ARITHMETIC SEQUENCE

Mathematics 10 – Module 2

What is this module all about

This module is a material for self-learning which contains: pre-assessment that will assess
learner’s prior knowledge of the lesson; discussion of the lesson with various illustrated examples;
series of activities for the learner to perform to exercise what he/she had learned from the discussion;
post-assessment that will measure what the learner learned from the presented lesson; and the
additional activity to further enhance what the learner’s learned from this module.

What you expect to learn

After going through this module, you are expected to:

• illustrate arithmetic sequence;

• find the nth term of an arithmetic sequence; and
• find the common difference given two terms of arithmetic sequence.

Pre – Assessment

Directions: Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer from the given choices. Write the letter of the
correct answer on a clean sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following illustrate arithmetic sequence?

A. 2, 6, 8, 11, 15, ….
B. 2, -4, 6, -8, 10, …
C. 2, 5, 8, 11, 14,…
D. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, …

2. Which of the following is an arithmetic sequence?

A. 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, …
B. 7, 10,13, 16, …
C. 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, …
D. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, …

3. What are the next two terms of the sequence 4, 7, 10, 13, ___, ___?
A. 14, 17
B. 15, 18
C. 16, 19
D. 17, 20
4. What are the first two terms of the sequence __, ___, 33, 38, 43, 48?
A. 23, 28
B. 25, 29
C. 24, 28
D. 29, 31

5. What are the two middle terms of the sequence-2, -6, ___, ____, -18, -22?
A. -8, -14
B. -10, -12
C. -10, -14
D. -12, -16

6. What are the missing terms of the sequence 100, 98, ___, 94, ___, 90, 88?
A. 90, 88
B. 93, 91
C. 95, 93
D. 96, 92

7. What is the 7th term of the sequence 7, 10, 13, 16, …?

A. 23
B. 24
C. 25
D. 26

8. What is the 100th term of the sequence -8, -3, 2, 7, …?

A. 467
B. 477
C. 487
D. 497

9. What is the common difference of the sequence -9, -4, 1, 6, …?

A. 2
B. 3
C. 4
D. 5

1 1
10. What is the common difference of the sequence , 1, 1 , 2,…?
2 2
1
A.
2
B. 1
1
C. 1
2
D. 2

11. What is the common difference of the arithmetic sequence 64, 56, 48, 40, …?
A. 4
B. 8
C. 12
D. 16
12. Which of the following arithmetic sequence whose common difference is 1 ½?
A. ½, 1, 1 ½, 2, 2 ½, …
B. 1 ½, 2 ½, 3 ½, 4 ½,…
C. 0, 1 ½, 3, 4 ½, …
D. ½, 2½, 4 ½, 6 ½, …

2
13. Which of the following arithmetic sequence whose common difference is ?
3
2 1 2
A. , 1 , 2, 2 , …
3 3 3
2 2 2 2
B.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , …
3 3 3 3
1 2 1 2
C. , , 1, 1 , 1 , …
3 3 3 3
2 3 4 5
D. , , , , …
3 3 3 3

14. A force of gravity causes a ball to fall 16.1 decimeters during the first second, 48.3 the next
second, 80.5 the third, and so on. How far will the body fall in 10 seconds?
A. 295.9 dm
B. 305.9 dm
C. 315.9 dm
D. 325.9 dm

15. A bottle of soft drink costs Php10, two bottles cost Php20, and 3 bottles cost Php30. How much
it costs for 1 case of 24 bottles soft drink?
A. Php10
B. Php24
C. Php40
D. Php240

What you had learned

Defining Sequence

A sequence is a set of numbers written in a specific order: a1, a2, a3, a4, a5, a6, …, an. The 1st
term is a1, the 2nd term is a2, and the general term is an. The subscript n is understood to start from
1, then 2, then 3, and so on, unless otherwise stated.
 What will you do

Activity 1. Answer the problem to reveal the answer to the trivia.

The world “hundred” comes from the old Norse term, “hundrath” which actually mean
____ and not 100. Norse people were a North Germanic ethnolinguistic group of the Early Middle
Ages, during which they spoke the Old Norse language. To find out the answer, determine the
fourth term of the sequence 30, 60, 90, ___.

What you will learn

Arithmetic Sequence

A sequence where each succeeding term is obtained by adding a fixed number is called an
arithmetic sequence. The fixed number is called the common difference d. Any arithmetic sequence is
defined by the equation
an = a1 + (n – 1)d,
where, an is the nth term, a1 is the 1st term and d is the common difference.

A. Illustrative Examples:
Find the common difference of the following arithmetic sequence:
1.) -1, 2, 5, 8, 11
Solution: 2 – (-1) = 3, 5 – 2 = 3, 8 – 5 = 3, 11 – 8 = 3
The common difference of the arithmetic sequence -1, 2, 5, 8, 11 is 3.

2.) 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

Solution: 10 – 5 = 5, 15 – 10 = 5, 20 – 15 = 5, 25 – 20 = 5
The common difference of the arithmetic sequence 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 is 5.

3.) Find the 5th term of the arithmetic sequence for which the first term is 9 and the common
difference is 7?
Solutions:

Method 1. Since d = 7 and a1 = 9, we can easily find the next 5 terms of the arithmetic
sequence as: 9, 16, 23, 30, 37

Method 2. Given: a1 = 9; n = 5; and d = 7. Find a5.

Substitute the given values in the formula:
an = a1 + (n – 1)d
a5 = 9 + (5 – 1)7
= 9 + (4)7
= 9 + 28
a5 = 37 Therefore, 37 is the 5th term of the sequence.
4.) Find the 100th term of the sequence 9, 16, 23, 30, 37, ….
Given: a1 = 9, n = 100, d = 7
Find: a100

Substitute the given in the equation:

an = a1 + (n – 1)d
a100 = 9 + (100 – 1)7
= 9 + (99)7
= 9 + 693
a100 = 702 Therefore, the 100th term is 702.

5. In the arithmetic sequence 9, 16, 23, 30, 37,…., which term equals 352?
Given: an = 352, a1 = 9, d = 7
Find: n

Substitute the given values in the formula:

an = a1 + (n – 1)d
352 = 9 + (n – 1)7
352 = 9 + 7n – 7
352 = 2 + 7n
352 – 2 = 2 + 7n – 2 Subtract both sides with 2
352 – 2 = 7n
7n = 350 Divide both sides with 7
7 7
350
n=
7
n = 50 Therefore, the 50th term of the arithmetic sequence is 352.

6. What is the common difference in the arithmetic sequence whose first term is 9, the last term
is 231 and n = 75?
Given: a1 = 9, an = 231, n = 75
Find: d
Formula: an = a1 + (n -1)d

Solution: Substitute the given values to the formula

an = a1 + (n -1)d
231 = 9 + (75 – 1)d
231 – 9 = 9 + 74d – 9 Subtract both sides with 9
231 – 9 = 74d
222 = 74d Divide both sides with 74
74 74
d=3 Therefore, the common difference is 4.
 What will you do

Activity 2. Directions: Find the term indicated in each of the following arithmetic sequences. Write
your answer on a clean sheet of paper.
1.) 1, 4, 7, … 5th term
2.) 13, 16, 19, 22,… 10th term
3.) 99, 88, 77, 66,… 15th term
4.) -8, -3, 2, 7, … 20th term
1 1 3 1
5.) , , , , … 25th term
8 4 8 2

What you have learned?

Activity 3. Directions: Solve the following problems. Present a systematics steps in presenting your
solution. Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper.

1.) Find The 5th term of the arithmetic sequence for which the first term is 5 and the common
difference is 5.
2.) Find the 10th term of the arithmetic sequence for which the first term is 99 and the common
difference is -12.
3.) Find the 15th term of the arithmetic sequence for which the first term is 25 and the common
difference is 9.
4.) In arithmetic sequence 100, 96, 92, 88, ,.. which term equals 276?
5.) What is the common difference of an arithmetic sequence whose first term is 4, the last term is
64, and n = 16?

What will you do

Activity 4. Directions: Solve the given word problems. Present a systematics steps in your solution.
Write your answer on a clean sheet of paper. Write you answer with

1.) Mrs. Reyes purchased a house and lot in 2018 for Php1, 000, 000. If its value increase by Php50,
000 each year. How much it cost at the end of 2030?

2.) A square table seat 4 people. If two square tables are placed together, six people can be seated. If
three square tables are placed together to form a long table, eight people can be seated. If fifteen
square tables are placed together to form a longer table, how many people can be seated?
 Post – Assessment

Directions: Multiple Choice: Choose the correct answer from the given choices. Write the letter of the
correct answer on a clean sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following illustrate arithmetic sequence?

A. 0, 5, 10, 15, …
B. 4, 8, 18, 32
C. 1, 4, 9, 16, …
1 1 1 1
D. , , , , …
2 4 8 12

2. Which of the following is an arithmetic sequence?

A. -64, -32, -16, -8, ….
1 1 1 1
B. − , − , , − ,…
24 20 16 12
C. -32, -28, -24, -20, …
D. -32, -18, -8, -2, …

3. What are the next two terms of the sequence -4, -7, -10, -13, ___, ___?
A. -17, -20
B. -14, -17
C. -16, -19
D. -15, -18

4. What are the first two terms of the sequence __, ___, 48, 64, 80, 96?
A. 32,40
B. 28, 38
C. 16, 32
D. 28, 36

5. What are the two middle terms of the sequence -105, -120, ___, ____, -165, -180?
A. -130, -140
B. -125, -145
C. -135, 145
D. -135, -150

6. What are the missing terms of the sequence 35, 42, ___, 56, ___, 70, 77?
A. 48, 62
B. 49, 63
C. 50, 68
D. 51, 67

7. What is the twelfth term of the sequence 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, …?
A. 5.0
B. 5.5
C. 6.0
D. 6.5
8. What is the 150th term of the sequence -8, -3, 2, 7, …?
A. -753
B. -748
C. -743
D. -738

9. What is the common difference of the sequence 1√2, 2 + √2, 4 + √2, 6 +√2, …?
A. 2
B. 2√2
C. 3
D. 32√2

1 1 3
10. What is the common difference of the sequence , , , 1,…?
4 2 4
3
A.
4
1
B.
2
1
C.
3
1
D.
4

11. What is the common difference of the arithmetic sequence 24, 30, 36, 42, …?
A. 4
B. 6
C. 8
D. 10

2
12. Which of the following arithmetic sequence whose common difference is ?
3
A. 1 ½, 2 ½, 3 ½, 4 ½,…
1 2 1
B. , 1, 1 , 2 , …
3 3 3
C. ½, 2½, 4 ½, 6 ½, …
D. 0, 1 ½, 3, 4 ½, …

1
13. Which of the following arithmetic sequence whose common difference is 1 ?
4
1 2 1 2
A. , , 1, 1 , 1 , …
3 3 3 3
2 2 2 2
B.1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , …
3 3 3 3
1 7 1
C. , , 3, 4 , …
2 4 4
2 3 4 5
D. , , , , …
3 3 3 3

14. A certain fastfood chain had served 8 customers in an 1 hour after it opened at exactly 8:00 A.M.
When time falls at exactly 10:00 A.M., it had already served to a total of 20 customers, and a total
of 30 customers at exactly 11:00 A.M. How many costumers did it serve at exactly 5:00 P.M.?
A. 70 customers
B. 80 customers
C. 90 customers
D. 100 customers
15. In the first kilometer of travel, the fare is 5 pesos. Then after 2 kilometers, the total fare is 10
pesos, 3 kilometers is 15 pesos and so on. How much Mang Juan will spend for the fare if he lives
10 kilometers away?
A. 20 pesos
B. 30 pesos
C. 40 pesos
D. 50 pesos

Additional Activity

Directions: Write the first five terms of the arithmetic sequence from the given data.
1. a1 = 1; d = 1
2. a1 = 10; d = 2
3. a1 = -15; d = 5
1 1
4. a1 = 2; d = 4
5. a1 = 4; d = 2x

References

Jose-Dilao, S. 2009. Intermediate Algebra. Revised Edition. Quezon City, Philippines .SD
Publications, Inc.

Orines, F. Diaz, Z. and Mojica, M. Intermediate Algebra. Second Edition. Quezon City Philippines.
Phoenix Publishing House, Inc.

Answer Keys
Pre – Assessment Activity 3 Post – Assessment
Activity 1
1. C 1. 25 1. A
1. 120
2. B 2. -9 2. C
3. C 3. 151 3. A
Activity 2
4. A 4. 45 4. C
1. 13
5. C 5. 4 5. D
2. 40
6. D 6. B
3. -55
7. C Activity 4 7. C
4. 87
8. C 23 1. Php1,550,000 8. A
5. − 9. A
9. D 8 2. 32
10. A 10. D
11. B 11. B
12. C 12. B
13. A 13. C
14. B 14. C
15. D 15. D