8.

1 Sequences and Series

Essential Questions: How do we use
sequence notation to write the terms of a
sequence? How do we use factorial
notation? How do we use summation
notation to write sums?
Definition of a Sequence
An infinite sequence is a function whose
domain is the set of positive integers. The
function values


are the terms of the sequence. If the domain
of the function consists of the first n positive
integers only, the sequence is a finite
sequence.

1 2 3 4
, , , ,...., ,...
n
a a a a a
Finding Terms of a Sequence
The first four terms of
the sequence given
by are 3 2
n
a n =
( )
1
1 3 2 1 a = =
( )
2
2 3 2 4 a = =
( )
3
3 3 2 7 a = =
( )
4
3 10 4 2 a = =
The first four terms of the
sequence given by
are
3 ( 1)
n
n
a = +
1
1
3 ( 1) 3 1 2 a = + = =
2
2
3 ( 1) 3 1 4 a = + = + =
3
3
3 ( 1) 3 1 2 a = + = =
4
4
3 ( 1) 3 1 4 a = + = + =
Finding Terms of a Sequence
Write out the first five terms of the sequence given by

( 1)
2 1
n
n
a
n

Solution:
( )
1
1
1
( 1) 1
1
2 1 2 1
a

= = =

( )
2
2
2
( 1) 1 1
2 1 4 1 3
a

= = =

( )
3
3
( 1) 1 1
2 1 6 3 1 5
a

= = =

( )
4
4
4
( 1) 1 1
2 1 8 1 7
a

= = =

( )
5
5
( 1) 1 1
2 1 10 5 1 9
a

= = =

Finding the nth term of a
Sequence
Write an expression for the apparent nth term (a
n
) of each
sequence.
a. 1, 3, 5, 7, b. 2, 5, 10, 17,
Solution:
a. n: 1 2 3 4 . . . n
terms: 1 3 5 7 . . . a
n

Apparent pattern: Each term is
1 less than twice n, which implies
that
2 1
n
a n =
b. n: 1 2 3 4 n
terms: 2 5 10 17 a
n

Apparent pattern: Each term
is 1 more than the square of n,
which implies that
2
1
n
a n = +
Additional Example
Write an expression for the apparent nth term of the sequence:
2 3 4 5
, , , ,...
1 2 3 4
Solution:
: 1 2 3 4 ...
2 3 4 5
terms: ...
1 2 3 4
n
n n
a
Apparent pattern: Each term has a numerator
that is 1 greater than its denominator, which
implies that 1
n
n
a
n
+
=
Factorial Notation
If n is a positive integer, n factorial is defined by


As a special case, zero factorial is defined as 0! = 1.
Here are some values of n! for the first several nonnegative
integers. Notice that 0! is 1 by definition.


! 1 2 3 4... ( 1) n n n =
0! 1 =
1! 1 =
2! 1 2 2 = =
3! 1 2 3 6 = =
4! 1 2 3 4 24 = =
5! 1 2 3 4 5 120 = =
The value of n does not have to be very large before the
value of n! becomes huge. For instance, 10! = 3,628,800.
Finding the Terms of a Sequence
Involving Factorials
List the first five terms of the sequence given by



Begin with n = 0.

2
!
n
n
a
n
=
0
0
2 1
1
0! 1
a = = =
1
1
2 2
2
1! 1
a = = =
2
2
2 4
2
2! 2
a = = =
3
3
2 8 4
3! 6 3
a = = =
4
4
2 16 2
4! 24 3
a = = =
Evaluating Factorial Expressions
Evaluate each factorial expression. Make sure you use
parentheses when necessary.
a. b. c.
8!
2! 6!
2! 6!
3! 5!

!
( 1)!
n
n
Solution:
a.

b.


c.
8! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 7 8
28
2! 6! 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 2

= = =

2! 6! 1 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 6
2
3! 5! 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 3

= = =

! 1 2 3...( 1)
( 1)! 1 2 3...( 1)
n n n
n
n n

= =

Have you ever seen this
sequence before?
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8
Can you find the next three terms in
the sequence?
Hint: 13,
21, 34
Can you explain this pattern?
The Fibonacci Sequence
Some sequences are defined recursively. To define a
sequence recursively, you need to be given one or more of
the first few terms. A well-known example is the Fibonacci
Sequence.
The Fibonacci Sequence is defined as follows:
0 1 2 1
1, 1, , where 2
k k k
a a a a a k

= = = + >
Write the first six terms of the Fibonacci Sequence:
1
1 a =
0
1 a =
2 1 0 2 2 1
1 1 2 a a a a

+ = + = + =
2 1 1 3 3 2
1 2 3 a a a a

+ = + = + =
2 1 2 4 4 3
2 3 5 a a a a

+ = + = + =
2 1 3 5 5 4
3 5 8 a a a a

+ = + = + =
Summation Notation
Definition of Summation Notation
The sum of the first n terms of a sequence is
represented by



Where i is called the index of summation, n is the
upper limit of summation and 1 is the lower limit of
summation.
1 2 3 4
1
...
n
n n
i
a a a a a a
=
= + + + + +

Summation Notation for Sums

Find each sum.
a. b. c. 5
1
3
i
i
=

6
2
3
(1 )
k
k
=
+

8
0
1
!
i
i
=

Solution:
a.
5
1
3 3(1) 3(2) 3(3) 3(4) 3(5)
3(1 2 3 4 5) or 3 6 9 12 15
45
i
i
=
= + + + +
= + + + + + + + +
=

Solutions continued
b.



c.
6
2 2 2 2 2
3
(1 ) (1 3 ) (1 4 ) (1 5 ) (1 6 )
10 17 26 37
90
k
k
=
+ = + + + + + + +
= + + +
=

8
0
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
! 0! 1! 2! 3! 4! 5! 6! 7! 8!
1 1 1 1 1 1 1
1 1
2 6 24 120 720 5040 40320
2.71828
i
i
=
= + + + + + + + +
= + + + + + + + +
~

Notice that this summation is very close to the irrational number

. It can be shown that as more terms of the
sequence whose nth term is 1/n! are added, the sum becomes
closer and closer to e.
2.718281828 e ~
How to Input Sums
in your calculator
Good news! This can all be done using the TI-84 Plus graphing
calculator.
To enter in example a, hit the following keys:
The following screen will appear:
Now hit 5. Then, hit
Good news! This can all be done using the TI-84 Plus graphing
calculator.
To enter in example a, hit the following keys:
The following screen will appear:
Now hit 5. Then, hit
The following screen should appear:
Choose 5.
Be sure you are in
sequence mode on the
calculator!
This is what your calculator screen should look like:

Now type in the sum, the variable, the
lower limit, the upper limit, and the
increment (default is 1).
Assignment
Page 587-588
2-32 even, 57-59 odd, 62-64 even, 66-70
even, 80-94 even