Recurrence Relations

Definitions
1. A recurrence formula is one which each subsequent term is expressed in terms of one or more previous terms 2. Whereas a closed form formula is a general formula for the nth term in terms of n only.

Example
1. Arithmetic progression a. Closed form formula: i. While b. Recurrence formula: i. While 2. Geometric progression a. Closed form formula: i. While b. Recurrence formula: i. While

Conversion from recurrence relations to closed form formula

1. Write the values for the first few (~4) terms 2. Make a conjecture for the nth term a. A conjecture is a statement that s not proven yet, but observed from the pattern

Done by Nickolas TeoJia Ming, CG 12/11