Chapter 5

5.5.1 Finding the Nth Term of an Arithmetic Progression


Instructions: Use the following tutorial to help introduce or reinforce the concept of the Nth Term of an Arithmetic Progression. Read through the introduction, then study and familiarize yourself with the definitions of terms. Next, use the incremental calculator to study each step of the process of determining the Nth Term of an Arithmetic Progression. Finally, use the calculator for examples to quiz yourself.
An arithmetic progression is a sequence or pattern of numbers in which each term is calculated by adding d to the previous number. The nth term of an arithmetic progression is obtained by using first term a and the common difference d in this equation:
an=a+(n-1)d
An example of this problem is to take the sequence 2,4,6,8... and finding the 10th term. a= 2, n= 10, and d= (2)(2) + (10-1)2 = 20. Thus the 10th term is 20.

Table of Contents:
Definitions
Incremental Calculator
Calculator
Chapter 5