Mathematical Induction

Definition
Sequences & Series
 Sequences
• What is a sequence?
• It is a set of numbers which are written in some
particular order.
• For Example-
• The sequence of odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, . . . .
• The sequence of square numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, ..
• The sequence of numbers alternating between 1
and −1 are 1, −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, . . . ,
• On the other hand, we can also have finite
sequences.
• The numbers 1, 3, 5, 9 form a finite sequence
containing just four numbers.
• The numbers 1, 4, 9, 16 also form a finite
sequence.
• And so do these, the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, .
. . , n . These are the numbers we use for
counting, and we have included n of them.
• We often use an algebraic notation for
sequences. We might call the first term in a
sequence u1, the second term u2, and so on.
With this same notation, we would write un to
represent the n-th term in the sequence. So
u1, u2, u3, . . . , un would represent a finite
sequence containing n terms.
• Exercise 1
• (a) A sequence is given by the formula un = 3n + 5,
for n = 1, 2, 3, . . .. Write down the first five terms of
this sequence.
• (b) A sequence is given by un = 1/n2, for n = 1, 2, 3, .
Write down the first four terms of this sequence.
What is the 10th term?
• (c) Write down the first eight terms of the Fibonacci
sequence defined by un = un−1+un−2, when u1 = 1,
and u2 = 1.
 Series
• A series is something we obtain from a
sequence by adding all the terms together.
• For example,
Suppose we have the sequence
u1, u2, u3, . . . , un .
• The series we obtain from this is
u1 + u2 + u3 + . . . + un ,and we write Sn for
the sum of these n terms.
• For example, let us consider the sequence of numbers
• 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, . . . , n .
• Then S1 = 1, as it is the sum of just the first term on its own.
• The sum of the first two terms is S2 = 1 + 2 = 3. Continuing, we
get
• S3 = 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 ,
• S4 = 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10 , and so on.

• Therefore
• A series is a sum of the terms in a sequence. If there are n
terms in the sequence and we evaluate the sum then we
often write Sn for the result, so that
• Sn = u1 + u2 + u3 + . . . + un .
Arithmetic Sequences
 Definition
• In mathematics, there are three different types of progressions. They are:

Arithmetic Progression (AP)

Geometric Progression (GP)
Harmonic Progression (HP)

• A progression is a special type of sequence for which it is possible to

obtain a formula for the nth term. The Arithmetic Progression is the most
commonly used sequence in maths with easy to understand formulas.
Let’s have a look at its three different types of definitions.
• Definition 1: A mathematical sequence in which the difference between
two consecutive terms is always a constant and it is abbreviated as AP.
• Definition 2: An arithmetic sequence or progression is defined as a
sequence of numbers in which for every pair of consecutive terms, the
second number is obtained by adding a fixed number to the first one.
 Notation in AP

• In AP, we will come across three main terms,

which are denoted as:
• Common difference (d)
• nth Term (an)
• Sum of the first n terms (Sn)
 Common Difference in Arithmetic Progression

• In this progression, for a given series, the

terms used are the first term, the common
difference between the two terms and nth
term. Suppose, a1, a2, a3, ……………., an is an AP,
then; the common difference “ d ” can be
obtained as;
d = a2 – a1 = a3 – a2 = ……. = an – an – 1
Where “d” is a common difference. It can be
positive, negative or zero.
 First Term of AP
• The AP can also be written in terms of
common difference, as follows;
a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, a + 4d, ………. ,a + (n – 1) d
• where “a” is the first term of the
progression.
General Form of an A. P
 nth Term of an AP
• an = a + (n − 1) × d
• Where
• a = First term
• d = Common difference
• n = number of terms
• an = nth term
 Example
• Find the nth term of AP: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…., an, if
the number of terms are 15.
• Solution: Given, AP: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5…., an
n=15
By the formula we know, an = a+(n-1)d
First-term, a =1
Common difference, d=2-1 =1
Therefore, an = 1+(15-1)1 = 1+14 = 15
 Sum of N Terms of AP
• S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d]
 Example
• Let us take the example of adding natural
numbers up to 15 numbers.
• AP = 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15
Given, a = 1, d = 2-1 = 1 and an = 15
Now, by the formula we know;
S = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d] = 15/2[2.1+(15-1).1]
S = 15/2[2+14] = 15/2 [16] = 15 x 8
S = 120
Hence, the sum of the first 15 natural numbers is
120.
Sum of AP when the Last Term is Given
• S = n/2 (first term + last term)
Formula Lists
Example 1: Find the value of n. If a = 10, d = 5, an = 95.

• Solution: Given, a = 10, d = 5, an = 95

• From the formula of general term, we have:
• an = a + (n − 1) × d
• 95 = 10 + (n − 1) × 5
• (n − 1) × 5 = 95 – 10 = 85
• (n − 1) = 85/ 5
• (n − 1) = 17
• n = 17 + 1
• n = 18
 Example 2: Find the 20th term for the given AP:3, 5, 7, 9, ……

• Solution: Given,
• 3, 5, 7, 9, ……
• a = 3, d = 5 – 3 = 2, n = 20
• an = a + (n − 1) × d
• a20 = 3 + (20 − 1) × 2
• a20 = 3 + 38
• ⇒a20 = 41
 Example 3: Find the sum of first 30 multiples of 4.

• Solution: Given, a = 4, n = 30, d = 4

• We know,
• S = n/2 [2a + (n − 1) × d]
• S = 30/2[2 (4) + (30 − 1) × 4]
• S = 15[8 + 116]
• S = 1860
Example 4 : Determine the AP whose 3rd term is 5 and
the 7th term is 9.

We have
a3 = a + (3 – 1) d = a + 2d = 5 (1)
and
a7 = a + (7 – 1) d = a + 6d = 9 (2)
Solving the pair of linear equations (1) and (2),
we get a = 3, d = 1
Hence, the required AP is 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, . . .
Example 5 : Check whether 301 is a term of the
list of numbers 5, 11, 17, 23, . . .
Example 6 : How many two-digit numbers are divisible
by 3?

Solution : The list of two-digit numbers divisible by 3 is :

12, 15, 18, . . . , 99
Here, a = 12, d = 3, an = 99.
As an = a + (n – 1) d,
we have 99 = 12 + (n – 1) × 3 i.e.,
87 = (n – 1) × 3 i.e.,
n – 1 = 87/3 = 29 i.e.,
n = 29 + 1 = 30
So, there are 30 two-digit numbers divisible by 3.
Example 8 : Find the 11th term from the last term (towards the
first term) of the AP : 10, 7, 4, . . ., – 62.
 Example 9 : In a flower bed, there are 23 rose plants in the first row, 21
in the second, 19 in the third, and so on. There are 5 rose
plants in the last row. How many rows are there in the flower bed?

• Solution :
The number of rose plants in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, . . ., rows are :
23, 21, 19, . . ., 5
It forms an AP .
Let the number of rows in the flower bed be n.
Then a = 23, d = 21 – 23 = – 2, an = 5
As, an = a + (n – 1) d
We have, 5 = 23 + (n – 1)(– 2)
i.e., – 18 = (n – 1)(– 2)
i.e., n = 10
So, there are 10 rows in the flower bed.
 Practice Questions
• Example 11 : Find the sum of the first 22
terms of the AP : 8, 3, –2, . . .
• Example 12 : If the sum of the first 14 terms of
an AP is 1050 and its first term is 10, find the
20th term.
• Example 13 : How many terms of the AP : 24,
21, 18, . . . must be taken so that their sum is
78?
 Example
• Which of the following list of numbers form an
AP? If they form an AP, write the next two
terms :
• (i) 4, 10, 16, 22, . . .
• (ii) 1, – 1, – 3, – 5, . . .
• (iii) – 2, 2, – 2, 2, – 2, . . .
• (iv) 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, . .
 Example
• Write first four terms of the AP, when the first
term a and the common difference d are given
as follows:
• (i) a = 10, d = 10
• (ii) a = –2, d = 0
• (iii) a = 4, d = – 3
• (iv) a = – 1, d = 1 2
• (v) a = – 1.25, d = – 0.25
 Example
• Which of the following are APs ? If they form an
AP, find the common difference d and write three
more terms.
• (i) 2, 4, 8, 16, . . .
• (ii) 5 7 2, , 3, , 2 2 . . .
• (iii) – 1.2, – 3.2, – 5.2, – 7.2, . . .
• (iv) – 10, – 6, – 2, 2, . . .
• (v) 3, 3 2 + , 3 2 2 + , 3 3 2 , + . . .
• (vi) 0.2, 0.22, 0.222, 0.2222, . . .
• (vii) 0, – 4, – 8, –12, . . .
 Example
• Find the 10th term of the AP : 2, 7, 12, . .
• Which term of the AP : 21, 18, 15, . . . is – 81?
 Solution
• . Solution : Here, a = 2, d = 7 – 2 = 5 and n =
10. We have an = a + (n – 1) d So, a10 = 2 + (10
– 1) × 5 = 2 + 45 = 47 Therefore, the 10th term
of the given AP is 47.
• Solution : Here, a = 21, d = 18 – 21 = – 3 and
an = – 81, and we have to find n. As an = a + (
n – 1) d, we have – 81 = 21 + (n – 1)(– 3) – 81 =
24 – 3n – 105 = – 3n So, n = 35 Therefore, the
35th term of the given AP is – 81.
 Practice Question
• Question 1: Find the a_n and 10th term of the
progression: 3, 1, 17, 24, ……
• Question 2: If a = 2, d = 3 and n = 90. Find
an and Sn.
• Question 3: The 7th term and 10th terms of
an AP are 12 and 25. Find the 12th term.
• Question 4: Which term of the A.P. 3,8,13 …is
78?
 Example: Mr. Kevin earns $400,000 per annum and his salary
increases by $50,000 per annum. Then how much does he earn
at the end of the first 3 years?

• Solution: The amount earned by Mr. Kevin for the first year
is, a = 4,00,000. The increment per annum is, d = 50,000.
We have to calculate his earnings in the 3 years. So n=3.
• Substituting these values in the AP sum formula,
Sn=n/2[2a+(n-1) d]
Sn= 3/2(2(400000)+(3-1)(50000))
= 3/2 (800000+100000)
= 3/2 (900000)
= 1350000
• He earned $1,350,000 in 3 years
 Example
• The first term of an arithmetic sequence is
equal to 6 and the common difference is equal
to 3. Find a formula for the n th term and the
value of the 50 th term.
• Solution- The common difference d = 3 and
the first term a1 = 6
 Example
• The first term of an arithmetic sequence is
equal to 200 and the common difference is
equal to -10. Find the value of the 20 th term
• Solution The common difference d = -10 and
the first term a1 = 200.