Lecturer: Ms.

Heidi-Ann James
CAPE Mathematics Unit 2
Worksheet 3: Sequences and Series / Binomial Theorem

1. Express
( )
2 3 48 49
ln 2 2 2 ... 2 2 in the form ln2 k where k is an integer.

2. Find the n
th
term of the series 1(2) + 2(5) + 3(8) +

3. The common ratio of a geometric series is given by
2
5
4
x
r
x
=
+
. Find all the values of x for
which the geometric series converges.

4. Find the sum of the convergent geometric series
1 1 1
2 ...
2 8 32
S = + + + +

5. A sequence { }
n
u of real numbers satisfies ( )
1 1
3 1 ; 1.
n
n n
u u u
+
= =

(a) Show that

(i)
2 n n
u u
+
=

(ii)
4 n n
u u
+
=

(b) Write the FIRST FOUR terms of this sequence.

6. Verify that the sum, S
n
, of the series
3 5
1 1 1
...
2 2 2
+ + + , to n terms, is
2
2 1
1
3 2
n n
S
| |
=
|
\ .
.

7. Three consecutive terms, , x d x and , 0 x d d + > , of an arithmetic series have sum 21 and
product 315. Find the value of

(i) x

(ii) the common difference d.

8. Three sequences are given below.
1, 4, 7, 10,
1,
1
4
,
1
7
,
1
10
,
( )
1
1 , ( )
4
1 , ( )
7
1 , ( )
10
1 ,
Determine which of the sequences is convergent, divergent or periodic and state which of the
sequences is an arithmetic sequence.

9. (i) Show that the series
( ) ( ) ( )
2 1
log log log ... log
n
a a a a
b bc bc bc

+ + + + ,
where a, b, c > 0, 1 n >
is an arithmetic progression whose sum, S
n
, to n terms is
2 1
log
2
n
a
n
b c

.

(ii) Find S
n
when n = 6 and a = b = c = 5.

10. (a) Write down the first four terms of the series
( )

=
+

20
1
2 1
1
r
r
r

(b) Express the infinite series 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + in sigma ( )

notation.

11. Find the sixth degree Maclaurins series expansion of ( ) x x f
2
sin = .


Lecturer: Ms. Heidi-Ann James
12. Find the sum of the following series:

=
+ +
1
2
2 3
1
n
n n


13. (a) An arithmetic progression in which the common difference is twice the first term will be
called a special arithmetic progression. Show that the sum of the first n terms of a special
arithmetic progression with first term a is a n
2
.

(b) The (M 2)
th
term of a special arithmetic progression is 663 and the M
th
term is 731. Find M
and find also the sum of the first M terms.

(c) The sum of the first N terms of another special arithmetic progression is S. Find, in terms of
S, the sum of the next N terms.

14. (a) Find the sum of the A.P. 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, , 1000.

(b) Every third term of the above progression is removed, i.e. 7, 16, etc. Find the sum of the
remaining terms.

15. Show that the Maclaurin series for ln(secx), up to and including the term in x
4
, is
4 2
12
1
2
1
x x + .

16. Johns father gave him a loan of $10800 to buy a car. The loan was to be repaid by 12
unequal monthly instalments, starting with an initial payment of $P in the first month. There is
no interest charged on the loan, but the instalments increase by $60 per month.

(i) Show that P = 570.

(ii) Find, in terms of n, 12 1 s s n , an expression for the remaining debt on the loan after John
has paid the n-th instalment.

17. A geometric series has first term 1 and common ratio r. Given that the sum to infinity of the
series is 5, find the value of r. Find the least value of n for which the sum of the first n terms of
the series exceeds 4.9.

18. (a) Use the fact that
( )
!
! !
n
k
n
C
k n k
=

to express in terms of factorials

(i) the coefficient u of x
n
in the expansion of ( )
2
1
n
x + [2 marks]
(ii) the coefficient v of x
n
in the expansion of ( )
2 1
1
n
x

+ [3 marks]

(b) Hence show that u = 2v. [4 marks]

19. Find the term independent of x in the expansion of
10
2
3
5
2x
x
| |

|
\ .
. [7 marks]

20. (a) Expand ( )( )
3
1 2 ux x + in powers of x up to the term in x
2
, ueR. [6 marks]

(b) Given that the coefficient of the term in x
2
is zero find the value of u. [2 marks]

21. (a) Express the binomial coefficients
n
k
C and
1
n
k
C

for 1 n k > > in terms of factorials. [2
marks]

(b) Hence show that
(i)
n n
k n k
C C

= [2 marks]

(ii)
1
1
n n n
k k k
C C C
+

+ = [6 marks]

22. Find the Taylor series for f(x) = lnx at a = 2.