1. Series and Sequences
An infinite sequence is an unending list of numbers that follow a pattern. The terms of the sequence are written a1, a2, a3,...,an,...
If the list ends, we call it a finite sequence. 1 1 1

2. Ex. Write the first four terms of the sequence:
a) an = 3n – 2
b) an = 3 + (-1)n

3. Ex. Write the first four terms of the sequence

4. Ex. Write an expression for an:
b) 2, -5, 10, -17,...

5. A sequence is recursive if each term is defined by one or more previous terms
Ex. The Fibonacci sequence is defined as a0 = 1, a1 = 1, ak = ak – 1 + ak – 2. Write the first six terms.
Ex. Find the first five terms of the recursive sequence defined by a1 = 3, ak = 2ak – 1 – 5

7. If n is a positive integer, n factorial is defined as
n! = 1 ∙ 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 4 ∙ ... ∙ n
As a special case, 0! = 1.
Keep in mind that parentheses matter:
2n! = 2 ∙ n! = 2(1 ∙ 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 4 ∙ ... ∙ n)
(2n)! = 1 ∙ 2 ∙ 3 ∙ 4 ∙ ... ∙ 2n

8. Ex. Write the first five terms of the sequence

9. Ex. Evaluate the factorialb) c)

10. The Greek letter sigma (Σ) can be used to show the sum of many terms
i is called the index of the summation
n is the upper limit of the summation
1 is the lower limit of the summation

11. Ex. Find the sum a) b) c)

12. Consider the infinite sequence a1, a2, a3,..., ai,...
The sum of the first n terms is called the nth partial sum of the sequence, and is denoted
The sum of all the terms of the infinite sequence is called an infinite series, and is denoted

13. Ex. Use the first 3 partial sums to evaluate the sum

14. Practice Problems
Section 8.1
Problems 1, 17, 37, 51, 59, 67, 73, 99

15. Arithmetic Sequences and Series
A sequence is arithmetic if the difference of two consecutive terms is the same.
an + 1 – an = d for any positive integer n
The number d is called the common difference 15 15 15

16. Ex. Find the first 4 terms of the arithmetic sequence.
a) an = 4n + 3
b) an = 7 – 5n c)

17. To find the nth term of an arithmetic sequence, we use the formula
an = a1 + d(n – 1)
where a1 is the first term and d is the common difference
Ex. Find the nth term of the sequence
2, 5, 8, 11, 14,...

18. Ex. The fourth term of an arithmetic sequence is 20 and the 13th term is 65. Find the nth term.

19. Ex. Find the 9th term of the arithmetic sequence that starts with 2 and 9.

20. To find the sum of a finite arithmetic sequence with n terms, we use the formula
Ex. Find the sum of the first 10 odd numbers.
Ex. Find the sum of the integers from 1 to 100

21. Ex. Find the 150th partial sum of the arithmetic sequence
5, 16, 27, 38, 49,...

22. Ex. Find the sum

23. Ex. In a golf tournament, 16 golfers win cash prizes
Ex. In a golf tournament, 16 golfers win cash prizes. First place gets $1000, second place gets $950, third place gets $900, and so on. What is the total amount of prize money?

24. Practice Problems
Section 8.2
Problems 1, 21, 37, 45, 63, 65, 69, 89