Arithmetic Sequences

Sequences

• An arithmetic or linear sequence is a sequence of numbers where the difference between consecutive terms is a constant
• In your exam, you might need to work out the nth terms in a sequence
• Look at this example which shows you how to do it in four steps
  • 1, 5, 9, 13, 17
  • work out zero term -3
  • Work out a formula for the nth term of the sequence
  • Nth terms = difference x n + zero term
  • nth term = 4n - 3
  • Is x in this sequence
  • You can use the nth term to check whether a number is a term in the sequence
  • The value of n in your nth term has to be a positive whole number