TOPIC: Arithmetic Sequence

OBJECTIVE:
a. describe an arithmetic sequence

Things to Remember

A sequence where each succeeding term is obtained by adding a fixed number is

called an arithmetic sequence. This fixed number is the common difference d
between any two succeeding terms.

To find the common difference, d, simply subtract the first term from the second
term, a2 – a1, or the second term from the third term, a3 – a2, or the third term from the
fourth term, a4 – a3; or in general,

d = an – a n – 1

Examples:

1. Determine if the sequence is arithmetic or not. If it is, find the common

difference and the next three terms.

-11, -4, 3, 10,…

Solution:

To find out if the sequence is arithmetic, there must be a common

difference between any two terms in the sequence. So that

d = a2 – a1 = -4 – (-11) = 7
= a3 – a2 = 3 – (-4) = 7
= a4 – a3 = 10 – 3 = 7

The sequence is arithmetic and the common difference is 7. The next

three terms are obtained by adding 7 to the preceding term, so that

a5 = a4 + 7 = 10 + 7 = 17
a6 = a5 + 7 = 17 + 7 = 24
a7 = a6 + 7 = 24 + 7 = 31

2. Write the first five terms of the arithmetic sequence with first term 5 and
common difference -2.

Solution:

The second term is found by adding -2 to the first term 5, getting 3. For the next
term, add -2 to 3, and so on. The first five terms are

5, 3, 1, -1, -3.
Let’s Do This!

A. Determine whether the sequence is arithmetic or not. If it is, find the common
difference and the next three terms.

1. 2, 5, 8, 11,…
2. 2, -4, 6, -8, 10,…
3. -6, -10, -14, -18,…
4. 40, 42, 44, 46,…
5. 1.2, 1.8, 2.4,…
6. 1, 5, 9, 13,…
1 1 1 1
7. , , , ,...
2 3 4 5
8. 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ,...
9. 98, 95, 92, 89,…
4 5
10. 1, , , 2,…
3 3

Let’s Summarize!

1. An arithmetic sequence is a sequence where each term is found by

adding a constant number, called the common difference, to the
preceding term.

2. To find the common difference, d, simply subtract the first term from
the second term, a2 – a1, or the second term from the third term, a3 –
a2, or the third term from the fourth term, a4 – a3; or in general,

d = an – an – 1

I Can Do This!

A. Give the common difference of the following sequence.

1. 2, 4, 6, … d = _____
2. 13, 16, 19, 22, … d = _____
3. 99, 88, 77, 66, … d = _____
4. _1_, _1_, _3_, _1_, … d = _____
8 4 8 2

5. 99, 87, 75, 63, … d = _____

2
 6. -8, -3, 2, 7, … d = _____

7. 91, 84, 77, 70,… d = _____

_ _ _ _
8. √3 , 2√3 , 3√3 , 4√3 , … d = _____
9. 25, 34, 43, 52, … d = _____

10. 10, 4, -2, -8, … d = _____

B. Find the next three terms of the given arithmetic sequence.

1. 1, 10, 19, 28,… 2. 1, 3, 5, 7,…

3. 5.5, 7, 8.5, 10,… 4. 43, 39, 35, …

Let’s Do More!

Solve the following problem.

1. Mr. Simon bought a house at the beginning of 1995 for PhP 150,000.00. If
it increased PhP 10,000.00 in value each year, how much was it worth at
the end of 2005?

2. A restaurant has square tables which seat four people. When two tables
are placed together, six people can be seated (see the diagram) .

If 20 square tables are placed together to form one long table, how
many people can be seated?