Geometric Sequences and Sums

Sequence
A Sequence is a set of things (usually numbers) that are in order.

Geometric Sequences
In a Geometric Sequence each term is found by multiplying the previous term by a constant.
Example:
2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, ...
This sequence has a factor of 2 between each number.
Each term (except the first term) is found by multiplying the previous term by 2.

In General you could write a Geometric Sequence like this:
{a, ar, ar
2
, ar
3
, ... }
where:
a is the first term, and
r is the factor between the terms (called the "common ratio")

Example: {1,2,4,8,...}
The sequence starts at 1 and doubles each time, so
a=1 (the first term)
r=2 (the "common ratio" between terms is a doubling)
So we would get:
{a, ar, ar
2
, ar
3
, ... }
= {1, 12, 12
2
, 12
3
, ... }
= {1, 2, 4, 8, ... }

But be careful, r should not be 0:
When r=0, you get the sequence {a,0,0,...} which is not geometric
The Rule
You can also calculate any term using the Rule:
x
n
= ar
(n-1)

(We use "n-1" because ar
0
is for the 1st term)

Example:
10, 30, 90, 270, 810, 2430, ...
This sequence has a factor of 3 between each number.
The values of a and r are:
a = 10 (the first term)
r = 3 (the "common ratio")
The Rule for any term is:
x
n
= 10 3
(n-1)

So, the 4th term would be:
x
4
= 103
(4-1)
= 103
3
= 1027 = 270
And the 10th term would be:
x
10
= 103
(10-1)
= 103
9
= 1019683 = 196830

A Geometric Sequence can also have smaller and smaller values:
Example:
4, 2, 1, 0.5, 0.25, ...
This sequence has a factor of 0.5 (a half) between each number.
Its Rule is x
n
= 4 (0.5)
n-1

Why "Geometric" Sequence?
Because it is like increasing the dimensions in geometry:

a line is 1-dimensional and has a length of r
in 2 dimensions a square has an area of r
2

in 3 dimensions a cube has volume r
3

etc (yes you can have 4 and more dimensions in mathematics).

Geometric Sequences are sometimes called Geometric Progressions (G.P.s)
Summing a Geometric Series
When you need to sum a Geometric Sequence, there is a handy formula.
To sum:
a + ar + ar
2
+ ... + ar
(n-1)

Each term is ar
k
, where k starts at 0 and goes up to n-1
Use this formula:


a is the first term
r is the "common ratio" between terms
n is the number of terms
What is that funny symbol? It is called Sigma Notation

(called Sigma) means "sum up"
And below and above it are shown the starting and ending values:

It says "Sum up n where n goes from 1 to 4. Answer=10
The formula is easy to use ... just "plug in" the values of a, r and n
Example: Sum the first 4 terms of
10, 30, 90, 270, 810, 2430, ...
This sequence has a factor of 3 between each number.

The values of a, r and n are:
a = 10 (the first term)
r = 3 (the "common ratio")
n = 4 (we want to sum the first 4 terms)
So:

Becomes:

You could check it yourself:
10 + 30 + 90 + 270 = 400
And, yes, it was easier to just add them in this case, because there were only 4 terms. But
imagine you had to sum up lots of terms, then the formula is better to use.

Using the Formula
Let's see the formula in action:
Example: Grains of Rice on a Chess Board

On our page Binary Digits we give an example of grains of rice on a
chess board. The question is asked:
When you place rice on the chess board:
1 grain on the first square,
2 grains on the second square,
4 grains on the third and so on,
...
... doubling the grains of rice on each square ...
... how many grains of rice in total?
So we have:
a = 1 (the first term)
r = 2 (doubles each time)
n = 64 (64 squares on a chess board)
So:

Becomes:


= (1-2
64
) / (-1) = 2
64
- 1
= 18,446,744,073,709,551,615
Which was exactly the result we got on the Binary Digits page (thank goodness!)
And another example, this time with r less than 1:
Example: Add up the first 10 terms of the Geometric Sequence that halves each
time:
{ 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, ... }
The values of a, r and n are:
a = (the first term)
r = (halves each time)
n = 10 (10 terms to add)
So:

Becomes:

Very close to 1.
(Question: if we continue to increase n, what would happen?)
Why Does the Formula Work?
I want to show you why the formula works, because we get to use an interesting "trick" which is
worth knowing.
First, we will call the whole sum "S": S = a + ar + ar
2
+ ... + ar
(n-2)
+ ar
(n-1)


Next, multiply S by r: S r = ar + ar
2
+ ar
3
+ ... + ar
(n-1)
+ ar
n

Notice that S and S r are similar?
Now subtract them!

Wow! All the terms in the middle neatly cancel out.
(That is the neat trick I wanted to show you.)
By subtracting S r from S we get a simple result:
S Sr = a ar
n

Let's rearrange it to find S:
Factor out S and a: S(1r) = a(1r
n
)

Divide by (1-r): S = a(1r
n
)/(1r)
Which is our formula (ta-da!):


Infinite Geometric Series
So what happens when n goes to infinity?
Well ... when r is less than 1, then r
n
goes to zero and we get:

NOTE: this does not work when r is 1 or more (or less than -1):
r must be between (but not including) -1 and 1
and r should not be 0 because you get the sequence {a,0,0,...} which is not geometric
Let's bring back our previous example, and see what happens:
Example: Add up ALL the terms of the Geometric Sequence that halves each
time:
{ 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, ... }
We have:
a = 1/2 (the first term)
r = 1/2 (halves each time)
And so:

= 1 / = 1
Yes ... adding (1/2)+(1/4)+(1/8)+... equals exactly 1.
Don't believe me? Just look at this square:
By adding up (1/2)+(1/4)+(1/8)+...
... you end up with the whole thing!

Recurring Decimal
On another page we asked "Does 0.999... equal 1?", well, let us see if we can calculate it:
Example: Calculate 0.999...
We can write a recurring decimal as a sum like this:

And now we can use the formula:


Yes! 0.999... does equal 1.

So there you have it ... Geometric Sequences (and their sums) can do all sorts of amazing and
powerful things.
Pythagoras' Theorem

Pythagoras

Over 2000 years ago there was an amazing discovery
about triangles:
When the triangle has a right angle (90) ...
... and squares are made on each of the
three sides, then ...

... the biggest square has the exact same area as the other two squares put together!


It is called "Pythagoras' Theorem" and can be written in one
short equation:
a
2
+ b
2
= c
2


Note:
c is the longest side of the triangle
a and b are the other two sides
Definition
The longest side of the triangle is called the "hypotenuse", so the formal definition is:
In a right angled triangle:
the square of the hypotenuse is equal to
the sum of the squares of the other two sides.
Sure ... ?
Let's see if it really works using an example.
Example: A "3,4,5" triangle has a right angle in it.


Let's check if the areas are the same:
3
2
+ 4
2
= 5
2

Calculating this becomes:
9 + 16 = 25
It works ... like Magic!
Why Is This Useful?
If we know the lengths of two sides of a right angled triangle, we can find the length of the third
side. (But remember it only works on right angled triangles!)
How Do I Use it?
Write it down as an equation:

a
2
+ b
2
= c
2


Now you can use algebra to find any missing value, as in the following examples:
Example: Solve this triangle.


a
2
+ b
2
= c
2

5
2
+ 12
2
= c
2

25 + 144 = c
2

169 = c
2

c
2
= 169
c = 169
c = 13
You can also read about Squares and Square Roots to find out why 169 = 13
Example: Solve this triangle.


a
2
+ b
2
= c
2

9
2
+ b
2
= 15
2

81 + b
2
= 225
Take 81 from both sides:
b
2
= 144
b = 144
b = 12
Example: What is the diagonal distance across a square of size 1?


a
2
+ b
2
= c
2

1
2
+ 1
2
= c
2

1 + 1 = c
2

2 = c
2

c
2
= 2
c = 2 = 1.4142...
It works the other way around, too: when the three sides of a triangle make a
2
+ b
2
= c
2
, then the
triangle is right angled.
Example: Does this triangle have a Right Angle?


Does a
2
+ b
2
= c
2
?
a
2
+ b
2
= 10
2
+ 24
2
= 100 + 576 = 676
c
2
= 26
2
= 676
They are equal, so ...
Yes, it does have a Right Angle!
Example: Does an 8, 15, 16 triangle have a Right Angle?
Does 8
2
+ 15
2
= 16
2
?
8
2
+ 15
2
= 64 + 225 = 289,
but 16
2
= 256
So, NO, it does not have a Right Angle
Example: Does this triangle have a Right Angle?


Does a
2
+ b
2
= c
2
?
Does (3)
2
+ (5)
2
= (8)
2
?
Does 3 + 5 = 8 ?
Yes, it does!
So this is a right-angled triangle
And You Can Prove The Theorem Yourself !
Get paper pen and scissors, then using the following animation as a guide:

Draw a right angled triangle on the paper, leaving
plenty of space.
Draw a square along the hypotenuse (the longest
side)
Draw the same sized square on the other side of the
hypotenuse
Draw lines as shown on the animation, like this:

Cut out the shapes
Arrange them so that you can prove that the big
square has the same area as the two squares on the
other sides
Another, Amazingly Simple, Proof
Here is one of the oldest proofs that the square on the long side has the same area as the other
squares.

Watch the animation, and pay attention when the
triangles start sliding around.
You may want to watch the animation a few times to
understand what is happening.
The purple triangle is the important one.



We also have a proof by adding up the areas.

Historical Note: while we call it Pythagoras' Theorem, it was also known by
Indian, Greek, Chinese and Babylonian mathematicians well before he lived !