BCA SEM 2

Mathematics
UNIT 5
 ARITHMETIC AND
GEOMETRIC PROGRESSION
★ Sequences:
What is a sequence? It is a set of numbers which are written in some
particular order. For example, take the numbers
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, . . . .
Here, we seem to have a rule. We have a sequence of odd numbers.
To put this another way, we start with the number 1, which is an odd
number, and then each successive number is obtained by adding 2 to
give the next odd number. Here is another sequence:
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, . . . .
This is the sequence of square numbers. And this sequence,
1, −1, 1, −1, 1, −1, . . . , is a sequence of
numbers alternating between 1 and −1. In each case, the dots written
at the end indicate that we must consider the sequence as an infinite
sequence, so that it goes on forever.
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. Here, the dots indicate that we have not
written all the numbers down explicitly. The n after the dots
tells us that this is a finite sequence, and that the last
number is n. Here is a sequence that you might recognise:
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, . . . .
This is an infinite sequence where each term (from the third
term onwards) is obtained by adding together the two previous
terms. This is called the Fibonacci sequence. 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. As another example, we could
use this notation to represent the rule for the Fibonacci
sequence. We would write un = un−1 + un−2 to say that each
term was the sum of the two preceding terms.
★ 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. So although the
ideas of a ‘sequence’ and a ‘series’ are related, there is an
important distinction between them. 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.

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
Progressions:
Progressions (or Sequences and Series) are numbers arranged in a
particular order such that they form a predictable order. By
predictable order, we mean that given some numbers, we can find
next numbers in the series.
Examples of Real-Life Arithmetic Sequences:
Stacking cups, chairs, bowls etc. (Stacking anything works, but the situations is
different when one thing fits inside the other.) The idea is comparing the number of
objects to the height of the object.
Pyramid-like patterns, where objects are increasing or decreasing
in a constant manner. Ideas for this are seats in a stadium or an
auditorium. A situation might be that seats in each row are
decreasing by 4 from the previous row.
Arithmetic Progression :
An arithmetic progression (AP) is a sequence where the differences
between every two consecutive terms are the same. In an arithmetic
progression, there is a possibility to derive a formula for the nth term.

For example, the sequence 2, 6, 10, 14, … is an arithmetic progression

(AP) because it follows a pattern where each number is obtained by
adding 4 to its previous term.

In this sequence, nth term = 4n-2.

The terms of the sequence can be obtained by substituting n=1,2,3,... in

the nth term. i.e.,
● When n = 1, 4n-2 = 4(1)-2 = 4-2=2
● When n = 2, 4n-2 = 4(2)-2 = 8-2=6
● When n = 3, 4n-2 = 4(3)-2 = 12-2=10
We can define an arithmetic progression (AP) in two ways:
● An arithmetic progression is a sequence where the differences

between every two consecutive terms are the same.

● An arithmetic progression is a sequence where each term,

except the first term, is obtained by adding a fixed number to

its previous term.

For example, 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, ...
Has:
● a = 1 (the first term)
● d = (5-1)=4 (the "common difference" between terms)
In general an arithmetic sequence can be written like:

{a, a+d, a+2d, a+3d, ... }

Using the above example we get:

{a, a+d, a+2d, a+3d, ... } = {1, 1+4, 1+2×4, 1+3×4, ... } = {1, 5, 9, 13, ... }
Notation in Arithmetic Progression
In AP, we will come across some main terms,
which are denoted as:
● First term (a)
● Common difference (d)
● nth Term (Tn)
● Sum of the first n terms (Sn)
Consider these two common sequences 1, 3, 5, 7, . . . and 0, 10,
20, 30, 40, . . . . It is easy to see how these sequences are
formed. They each start with a particular first term, and then to
get successive terms we just add a fixed value to the previous
term. In the first sequence we add 2 to get the next term, and in
the second sequence we add 10. So the difference between
consecutive terms in each sequence is a constant. We could
also subtract a constant instead, because that is just the same
as adding a negative constant.
For example, in the sequence 8, 5, 2, −1, −4, . . . the difference
between consecutive terms is −3. Any sequence with this
property is called an arithmetic progression, or AP for short.
We can use algebraic notation to represent an arithmetic
progression. We shall let a stand for the first term of the
sequence, and let d stand for the common difference
between successive terms.
For example, our first sequence could be written as
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, . . . 1, 1 + 2, 1 + 2 × 2, 1 + 3 × 2, 1 + 4 × 2, . . . ,
and this can be written as
a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, a + 4d, . . .
where a = 1 is the first term, and d = 2 is the common
difference.
If we wanted to write down the n-th term,
we would have a + (n − 1)d ,
because if there are n terms in the sequence there
must be (n − 1) common differences between
successive terms, so that we must add on (n − 1)d
to the starting value a.
We also sometimes write ℓ for the last term of a
finite sequence, and so in this case we would have
ℓ = a + (n − 1)d .
Note :
An arithmetic progression, or AP, is a sequence
where each new term after the first is obtained by
adding a constant d, called the common
difference, to the preceding term. If the first term
of the sequence is a then the arithmetic
progression is a, a + d, a + 2d, a + 3d, . . .
where the n-th term is a + (n − 1)d
First Term of AP
The AP can also be written in terms of common differences, as follows;
where “a” is the first term of the progression.
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 Position of Representation Values of Term
an AP Terms of Terms
Consider an AP to be: 1 a1 a = a + (1-1) d
a1, a2, a3, ……………., an
2 a2 a + d = a + (2-1) d

3 a3 a + 2d = a + (3-1) d

4 a4 a + 3d = a + (4-1) d

. . .

. . .

. . .

n an a + (n-1)d
nth Term of an AP
The formula for finding the n-th term of an AP is:

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 = a15 = 1+(15-1)1 = 1+14 = 15
Note: The finite portion of an AP is known as finite AP and
therefore the sum of finite AP is known as arithmetic series. The
behaviour of the sequence depends on the value of a common
difference.
● If the value of “d” is positive, then the member terms will grow
towards positive infinity
● If the value of “d” is negative, then the member terms grow
towards negative infinity
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;
Sn = n/2[2a + (n − 1) × d]
S15 = 15/2[2.1+(15-1).1]
= 15/2[2+14]
= 15/2 [16]
= 15 x 8
= 120
Hence, the sum of the first 15 natural numbers is 120.
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
Sum of n Terms of an AP
An arithmetic progression is a sequence of numbers or variables in
which the difference between consecutive terms is the same. There
can be an infinite number of terms in an AP.
In the 19th century in Germany, a Math class for grade 10 was going
on. The teacher asked her students to sum all the numbers from 1 up
to 100. The students were struggling to calculate the sum of all these
numbers. One boy shouted out the answer 5050 while the other
students were still in the initial steps of calculating the sum. This boy
was the great German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss. How did
he arrive at the sum so quickly?
Well, he noticed that terms equidistant from the beginning and the end of
the series had a constant sum equal to 101.
We can see that in sequence 1, 2, 3, ..., 100,
there are 50 such pairs whose sum is 101.

Thus, the sum of all terms of this sequence is

50 × 101 = 5050.
Sum of n Terms of AP Formula
The sum of n terms of an AP can be easily found out
using a simple formula which says that, if we have an
AP whose first term is a and the common difference is
d, then the formula of the sum of n terms of the AP is
Sn = n/2 [2a + (n-1)d].
Sum of n Terms in AP when Last Term is
Given
The sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic

progression when the nth term, an is known is:

Sn=n/2 × [a1+an]
Sum of n Terms of AP Proof
Let us consider the arithmetic progression with n terms:

a, a+d, a+2d,... (a+(n−2)d), (a+(n−1)d)

The sum of n terms of this progression is:
Sn =a + (a+d) + … + (a+(n−2)d) + (a+(n−1)d) → (1)
By reversing the order of the terms of this equation:
Sn = (a+(n−1)d) + (a+(n−2)d) + … + (a+d) + a → (2)
We see that the sum of corresponding terms of equation (1) and
equation (2) yield the same sum which is 2a+(n−1)d. We know
that there are totally n terms in the above AP. So by adding (1)
and (2), we get:
2Sn = n(2a+(n−1)d)
Sn = n/2 (2a+(n−1)d)
The above sum of arithmetic progression equation can be
written as:
Sn = n/2 (2a+(n−1)d)
Sn = n/2 (a+a+(n−1)d)
Sn = n/2 (a1+an) [∵ an = a+(n−1)d and a = a1]
Thus, the sum of arithmetic progression equations are:
Sn = n/2 (2a+(n−1)d), or,
Sn = n/2 (a1 + an)

The following flowchart to get an idea of the formula that has

to be used to find the sum of arithmetic progression
according to the information available to us.
1. Find the sum of the following Arithmetic series:
1 + 8 + 15 + 22 + 29 + 36 + ………………… to 17 terms
Solution:
First term of the given arithmetic series = 1
Second term of the given arithmetic series = 8
Third term of the given arithmetic series = 15
Fourth term of the given arithmetic series = 22
Fifth term of the given arithmetic series = 29
Now, Second term - First term = 8 - 1 = 7
Third term - Second term = 15 - 8 = 7
Fourth term - Third term = 22 - 15 = 7
Therefore, common difference of the given arithmetic series is 7.
The number of terms of the given A. P. series (n) = 17
We know that the sum of first n terms of the Arithmetic
Progress, whose first term = a and common difference = d is

S = n/2[2a + (n - 1)d]
Therefore, the required sum of first 20 terms of the series
= 17/2[2 ∙ 1 + (17 - 1) ∙ 7]
=17/2[2 + 16 ∙ 7]
= 17/2[2 + 112]
= 17/2 × 114
= 17 × 57
= 969
2. Find the sum of the series: 7 + 15 + 23 + 31 + 39 + 47 + ………..
+ 255
Solution:
First term of the given arithmetic series = 7
Second term of the given arithmetic series = 15
Third term of the given arithmetic series = 23
Fourth term of the given arithmetic series = 31
Fifth term of the given arithmetic series = 39
Now, Second term - First term = 15 - 7 = 8
Third term - Second term = 23 - 15 = 8
Fourth term - Third term = 31 - 23 = 8
Therefore, the given sequence is an arithmetic series with
the common difference 8.
Let there be n terms in the given arithmetic series. Then
an= 255
⇒ a + (n - 1)d = 255
⇒ 7 + (n - 1) × 8 = 255
⇒ 7 + 8n - 8 = 255
⇒ 8n - 1 = 255
⇒ 8n = 256
⇒ n = 32
Therefore, the required sum of the series = 32/2[2 ∙ 7 + (32 - 1) ∙ 8]

= 16 [14 + 31 ∙ 8]

= 16 [14 + 248]

= 16 × 262

= 4192
Example : Calculate the sum of the first 20 terms of the following AP:
S = 190 + 167 + 144 + 121 + …
Solution:
Using the sum of n terms of an AP formula,
S = n/2 (2a+(n−1)d).
Here, we have a = 190, d = −23, and n = 20. Substituting all these
values in the above formula,
S = 20/2 (2(190)+(20−1)(−23))
=10 (380−437)
= 10(−57)
= −570
Example : Consider the following AP: 24, 21, 18, … How many
terms of this AP must be considered so that their sum is 78?
Solution:
Let the number of terms that give the sum 78 be denoted as n. We
have a = 24, d = −3, and S = 78. Substituting all these values in the
sum of n terms of an AP formula,
S = n/2 (2a+(n−1)d)
⇒ 78 = n/2 (48−3(n−1))
⇒ 78 = n/2 (51−3n)
⇒ 3n2 − 51n + 156 = 0
⇒ n2 −17n + 52 = 0
⇒ (n−4)(n−13) = 0
⇒ n = 4, 13
Geometric Progression
A geometric progression is a special type of progression where
the successive terms bear a constant ratio known as a common
ratio. It is also known as GP.

The GP is generally represented in form a, ar, ar2....

where a is the first term and r is the common ratio of the
progression.
The common ratio can have both negative as well as positive
values. To find the terms of a geometric series, we only need the
first term and the constant ratio.
Ratios
A ratio compares values.
A ratio says how much of one thing there is compared to another thing.

There are 3 blue squares to 1 yellow square

The trick with ratios is to always multiply or divide the numbers by the
same value.

Example: 4 : 5 is the same as 4×2 : 5×2 = 8 : 10

 th
The formula for the n term of the geometric
progression is:
an = arn-1
where,
● a is the first term
● r is the common ratio
● n is the number of the term which we want to
find.
General Term or Nth Term of Geometric
Progression
Let a be the first term and r be the common ratio for a
Geometric Sequence.
Then, the second term, a2 = a × r = ar
Third term, a3 = a2 × r = ar × r = ar2
Similarly, nth term, an = arn-1
Therefore, the formula to find the nth term of GP is:

an = tn = arn-1
Thus, the ratio of the two consecutive terms of this particular
sequence is a fixed number. Such a sequence is called Geometric
Progression.
It is to be noted that when we divide any succeeding term
from its preceding term, then we get the value equal to the
common ratio.
Suppose we divide the 3rd term by the 2nd term we get:
ar2/ar = r
In the same way:
ar3/ar2 = r
ar4/ar3 = r
General Term or Nth Term of Geometric
Progression
Let a be the first term and r be the common ratio for a
Geometric Sequence.
Then, the second term, a2 = a × r = ar
Third term, a3 = a2 × r = ar × r = ar2
Similarly, nth term, an = arn-1
Therefore, the formula to find the nth term of GP is:

an = tn = arn-1
Common Ratio of GP Common ratio = (Any term) /
Consider the sequence a, ar, ar2, (Preceding term)
ar3,…… = tn / tn-1
First term = a = (arn – 1 ) /(arn – 2)
Second term = ar =r
Third term = ar2 Thus, the general term of a GP is
Similarly, nth term, tn = arn-1 given by arn-1 and the general form
Thus, the common ratio of of a GP is a, ar, ar2,…..
geometric progression formula is For Example: r = t2 / t1 = ar / a = r
given as:
Example: If 2, 4, 8,…., is the GP, then find its 10th term.
Solution: The nth term of GP is given by:
2, 4, 8,….
Here, a = 2 and r = 4/2 = 2
an = arn-1
Therefore,
a10 = 2 x 210 – 1
= 2 × 29
= 1024
Example: {1,2,4,8,...}
The sequence starts at 1 and doubles each time, so
● a=1 (the first term)
● r=2 (the "common ratio" between terms is a doubling)
And we get:

{a, ar, ar2, ar3, ... }

= {1, 1×2, 1×22, 1×23, ... }
= {1, 2, 4, 8, ... }
But be careful, r should not be 0:
● When r=0, we get the sequence {a,0,0,...} which is not
geometric
The Rule
We can also calculate any term using the Rule:

xn = ar(n-1)
(We use "n-1" because ar0 is for the 1st
term)
Example:
10, 30, 90, 270, 810, 2430, …
This sequence has a factor of 3 between each
number.
The values of a and r are:
● a = 10 (the first term)
● r = 3 (the "common ratio")
The Rule for any term is:
xn = 10 × 3(n-1)
So, the 4th term is:

x4 = 10×3(4-1) = 10×33 = 10×27 = 270

And the 10th term is:

x10 = 10×3(10-1) = 10×39 = 10×19683 = 196830

Hailey's teacher asks her to find the 10th term of the sequence: 1, 3, 9, 27, ...
Here,

r=3 is a common ratio.

So, the given sequence represents the geometric
progression.
The 10th term of the sequence will be given by ar9
ar9=1×39 =39

∴ The 10th term of the sequence is 39

Example
If the nth term of a GP is 128 and both the first term a
and the common ratio r are 2
Can you calculate the total number of terms in the GP?
Solution:
Given,
The nth term of a GP is an=128
The first term of the GP is a=2
The common ratio of the GP is r=2
Now use the condition if the first and nth term of a
GP are a and b respectively then,
b=a⋅rn−1
to calculate the total number of terms.
an=a⋅rn−1
128=2.2n-1
64=2n-1
26=2n-1
6=n−1
n=7
∴ There are 7 terms in the GP.
Sum of the First n Terms of a Geometric Sequence

If a sequence is geometric there are ways to find the sum of

the first
n terms, denoted Sn.
To find the sum of the first Sn
Sn terms of a geometric sequence use the formula
Sn = a[(rn – 1)/(r – 1)] if r ≠ 1 and r > 1
Sn = a[(1 – rn)/(1 – r)] if r ≠ 1 and r < 1
If the first term is 10 and the common ratio of a GP is 3, then write the first five
terms of GP.
Solution: Given,
First term, a = 10 Common ratio, r = 3
We know the general form of GP for first five terms is given by:
a, ar, ar2, ar3, ar4
a = 10
ar = 10 × 3 = 30
ar2 = 10 × 32 = 10 × 9 = 90
ar3 = 10 × 33 = 270
ar4 = 10 × 34 = 810
Therefore, the first five terms of GP with 10 as the first term and 3 as the
common ratio are: 10, 30, 90, 270 and 810
1. What is the 12th term of the sequence 4, -8, 16, -64,….?
2. How do you find the sum of geometric sequence 2, 4, 8,
…. If there are 20 terms.
EXAMPLE :
The amounts saved by Clara in the order of weeks are, 2, 4, 8, 16, ....
Clearly, this is a geometric progression as 4/2 = 8/4 = 16/2 = ... = 2.
Here, the first term is, a = 2, the common ratio is, r = 2, and the number of
terms is, n = 6 (as we want the sum of the amounts after 6 weeks).
Harmonic Progression
A Harmonic Progression (HP) is defined as a sequence of real
numbers which is determined by taking the reciprocals of the
arithmetic progression that does not contain 0. In harmonic
progression, any term in the sequence is considered as the
harmonic means of its two neighbours. For example, the
sequence a, b, c, d, …is considered as an arithmetic
progression; the harmonic progression can be written as 1/a,
1/b, 1/c, 1/d, …
Harmonic progression is obtained by taking the
reciprocal of the terms of an arithmetic
progression.
The terms of a harmonic progression is of the
form, 1/a, 1/(a + d), 1/(a + 2d), 1/(a + 3d), 1/(a +
4d),...1/(a + (n - 1)d).
Here a is the first term and d is a common difference.
Both a and d have non-zero values.
The harmonic progression is an infinite series.
The nth term of the Harmonic Progression (H.P) = 1/ [a+(n-1)d]
Where
“a” is the first term of A.P
“d” is the common difference
“n” is the number of terms in A.P
The above formula can also be written as:
The nth term of H.P = 1/ (nth term of the corresponding A.P)
Relation between AM GM HM is useful to better understand
arithmetic mean(AM), geometric mean(GM), harmonic mean(HM).
The product of arithmetic mean and harmonic mean is equal to the
square of the geometric mean.
AM × HM = GM2

Among the three means, the arithmetic mean is greater than the
geometric mean, and the geometric mean is greater than the
harmonic mean.
AM > GM > HM
Now let us understand how this relation is derived;
First, consider a, AM, b is an Arithmetic Progression.
Now the common difference of Arithmetic Progression will be;
AM – a = b – AM
a + b = 2 AM …………..(1)
Secondly, let a, GM, b is a Geometric Progression. Then, the
common ratio of this GP is;
GM/a = b/GM
ab = GM2……………(2)
Third, is the case of harmonic progression, a, HM, b,
where the reciprocals of each term will form an arithmetic
progression, such as:
1/a, 1/HM, 1/b is an AP.
Now the common difference of the above AP is;
1/HM – 1/a = 1/b – 1/HM
2/HM = 1/b + 1/a
2/HM = (a + b)/ab ………….(3)
Substituting eq. 1 and eq.2 in eq. 3 we get;
2/HM = 2AM/GM2
GM2 = AM x HM
Hence, this is the relation between Arithmetic, Geometric
and Harmonic.
UNIT 5 COMPLETED