Arithmetic Sequences as

Linear Functions
 Arithmetic Sequences
A SEQUENCE is an ordered list of numbers.

Each number in a SEQUENCE is called a TERM.

In an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE, each TERM is found by adding the

SAME number to the previous TERM.

For example:

𝟏, 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔, …

The difference between each term is called the COMMON

DIFFERENCE, 𝒅.

In an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE, the COMMON DIFFERENCE will be

the SAME for ALL terms in the sequence.
Example 1 – Identifying Arithmetic Sequences
Determine if −𝟒, −𝟐, 𝟎, 𝟐, … is an ARITHMETIC
SEQUENCE:

It is fairly easy to see that the difference between

each term is constant – we add 2 each time – so
therefore, this is an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE.
 You Try 1
Determine if −𝟐𝟔, −𝟐𝟐, −𝟏𝟖, −𝟏𝟒, … is an
ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE:

If you were correct, you should have found that the

common difference is CONSTANT – we add 4 to each
term – therefore, this is an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE.
 Example 2
𝟏 𝟓 𝟑 𝟏𝟑
Determine if , , , , … is an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE:
𝟐 𝟖 𝟒 𝟏𝟔

We need to see if the COMMON DIFFERENCE is constant… so we

have:
𝟏 𝟏 𝟓
+ =
𝟐 𝟖 𝟖

𝟓 𝟏 𝟔 𝟑
+ = =
𝟖 𝟖 𝟖 𝟒

𝟑 𝟏 𝟕 𝟏𝟑
+ = ≠
𝟒 𝟖 𝟖 𝟏𝟔

Therefore, the COMMON DIFFERENCE does NOT remain constant,

so, we know that this is NOT an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE.
 You Try 2
Determine if 𝟏, 𝟒, 𝟗, 𝟐𝟓, … is an ARITHMETIC
SEQUENCE:

If you were correct, you should have found that this

is NOT an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE.
 Example 2 – Finding the Next Term
Find the next three terms of the arithmetic sequence 𝟏𝟓, 𝟗, 𝟑, −𝟑, …:

First, we need to find the common difference…

𝟗 − 𝟏𝟓 = −𝟔

𝟑 − 𝟗 = −𝟔

−𝟑 − 𝟑 = −𝟔

So the COMMON DIFFERENCE is −𝟔…

Now we can use this information to find the next three terms…

−𝟑 + −𝟔 = −𝟗

−𝟗 + −𝟔 = −𝟏𝟓

−𝟏𝟓 + −𝟔 = −𝟐𝟏

So the next three terms in the ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE are −𝟗, −𝟏𝟓, −𝟐𝟏
 You Try 2
Find the next three terms of the arithmetic sequence
𝟗. 𝟓, 𝟏𝟏. 𝟎, 𝟏𝟐. 𝟓, 𝟏𝟒. 𝟎, …:

If you were correct, you should have found that the

next three terms in the series are 𝟏𝟓. 𝟓, 𝟏𝟕, and
𝟏𝟖. 𝟓
 More on Arithmetic Sequences
EVERY term in an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE can be expressed in
terms of the FIRST TERM, 𝒂𝟏 , and the COMMON DIFFERENCE, 𝒅.

For example, the sequence 𝟖, 𝟏𝟏, 𝟏𝟒, 𝟏𝟕, … can be thought of as…

In general, the 𝒏𝐭𝐡 term of an ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE, with a first

term of 𝒂𝟏 and common difference of 𝒅, can be found by…
𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 + 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝒅
Where 𝒏 is a positive integer.
 Example 3 – Finding the 𝑛 𝑡ℎ Term
Write an equation for the 𝒏𝒕𝒉 term of the arithmetic sequence −𝟏𝟐, −𝟖, −𝟒, 𝟎, …
and then find the 9th term of the sequence. Next, graph the first five terms of the
sequence. Finally, determine which term of the sequence is 32:

First, we need to write the equation for the 𝒏𝒕𝒉 term of the arithmetic sequence
− 𝟏𝟐, −𝟖, −𝟒, 𝟎, …

It is clear that the first term in the sequence, 𝒂𝟏 , is −𝟏𝟐… now, we need to first find
the common difference, 𝒅.

It is clear that we are adding 4 to each term, therefore, 𝒅 = 𝟒.

Now we can use this information to write our equation… we have…

𝒂𝒏 = 𝒂𝟏 + 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝒅

Simply “plug-in” what we know and simplify…

𝒂𝒏 = −𝟏𝟐 + 𝒏 − 𝟏 𝟒
= −𝟏𝟐 + 𝟒𝒏 − 𝟒
= 𝟒𝒏 − 𝟏𝟔
 Example 3 - Continued
Now we can use our equation to find the value of the 9th
term…

𝒂𝒏 = 𝟒𝒏 − 𝟏𝟔

Simply “plug-in” what we know and simplify…

𝒂𝟗 = 𝟒 𝟗 − 𝟏𝟔
= 𝟑𝟔 − 𝟏𝟔
= 𝟐𝟎

So the 9th term of the sequence is 20.

 Example 3 - Continued
Now, we need to graph the first 5 terms of the sequence…
We will think of “𝒙” as being our term #, and “𝒚” as being our term value…
Term # Term Value
𝒙 𝒚
1 -12
2 -8
3 -4
4 0
5 4
 Example 3 - Continued
Finally, we need to find out which term in the sequence has a
value of 𝒂𝒏 = 𝟑𝟐…
Again, we will use our formula…
𝒂𝒏 = 𝟒𝒏 − 𝟏𝟔

Now, “plug-in” what we know and simplify…

𝟑𝟐 = 𝟒𝒏 − 𝟏𝟔

𝟒𝟖 = 𝟒𝒏

𝒏 = 𝟏𝟐

Therefore, the 12th term in the sequence has a value of 32.

 You Try 3
Consider the arithmetic sequence 𝟑, −𝟏𝟎, −𝟐𝟑, −𝟑𝟔, …
write an equation for the 𝒏𝒕𝒉 term of the sequence and
then find the 15th term. Then determine which term in
the sequence has a value of −𝟏𝟏𝟒.

If you were correct, you should have found that the

equation is…
𝒂𝒏 = −𝟏𝟑𝒏 + 𝟏𝟔
The 15th term in the sequence has a value of −𝟏𝟕𝟗.
And the 10th term in the sequence has a value of −𝟏𝟏𝟒.
 Homework #24
• P.191, #’s 8-23 all.