Notes for HKDSE Mathematics

Arithmetic and Geometric Sequence/Series

Recall that a sequence is a function defined on
{1, 2, 3, } K
and usually denoted by one of
the following notations:
1
{ }
n n
x

,
{ }
n
x
,
1 2 3
{ , , , } x x x K
.
For example,
1
{2 1}
n
n

,
{2 1} n
and
{1, 3, 5, } K
represent the same sequence.
Definition. (AS and GS)
A sequence
{ }
n
x
is called an arithmetic sequence if
1 n n
x x d
+
+
(
1, 2, 3, n K
),
where d is a constant. Arithmetic sequence is abbreviated to A.S..
A sequence
{ }
n
x
is called a geometric sequence if
1 n n
x rx
+

(
1, 2, 3, n K
),
where r is a constant. Geometric sequence is abbreviated to G.S..
d is called common difference and r is called common ratio.
General Term and Partial Sum.
The general term of an A.S.
{ }
n
x
with common difference d is
1
( 1)
n
x x n d +
.
The n
th
partial sum is
1
1 1
( )
[2 ( 1) ]
2 2
n
n
n x x n
x x x n d
+
+ + + L .
The general term of a G.S.
{ }
n
y
with common ratio r is
1
1
n
n
y y r

.
The n
th
partial sum is
1
1
(1 )
1
n
n
y r
y y
r

+ +

L .
If 1 1 r < < , the sum to infinity is
1
1 2
1
y
y y
r
+ +

L .
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Basic Techniques and Typical Examples
Example 1.
Let
{ }
n
x
be an A.S. with
4
3 x and common difference 5. Find the general term.
Solution.
The general term is
1
5( 1)
n
x x n +
. Put 4 n , we have
1 1
3 5 3 12 x x + .
Hence, the general term is
12 5( 1) 5 17
n
x n n +
.
TIP. The general term of any A.S. is of the form
n
x pn q +
(p, q are constants). Moreover,
the constant p should be the common difference. If the answer you obtained is not of
this form, then it must be wrong.
Example 2.
Let
{ }
n
x
be an A.S. with the n
th
partial sum
2
3
n
S n n . Find the general term.
Solution.
The general term is
2 2
1
[( 1) 3( 1)] [ 3 ] 2 2
n n n
x S S n n n n n

+ + .
The n
th
partial sum
n
S
of an A.S. must be a quadratic expression of n with constant term
zero. This allows us to adopt the convention
0
0 S
.
TIP. By examples 1 and 2, we know that the following information of an A.S. are equivalent:
(in the sense that if we know one then we know the others)
(i.) Particular term and common difference;
(ii.) Partial sum;
(iii.) General term.
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Example 3.
Let
{ }
n
y
be a G.S. with
4
2 y and common ratio 3. Find the general term.
Solution.
The general term is
1
1
3
n
n
y y

. Put 4 n , we have
3
1 1
2
2 3
27
y y .
Hence, the general term is
1
2
3
27
n
n
y

.
Example 4.
Let
{ }
n
y
be a G.S. with the n
th
partial sum
3 1
2
n
n
T

. Find the general term.
Solution.
The general term is
1 1 1
1
1
3 1 3 1 3 3 2 3
3
2 2 2 2
n n n n n
n
n n n
y T T

.
Again, we adopt the convention
0
0 T
here.
TIP. In the examination, the question may ask you to find the n
th
partial sum
n
S
(of an A.S. or
a G.S.). Once you get your answer, it is a good habit to put 0 n and check if
0
0 S
. For example, if your answer is
2
2
n
S n n + (note that
0
2 0 S
) then
it must be wrong.
A similar figure in which we saw before:
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Interesting Example.
Let ABC be an equilateral triangle with area 1
2
cm
and A , B ,
C are respectively the midpoints of BC, CA, AB. The midpoints
are joined to form A B C as shown in the figure.
(a) Find the area of A B C .
In each of the remaining triangles AC B , C BA , B A C . We
draw their medial triangles (which are shaded in the figure).
(b) Find the area of each shaded smaller triangle.
(c) Repeat the process indefinitely. Find the total area of
shaded triangles.
Solution.
(a) Since A B C is similar to ABC ,
2
2
1
4
1
cm
4
A B
A B C ABC
AB
ABC

_


,

(b) By similarity again, the area of each shaded smaller triangle is

2
1 1 1
cm
4 4 16
.
(c) Total area is
2
1
1 3 9
4
1 cm
3
4 16 64
1
4
+ + +

L
.
The figure in the right is called Sierpinski Triangle
. It is an example of fractalin
modern mathematics. The most interesting property of
Sierpinski Triangle is that it has non-integral dimension
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A
B C A'
B' C'
A
B C A'
B' C'
log3 log 2 1.585 .
Additional Example. (Out of Syllabus)
A sequence
{ }
n
x
is defined recursively by
1
1
1
2 1 ( 1, 2, )
n n
x
x x n
+

'
+

K
Find the general term of this sequence.
We write down the first few terms:
n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
n
x
1 3 7 15 31 63 127
This is neither A.S. nor G.S.!
Solution.
Let
1
n n
y x +
, then
1
2 y and the recurrence relation becomes
1 1
1
(2 1) 1
2( 1)
2
n n
n
n
n
y x
x
x
y
+ +
+
+ +
+

Note that
{ }
n
y
is a G.S.! Its general term is
1
1
2 2
n n
n
y y

. Hence, 2 1
n
n
x is the
general term of the original sequence.
Further Investigation.
More generally, suppose a sequence is defined by
1
1
( 1, 2, )
n n
x a
x px q n
+

'
+

K
where a, p, q are given constants. (Note that A.S. and G.S. are sequences of this type.)
It is natural to ask: how to find the general term of this sequence?
(Think yourself and then see the solution in next page)
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Adern.Chan & Kelvin.Shum
Solution.
If
1 p
then the sequence is an A.S., this case is easy. We now consider the case
1 p
.
Let
1
n n
q
y x
p
+

. Then
{ }
n
y
is a G.S. with common ratio p. This is because
1 1
1
( )
1
1 1
n n
n
n
n
q
y x
p
q
px q
p
q q
p y q
p p
py
+ +
+

+ +

_
+ +


,

Hence,
1 1 1
1 1
1 1 1
n n n
n n
q q q
y p y x p y p a
p p p

_
+


,
.
Exercise.
Find the general term of the sequence
{ }
n
x
defined by
1
1
2
3 5 ( 1, 2, )
n n
x
x x n
+

'

K
The first few terms are:
n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
n
x
2 1 2 11 38 119 362
Answer:
1
5 3
2 2
n
.
Appendix: why 0.9 = 1
&
?
What is the value of 0.999L ? May be somebody told you before the answer is 1. This
surprising result can be proved as follows:
The number
0.9
&
is, by definition, the sum of the series
0.9 0.09 0.009 + + +L
This is a geometric series with common ratio 0.1, the sum is
0.9
1
1 0.1

.
This example shows that the decimal representationof a number is
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not unique in general.
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