C2 Chapter 7: Geometric

Series
Dr J Frost (jfrost@tiffin.kingston.sch.uk)
www.drfrostmaths.com

Last modified: 4th April 2016

Types of series

?
common
difference
+ + + This is a:
3 3 3

2, 5, 8, 11, 14, Arithmetic

?
Series
?
common
ratio

3, 6, 12, 24, ?
Geometric
Series
48,
Common Ratio

Identify the common ratio :

1 ?

2 ?

3 ?

4 ?

5 ?
6 ?
7 ?
 Common Ratio Exam Question
May 2013 (Retracted)

Hint for (a): the common ratio between the first and second terms, and
the second and third terms, is the same.
a

b
?
 th
term

Arithmetic Series Geometric Series

? ?

Determine the following:

3, 6, 12, 24,
?

40, -20, 10, -5, ?

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Another Common Ratio Example
Thenumbers and form the first three terms of
a positive geometric sequence. Find:

a) The possible values of .

b) The 10th term in the sequence.

But there are no negative terms so

?
Missing information
The second term of a geometric sequence is 4 and the
4th
th term is 8.

The common ratio is positive. Find the exact values of:

a) The common ratio.
b) The first term.
c) The

10 th term.
th

a)Dividing (1) by (2) gives

b)Substituting, ?
c)

Bro Tip: Explicitly writing first helps you avoid confusing the th

term with the sum of the first terms (the latter of which well
 th
term with inequalities
What
is the first term in the geometric progression to
exceed 1 million?

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Exam Question
Edexcel June 2010

?
?

?

Sum of the first terms

Arithmetic Series Geometric Series

?
?

Technically you could be asked in an exam

the proof of the sum of a geometric series (it
once came up!)
So lets prove it

Sum of the first terms

Geometric Series

Find the sum of the first 10 terms.

? ? ?

? ? ?

?
Summation Notation

Find

? ? ?

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Harder Questions: Type 1
Find
the least value of such that the sum of to
terms would exceed 2 000 000.

An investor invests 2000 on January 1st every year

in a savings account that guarantees him 4% per
annum for life. If interest is calculated on the 31st of
December each year, how much will be in the
account at the end of the 10th year?

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Exercise 7D
1 Find the sum of the following geometric series (to 3dp if necessary).
a) (8 terms) ?
c) (6 terms) ?
e) ?
h)
?
The sum of the first three terms of a geometric series is 30.5. If the first
2 term is 8, find the possible values of .
?
Jane invest 4000 at the start of every year. She negotiates a rate of
4 interest of 4% per annum, which is paid at the end of the year. How
much is her investment worth at the end of (a) the 10th year and (b) the
20th year. (a) (b) ? ?
5 A ball is dropped from a height of 10m. It bounces to a height of 7m and
continues to bounce. Subsequent heights to which it bounces follow a
geometric sequence. Find out: ?
a) How high it will bounce after the fourth bounce, ?
b) The total distance travelled until it hits the ground for a sixth time.
6
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Different types of series
What can you say about the sum of each series
up to infinity?
This is divergent the
1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + 16 ?
sum of the values tends
+ ... towards infinity.
This is divergent the sum of
1+2+3+4+5 the values tends?towards infinity.
But arguably, the sum of the
+ ... natural numbers is .
1 + 0.5 + 0.25 + This is convergent the
? tends
sum of the values
0.125 + ... towards a fixed value, in
Just for fun... this case 2.

This is divergent . This is

?
known as the Harmonic
Series

This is convergent . This
is known as the Basel
?
Problem, and the value is .
Sum to Infinity
Think about our formula for the sum of the first terms.
If we make infinity, what do we require of for not to be
infinity (i.e. we want to keep the series convergent). And what
will the formula become?

Restriction on : ?
 Examples

? ?
?

? ? ?

? ? ?

? ? ?
 A somewhat esoteric Futurama joke
explained

Bender (the robot) manages to self-clone himself, where some excess is

required to produce the duplicates (e.g. alcohol), but the duplicates are
smaller versions of himself. These smaller clones also have the capacity to
clone themselves. The Professor is worried that the total amount mass
consumed by the growing population is divergent, and hence theyll consume
 A somewhat esoteric Futurama joke
explained

This simplifies to

The sum is known as the harmonic series, which is divergent.

Another Example

The sum to 4 terms of a geometric series

is 15 and the sum to infinity is 16.
a) Find the possible values of .

?
b) Given that the terms are all positive,
find the first term in the series.

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Another Example
Edexcel May
2011

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?

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Exercises

Exercise 7D Q6, 7
Exercise 7E Q8
Exercise 7F Q10