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Find the nth Term in Arithmetic Sequences

In this worksheet, students will find the nth term in simple linear sequences.

'Find the nth Term in Arithmetic Sequences' worksheet

Key stage:  KS 3

Year:  Year 7 Maths worksheets

Curriculum topic:   Algebra

Curriculum subtopic:   Use Sequences to Find the nth Term

Popular topics:   Algebra worksheets, Year 7 Algebra worksheets

Difficulty level:  

Worksheet Overview

In an arithmetic sequence like this:

 

4, 10, 16, 22, 28, 34 ...

 

the nth term is found as follows:

 

Step 1

Find the common difference between the terms.

Here, it is 6.

 

Step 2

The common difference is the coefficient (this just means the number in front.) of n.

Here, we get 6n

 

Step 3

Compare this to the actual sequence and adjust the formula by adding or subtracting a fixed number.

Here, 6n would give us the terms 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 etc.... which is 2 more than our sequence of 4, 10, 16, 22, 28 etc.

So we must subtract 2.

So the nth term is 6n - 2

 

We can test this by putting in n = 5 to check that the 5th term is really 28.

It is, because 6 x 5 - 2 = 30 - 2 = 28

 

Let's get started on  the questions now!

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