Download A10 Generating sequences

A10 Generating sequences
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Sequence grid
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Predicting terms in a sequence
Usually, we can predict how a sequence will continue by
looking for patterns.
For example:
87, 84, 81, 78, ...
We can predict that this sequence continues by subtracting
3 each time.
However, sequences do not always continue as we would
expect.
For example:
A sequence starts with the numbers 1, 2, 4, ...
How could this sequence continue?
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2009
Writing sequences from term-to-term-rules
A term-to-term rule gives a rule for finding each term of
a sequence from the previous term or terms.
To generate a sequence from a term-to-term rule we must
also be given the first number in the sequence.
For example:
1st term
Term-to-term rule
5
Add consecutive even numbers starting with 2.
This gives us the sequence,
5
7
+2
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11
+4
17
+6
25
+8
35
+10
47 ...
+12
© Boardworks Ltd 2014
2009
Sequences from position-to-term rules
Sometimes sequences are arranged in a table like this:
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
…
nth
Term
3
6
9
12
15
18
…
3n
We can say that each term can be found by multiplying
the position of the term by 3.
This is called a position-to-term rule.
For this sequence we can say that the nth term is 3n,
where n is a term’s position in the sequence.
What is the 100th term in this sequence?
3 × 100 = 300
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Sequences from position-to-term rules
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Writing sequences from position-to-term rules
The position-to-term rule for a sequence is very useful
because it allows us to work out any term in the sequence
without having to work out any other terms.
We can use algebraic shorthand to do this.
We call the first term T(1), for Term number 1,
we call the second term T(2),
we call the third term T(3), ...
and we call the nth term T(n).
T(n) is called the the nth term or the general term.
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Writing sequences from position-to-term rules
For example, suppose the nth term of a sequence is 4n + 1.
We can write this rule as:
T(n) = 4n + 1
Find the first 5 terms.
T(1) = 4 × 1 + 1 = 5
T(2) = 4 × 2 + 1 = 9
T(3) = 4 × 3 + 1 = 13
T(4) = 4 × 4 + 1 = 17
T(5) = 4 × 5 + 1 = 21
The first 5 terms in the sequence are: 5, 9, 13, 17 and 21.
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