topic badge
Middle Years

8.02 Arithmetic sequences (Extended)

Worksheet
Arithmetic sequences
1

Write down the next two terms for each arithmetic sequence:

a

4,8,12,16,\ldots

b

2,3.5,5,6.5,\ldots

c

6,2,- 2,- 6,\ldots

d

\dfrac{3}{4},\dfrac{2}{4},\dfrac{1}{4},\dfrac{0}{4},\ldots

e

- 8, - \dfrac{23}{3}, - \dfrac{22}{3}, - 7

2

Write the first four terms in each of the following arithmetic progressions:

a

The first term is - 10 and the common difference is 4

b

The first term is - 8 and the common difference is - 2

c

The first term is u_1 and the common difference is d

3

Determine if the following sequences are arithmetic progressions:

a

3, 0, - 3 , - 6 , \ldots

b

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, \ldots

c

3, 3^{3}, 3^{6}, 3^{9}, \ldots

d

4, - 4 , 4, - 4 , \ldots

e
3, 6, 12, 24,\ldots
f

5, 7, 5, 7,\ldots

4

State the common difference between consecutive terms of the following sequences:

a

3, 0, - 3 , - 6 , \ldots

b

330, 280, 230, 180, \ldots

c

- 6, - \dfrac{39}{7}, - \dfrac{36}{7}, - \dfrac{33}{7}, \ldots

5

Use the common difference to find missing terms in the following arithmetic progressions:

a

8,⬚,16,20,⬚

b

⬚,0,⬚,10,⬚

c

- 12,⬚,⬚,⬚,⬚,⬚,24

Explicit rules
6

The nth term of a sequence is defined by: u_n = 11 + \left(n - 1\right) \times 10

a

Write down the first four terms of the sequence.

b

Find the common difference between consecutive terms in the sequence.

7

Consider the first three terms of the arithmetic sequence: 10, 3, - 4 \ldots

a

Determine the common difference.

b

State the equation for finding u_n, the nth term in the sequence.

c

Determine the 9th term in the sequence.

8

Consider the first three terms of the arithmetic sequence: 17, 16.2, 15.4 \ldots

a

Determine d, the common difference.

b

State the equation for finding u_n, the nth term in the sequence.

c

Determine u_{13} .

9

For each of the following arithmetic progressions:

i

Find u_1, the first term in the progression.

ii

Find d, the common difference.

iii

Find the indicated term.

a

u_n = 4 + 5 \left(n - 1\right),\ u_9

b

u_n = 2 - 6 \left(n - 1\right), \ u_8

c

u_n = - 2 + 6 \left(n - 1\right), \ u_7

d

u_n = - 4 - 5 \left(n - 1\right), \ u_5

e

u_n = 15 + 5 \left(n - 1\right), \ u_9

f

u_n = - 8 n + 28, \ u_5

10

In an arithmetic progression where u_1 is the first term, and d is the common difference, we have u_2 = 9 and u_5 = 27.

a

Find d, the common difference.

b

Find u_1, the first term in the sequence.

c

State the general rule for u_n, the nth term in the sequence.

d

Hence, calculate u_{30}.

11

Find the value of n if:

a

The nth term of the sequence 23, 14, 5, - 4 , \ldots is -238.

b

The nth term of the sequence \dfrac{2}{3}, \dfrac{11}{12}, \dfrac{7}{6}, \dfrac{17}{12}, \ldots is \dfrac{49}{6}.

12

For each of the following sequences:

i

State the explicit rule for u_n in terms of n.

ii

Find the indicated term.

a

12, 15, 18, 21, \ldots (16th term)

b

22, 17, 12, 7, \ldots (21st term)

c

- 20 , - 16 , - 12 , - 8 , \ldots (26th term)

d

5, 6.5, 8, 9.5, \ldots (11th term)

Sign up to access Worksheet
Get full access to our content with a Mathspace account

What is Mathspace

About Mathspace