Year 12: Sequences and Series

1 dot points across 1 inquiry question, in syllabus order. Each dot point has a focused answer, with exam-style questions and worked answers where available.

How do we describe a sequence by its terms, add its terms up as partial sums, and write those sums compactly in sigma notation?

Use sequence notation

a_n

, partial sums

S_n

and summation (sigma) notation

\sum_{k=i}^{j} a_k

to describe, evaluate and manipulate the sum of terms of a sequence, including infinite series that converge

The Year 12 Mathematics Advanced answer on general sequences and series in the 2024 syllabus: the notation a_n and S_n, how to read and write sigma notation, how a term comes from two partial sums, and how arithmetic and geometric sums are expressed and evaluated in sigma form, with checked worked examples.

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