×3 ×3 ×3 ×3 ×3 ×3
Multiples
3 6 9 12 15 3n
of 3
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
Term 4 7 10 13 16 … 3n + 1
un = 3n + 1.
Find the nth term of the sequence 5, 3, 1, –1, –3, …
This sequence continues by subtracting 2 each time and

so the common difference d is –2.
We compare the terms in the sequence to the multiples of –2.
× –2 × –2 × –2 × –2 × –2 × –2
Multiples
–2 –4 –6 –8 –10 –2n
of –2
+7 +7 +7 +7 +7 +7
Term 5 3 1 –1 –3 … 7 – 2n
un = 7 – 2n.

If a is the first term of a linear sequence and d is the common

difference, we can find the general form of the nth term as
follows:
u1 = a,
u2 = a + d,
u3 = a + 2d,
u4 = a + 3d,
un = a + (n – 1)d,
Multiplying out the bracket we have un = a + dn – d.
The nth term of a linear sequence with first term a and common
difference d is:
(a – d) is the value
un = dn + (a – d) of the 0th term.

Plotting terms
We can also find the nth term of a linear sequence by plotting

the value of each given term in the sequence against its
position number. For example,
The sequence 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 … can be shown graphically:
The points lie on a straight line.
The equation of the line can be
Value of term (un)
written in the form y = mx + c.

The value of the gradient m corresponds
to the difference between the terms.
The value of the y-intercept c
corresponds to the 0th term, to give
Position number (n) un = 2n + 1
Finding the nth term of a linear sequence

Tiling patterns
The following patterns are made from tiles:
Pattern 1
1 tile Pattern 2
5 tiles Pattern 3
9 tiles Pattern 4
13 tiles
How many tiles will there be in the next pattern?
How many tiles will there be in the 20th pattern?

Tiling patterns
To work out the number of tiles in the next pattern we can

look at the difference between consecutive terms in the
sequence:
1, 5, 9, 13, 17
+4 +4 +4 +4
The difference between each term is always equal to 4 and

so we can use this to find the next term.
Using this pattern, we can predict that there will be 17 tiles in

the next pattern.

Tiling patterns
To work out how many tiles there will be in the 20th pattern
we can find the rule for the nth term in the sequence.
Look at the pattern made by the differences:
1, 5, 9, 13, 17
+4 +4 +4 +4
This is a linear sequence and so the nth term will be of the

form un = dn + c, where d is the constant difference between
the terms.
For this sequence the constant difference d = 4.
How can we find the value of c?

Tiling patterns
We can find the rule for the nth term by comparing the
sequence to multiples of 4.
×4 ×4 ×4 ×4 ×4 ×4
Multiples
4 8 12 16 20 4n
of 4
–3 –3 –3 –3 –3 –3
Term 1 5 9 13 17 … 4n – 3
un = 4n – 3.
We can use this formula to predict the number of tiles in the

20th pattern:
u20 = 4 × 20 – 3 = 77
Contents
A7 Sequences

Sequences that increase in increasing steps
Some sequences increase or decrease in unequal steps.
For example, look at the differences between terms in this

sequence:
4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 19, 25, 32, . . .
+1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7
This sequence starts with 4 and increases by adding

consecutive whole numbers to each term.
The differences between the terms form a linear sequence.

Sequences that decrease in decreasing steps
7, 6.9, 6.7, 6.4, 6, 5.5, 4.9, 4.2, . . .
–0.1 –0.2 –0.3 –0.4 –0.5 –0.6 –0.7
This sequence starts with 7 and decreases by subtracting

0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, …
With sequences of this type it is often helpful to find a second

row of differences.

Using a second row of differences
1, 3, 8, 16, 27, 41, 58, 78

First row of
differences +2 +5 +8 +11 +14 +17 +20
Second row of
differences +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Look at the differences between terms.

A sequence is formed by the first row of differences so we
look at the second row of differences.
This shows that the differences increase by 3 each time.

Quadratic sequences
When the second row of differences produces a constant

number, the sequence is called a quadratic sequence.
This is because the rule for the nth term of the sequence is a
quadratic expression of the form
un = an2 + bn + c
where a, b and c are constants and a ≠ 0.
The simplest quadratic sequences is the sequence of square
numbers.
1, 4, 9, 16, 25
+3 +5 +7 +9
+2 +2 +2
The constant second difference is 2 and the nth term is n2.

Investigating quadratic sequences

The nth term of a quadratic sequence
When un = an2 + bn + c the value of a can be

found by halving the value of the second
difference, which is always equal to 2a.
We can prove this as follows,
un = an2 + bn + c
u1 = a × 12 + b × 1 + c = a + b + c
u2 = a × 22 + b × 2 + c = 4a + 2b + c
u3 = a × 32 + b × 3 + c = 9a + 3b + c
u4 = a × 42 + b × 4 + c = 16a + 4b + c
u5 = a × 52 + b × 5 + c = 25a + 5b + c
This gives us the first five terms of a general quadratic sequence.

Let’s find the first and second differences for these general
terms.
a + b + c 4a + 2b + c 9a + 3b + c 16a + 4b + c 25a + 5b + c
3a + b 5a + b 7a + b 9a + b
2a 2a 2a
This shows that the second difference is always 2a when

un = an2 + bn + c.

When un = an2 + bn + c the value of c can be found by

calculating the value of the 0th term, u0.

un = an2 + bn + c
u0 = a × 02 + b × 0 + c
u0 = c
Of course, the 0th term is not really part of the sequence. We

can easily work it out though by looking at the sequence
formed by the first row of differences and counting back from
the first term.

When un = an2 + bn + c the value of b can be found by

subtracting (a + c) from the value of the first term.

un = an2 + bn + c
u1 = a × 12 + b × 1 + c
u1 = a + b + c
Rearranging this formula to make b the subject gives,
b = u1 – (a + c)
If we find the value of a and c first, we can then use them and
the value of the first term, to find b.

Find the nth term of the sequence, 4, 9, 18, 31, 48, …
Let’s start by looking at the first and second differences.

4, 9, 18, 31, 48
+5 +9 +13 +17
+4 +4 +4
The second differences are constant and so the nth term is in
the form un = an2 + bn + c.
Let’s find a, b and c.
The second difference is 4, so we know 2a = 4
a=2
Let’s start by looking at the first and second differences.

3, 4, 9, 18, 31, 48
+1 +5 +9 +13 +17
+4 +4 +4 +4
The value of c is the same as the value for the 0th term.
We can find this by continuing the pattern in the differences
backwards from the first term.
The 0th term is 3, so:
c=3
Putting a = 2 and c = 3 into un =an2 + bn + c gives us

un = 2n2 + bn + 3. We can use this to write an expression for
the first term:
un = 2n2 + bn + 3
u1 = 2 × 12 + b × 1 + 3
u1 = 2 + b + 3
u1 = b + 5
The first term in the sequence is 4, so:
4=b+5
b = –1

Once we have found the values of a, b, and c we can use

them in un = an2 + bn + c to give the nth term.
We have found that for the sequence 4, 9, 18, 31, 48, …
a = 2, b = –1 and c = 3,
un = 2n2 – n + 3
We can check this rule by substituting a chosen value for n

into the formula and making sure that it corresponds to the
required term in the sequence.
For example, when n = 5 we have,
u5 = 2 × 52 – 5 + 3
= 48
Check the rule for other terms in the sequence.
This is the sequence of triangular numbers.

1, 3, 6, 10, 15
+2 +3 +4 +5
+1 +1 +1
The second differences are constant and so the nth term is in
the form un =an2 + bn + c.
Let’s find a, b and c.
The second difference is 1, so 2a = 1
a=½
This is the sequence of triangular numbers.

0, 1, 3, 6, 10, 15
+1 +2 +3 +4 +5
+1 +1 +1 +1
The value of c is the same as the value for the 0th term.
We can find this by continuing the pattern in the differences
backwards from the first term.
The 0th term is 0, so:
c=0
Putting a = ½ and c = 0 into un =an2 + bn + c gives us

un = ½n2 + bn. We can use this to write an expression for the
first term:
un = ½n2 + bn
u1 = ½ × 12 + b × 1
u1 = ½ + b
The first term in the sequence is 1, so
1=½+b
b=½

Once we have found the values of a, b, and c we can use

them in an2 + bn + c to give the nth term.
We have found that for the sequence 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, …
a = ½, b = ½ and c = 0;
n2 n
un = +
2 2
or
n2 + n
un =
2
Checking, when n = 5, we have
u5 = ½(52 + 5)
= 15
Check the rule for other terms in the sequence.
Finding the nth term of a quadratic sequence

Tiling patterns
The following patterns are made from tiles,
Pattern 1
1 tile Pattern 2
5 tiles Pattern 3
13 tiles Pattern 4
25 tiles
How many tiles will there be in the next pattern?
How many tiles will there be in the 20th pattern?

Tiling patterns
To work out the number of tiles in the next pattern we can

look at the difference between consecutive terms in the
sequence,
1, 5, 13, 25, 41
+4 +8 +12 +16
+4 +4 +4
If the second difference is always equal to 4 then we can use

this to find the next term.
Using this pattern we can predict that there will be 41 tiles in
the next pattern.

Tiling patterns
Look at the pattern made by the differences,
1, 5, 13, 25, 41
+4 +8 +12 +16
+4 +4 +4
The second difference is constant and so the nth term will be

a quadratic of the form un = an2 + bn + c.
The second difference is always equal to 2a:
2a = 4
a=2
Tiling patterns
1, 1, 5, 13, 25, 41
+0 +4 +8 +12 +16
+4 +4 +4 +4
The value of c is equal to the 0th term.
The 0th term is equal to 1, so:
c=1

Tiling patterns
1, 5, 13, 25, 41
+4 +8 +12 +16
+4 +4 +4
If a = 2 and c = 1 then un = 2n2 + bn + 1,
u1 = 2 + b + 1
u1 = b + 3
1 is the first
term. 1=b+3
b = –2
Tiling patterns
We can now substitute a=2

b = –2
c=1
into the general form for the nth term of the quadratic sequence,
an2 + bn + c, to give us the following rule for the nth term:
un = 2n2 – 2n + 1
We can now use this formula to find the value of the 20th
term.
u20 = 2 × 202 – 2 × 20 + 1
= 800 – 40 + 1
= 761
We can predict that there will be 761 tiles in the 20th pattern.

Contents
A7 Sequences

Sequences that increase by multiplying
Some sequences increase or decrease by multiplying or

dividing each term by a constant factor.
For example, look at this sequence:
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, . . .
×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2 ×2
This sequence starts with 2 and increases by multiplying the

previous term by 2.
All of the terms in this sequence are powers of 2.

Sequences that decrease by dividing
1 1
1024, 256, 64, 16, 4, 1, 4
, 16
, ...
÷4 ÷4 ÷4 ÷4 ÷4 ÷4 ÷4
This sequence starts with 1024 and decreases by dividing

by 4 each time.
We could also continue this sequence by multiplying each
term by 14 to give the next term.

Geometric sequences
Sequences that go from one term to the next by multiplying

by a constant amount are called geometric sequences.
The amount that each term is multiplied by to get the next
term is called the common ratio of the sequence.
The common ratio r of a geometric sequence can be found
by dividing any term in the sequence by the one before it.
For example,
Find the common ratio for the following geometric sequence:
8, 12, 18, 27, 40.5, …
r = 12 ÷ 8 = 1.5
The sequence continues by multiplying the previous term by 1.5.

Continuing geometric sequences

The nth term of a geometric sequence
Suppose we are given a geometric sequence and asked

to find the nth term un of the sequence. For example:
The first term of this sequence is 3 and it continues by

multiplying the previous term by 2 each time. We can write
this sequence as follows:
u1 = 3
u2 = 6 = 3 × 2
u3 = 12 = 3 × 2 × 2 = 3 × 22
u4 = 24 = 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 3 × 23
u5 = 24 = 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 3 × 24
un = 3 × 2(n – 1)
The nth term of a geometric sequence
In general, if the first term of a geometric sequence is a and

the common ratio is r, then we can find the general form of
the nth term as follows:
u1 = a,
u2 = a × r,
u3 = a × r2,
u4 = a × r3,
u5 = a × r4,
un = a × rn – 1,
The nth term of a geometric sequence with first term a and
common ratio r is
un = arn – 1
Geometric sequences in real-life
Geometric sequences often occur in real-life situations

where there is a repeated percentage change.
For example, £800 is invested in an account with an annual
interest rate of 5%.
Write a formula for the value of the

investment at the beginning of the nth year.
Every year the amount in the account is multiplied by 1.05.

The amount in the account at the beginning of each year
forms a geometric sequence with £800 as the first term and
1.05 as the common ratio.
£800, £840, £882, £926.10, …
×1.05 ×1.05 ×1.05

Geometric sequences in real-life
Geometric sequences often occur in real-life situations

where there is a repeated percentage change.
For example, £800 is invested in an account with an annual
interest rate of 5%.
Write a formula for the value of the

investment at the beginning of the nth year.
We can write the sequence as,

u1 = £800
u2 = £800 × 1.05
u3 = £800 × 1.052
u4 = £800 × 1.053
un = £800 × 1.05n – 1
Contents
A7 Sequences

Fraction sequences
The terms in the following sequence are all fractions:

2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6, …
3 6 9 12 15
Find the next two terms in the sequence.

Look at the sequence formed by the numerators and the
sequence formed by the denominators separately.
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1
2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6, 7, 8, …
3 6 9 12 15 18 21
+3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3

Fraction sequences
The terms in the following sequence are all fractions,

2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6, …
3 6 9 12 15
Find the formula for the nth term of the sequence.
The sequence formed The sequence formed

by the numerators is: by the numerators is:
u1 = 2 u1 = 3
u2 = 3 u2 = 6
u3 = 4 u3 = 9
un = n + 1 un = 3n

Fraction sequences
The terms in the following sequence are all fractions:

2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6, …
3 6 9 12 15
Find the formula for the nth term of the sequence.
Given that the nth term for the numerators is n + 1 and the nth
term for the denominators is 3n, we can write the formula for
the nth term of the above sequence as:
n+1
un =
3n

The Fibonacci Sequence
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, . . .
1+1 1+2 2+3 3+5 5+8 8+13 13+21 21+34
This sequence starts 1, 1 and each term is found by

adding together the two previous terms.
This sequence is called the Fibonacci Sequence after the

Italian mathematician who first wrote about it.

The nth term of the Fibonacci Sequence
The Fibonacci Sequence is an example of a sequence for

which the general term cannot be written in terms of its
position in the sequence.
To find any given term we have to know the value of
the previous two terms.
We can write: u1 = 1
u2 = 1
u3 = u2 + u1
u4 = u3 + u2
u5 = u4 + u3
The nth term can then be written as:
un = un – 1 + un – 2

The nth term of the Fibonacci sequence
The formula un = un – 1 + un – 2 is called an iterative formula.
The sequence cannot be defined by this formula alone. We

have to be given the value of the first two terms.
Can you use this formula to find the

100th term in the sequence?
Using this formula would give us,
u100 = u99 + u98
All this tells us is that the 100th term is equal to the sum of the
99th term and the 98th term.
The only way to find the 100th term is to use a computer or
spend some time doing a lot of arithmetic!

Using iterative formulae to generate sequences
Write down the first five terms of the

sequence generated by the iterative formula
un = 2un – 1 + 1
when u1 = 3.
u1 = 3
u2 = 6 + 1 = 7
u3 = 14 + 1 = 15
u4 = 30 + 1 = 31
u5 = 62 + 1 = 63
The first five terms of the sequence are 3, 7, 15, 31, 63, …
Can you find the formula for the
nth term of this sequence?

A7 Sequences

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KS4 Mathematics

1 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

A A7.1 Generating sequences from rules

A A7.2 Linear sequences

A A7.3 Quadratic sequences

A A7.4 Geometric sequences

A A7.5 Other types of sequence

2 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

In mathematics, a sequence is a succession of numbers that

Each number in a sequence is called a term.

2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, . . .

1st term 6th term

If terms are next to each other they are referred to as

3 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Sometimes, we can predict how a sequence will continue by

Look at the difference between each consecutive term.

4 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

If we are not given the rule for a sequence, or if it is not

How could this sequence continue?

5 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

There are two ways to define a sequence.

6 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Write the first five terms of each sequence

1st term Term-to-term rule First five terms

7 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

When a sequence is defined by a position-to-term rule it can

Position 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th … nth

Each term can be found by squaring its position in the

The nth term, or the general term, of a sequence is often

Any term in the sequence can then be found by substituting

9 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

For example, suppose the nth term of a sequence is 4n – 5.

10 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

The nth term of a sequence is 2n2 + 3.

This sequence is a quadratic sequence.

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12 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

13 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

A A7.1 Generating sequences from rules

A A7.2 Linear sequences

A A7.3 Quadratic sequences

A A7.4 Geometric sequences

A A7.5 Other types of sequence

14 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

To work out a rule for a sequence it is often helpful to find the

2, 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, 38, 44, . . .

This sequence starts with 2 and increases by adding 6 each

15 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

10, 7, 4, 1, –2, –5, –8, –11, . . .

How did you work these out?

This sequence starts with 10 and decreases by subtracting 3

When the difference between each term in a sequence is

16 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

When we describe linear sequences we call the constant

17 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

Suppose we are given a linear sequence and asked to

This sequence continues by adding 3 each time and so

Find the nth term of the sequence 5, 3, 1, –1, –3, …

This sequence continues by subtracting 2 each time and

19 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

If a is the first term of a linear sequence and d is the common

20 of 68 © Boardworks Ltd 2005

We can also find the nth term of a linear sequence by plotting