Sequences homework
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1. Find the first five terms of the sequence with n th term:
a. 3 n−5
b. 10−4 n
2
c. 2n
2. Find the formula for the n th term of the following sequences:
a. 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, …
b. 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, …
c. 6, 13, 20, 27, 34, …
d. 7, 16, 25, 34, 43, …
e. 7, 5, 3, 1, -1, …
1 7 11 5 19
f. , , , , ,…
2 6 6 2 6
3. Hence determine (with working!) the 200th term of each of the sequences from Question 2.
4. Determine if the indicated term is in the sequence. Ensure you show working to explain why.
a. Is 106 in the sequence with n th term 4 n−2 ?
b. Is 1009 in the sequence 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, …?
c. Is 1500 in the sequence 4, 10, 16, 22, 28, …?
Optional -with possibility of merit points awarded:
2
1. Find the formula for the n th term of the following quadratic sequences (U n =a n +bn+ c) given the
first 3 terms, by forming and solving simultaneous equations.
Example: 2, 5, 10, ...
U 1=a+b+ c=2U 2=4 a+ 2 b+c=5U 3=9 a+3 b+ c=10
Solving by elimination: a=1 , b=0 , c=1
a. U 1=4 , U 2=5 , U 3=8
b. U 1=1 , U 2=4 , U 3=11
c. U 1=3 , U 2=6.5 ,U 3=13
2. You generate a sequence where the n th term is the sum of the first n squares (where 1 is considered
to be the first square number).
a. What are the first four terms in the sequence: U 1, U 2, U 3 , U 4?
b. [Difficult] The formula for the n th term of this sequence is a cubic, i.e. in the form
3 2
U n =a n +b n + cn+d . Using the first four terms of your sequence, set up four
simultaneous equations and solve to find the formula of your sequence.
3. [Very much optional] Suppose a sequence is defined such that the n th term is the sum of the first n
cubes.
a. What are the first 5 terms of the sequence?
b. What do you notice about the terms of the sequence?
c. By finding the formula for these terms before they are squared, hence find the formula for
the n th term of this sequence, keeping your answer factorised.