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Formulas: sequences, grade 12 (4 units)

A sequence and the sum of its first terms

  • The term from the sum – Sn\displaystyle S_n the sum of the first n\displaystyle n terms
    Sn−Sn−1\displaystyle S_n-S_{n-1} =\displaystyle = an\displaystyle a_nn≥2\displaystyle n\geq2
  • The first term is the sum of one term
    a1\displaystyle a_1 =\displaystyle = S1\displaystyle S_1

The arithmetic sequence

  • The recursion rule – d\displaystyle d the common difference
    an+1=an+d\displaystyle a_{n+1}=a_n+d
  • The general term
    an\displaystyle a_n =\displaystyle = a1+(n−1)d\displaystyle a_1+(n-1)d
  • The arithmetic mean of the neighbours
    an\displaystyle a_n =\displaystyle = an−1+an+12\displaystyle \frac{a_{n-1}+a_{n+1}}{2}n≥2\displaystyle n\geq2
  • The sum of the first n\displaystyle n terms
    Sn\displaystyle S_n =\displaystyle = n(a1+an)2\displaystyle \frac{n(a_1+a_n)}{2}
  • The sum without the last term
    Sn\displaystyle S_n =\displaystyle = n(2a1+(n−1)d)2\displaystyle \frac{n(2a_1+(n-1)d)}{2}

The geometric sequence

  • The recursion rule – q\displaystyle q the common ratio
    an+1=an⋅q\displaystyle a_{n+1}=a_n\cdot q
  • The general term
    an\displaystyle a_n =\displaystyle = a1⋅qn−1\displaystyle a_1\cdot q^{n-1}
  • The geometric mean: a term’s square is the product of its neighbours
    an2\displaystyle a_n^2 =\displaystyle = an−1⋅an+1\displaystyle a_{n-1}\cdot a_{n+1}n≥2\displaystyle n\geq2
  • The sum of the first n\displaystyle n terms
    Sn\displaystyle S_n =\displaystyle = a1(qn−1)q−1\displaystyle \frac{a_1(q^n-1)}{q-1}q≠1\displaystyle q\neq1

The infinite geometric sequence

  • The sum of the infinite sequence
    S\displaystyle S =\displaystyle = a11−q\displaystyle \frac{a_1}{1-q}−1<q<1, q≠0\displaystyle -1<q<1,\ q\neq0