MCR3UZ - Discrete Functions

Unit 1 - Discrete Functions Calendar

Day Lesson Homework

1 Arithmetic Sequences Text: p. 16 #1-8

Worksheet

2 Geometric Sequences Text: p. 20 #1-8

Worksheet

3 Applications of Sequences Text: p. 21 # 1-4

Worksheet

4 Arithmetic Series Text: p. 28 #1-5

Worksheet

5 Geometric Series Text: p. 34-35 #1-9

Worksheet

6 Applications of Series Text: p. 39-40 #1-8, p. 43 #1-3

Worksheet

7 Sigma Notation and Converging Series Worksheet

8 Recursive Sequences Text: p. 8 #1-3, p. 12 #1-2

Worksheet

9 Binomial Theorem abd Pascal’s Triangle Text: p. 54 #1-12

Worksheet

10 Review Text: p. 58-59 #1-34

Worksheet

11 Test
MCR3UZ

Arithmetic Sequences

Recall:

 is an ordered list of numbers.

 is a number in a sequence.

 are used to identify the position of the terms.

Ex. t1, t2, t3, …

Definition:

An occurs when the difference between consecutive terms is

a constant.

An arithmetic sequence goes from one term to the next by always adding (or subtracting) the
same value. ***THINK: COMMON DIFFERENCE

Example : 12, 7, 2, -3, -8

What is the 6th term?

The formula for the nth term of an arithmetic sequence is:

𝑡 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑

where a is the first term of the sequence and d is the common difference.

In general, we can write an arithmetic sequence like this:

Example 1: If 𝑎 = 2 and 𝑑 = 7, write the first 5 terms of the arithmetic sequence.

Example 2: The first term of an arithmetic sequence is 4 and the tenth term is 67. What is the
common difference?

Example 3: Given the sequence 8, 12, 16, …

a) Determine if the sequence is arithmetic

b) If the sequence is arithmetic, determine an explicit formula for the general term of the
sequence.

c) Find 𝑡
Example 4: What is the 33rd term of the sequence 18, 11, 4, -3, …?

Example 5: How many terms are in the arithmetic sequence -3, 2, 7, …, 152 ?

Example 6: What is the 50th term of the arithmetic sequence 3, 7, 11, 15, …?
Example 7: In an arithmetic sequence, the common difference is 5 and 𝑡 = 62. Find the first
term of the sequence, and then write an explicit formula for the general term of the sequence.

Example 8: Find 𝑡 if 𝑡 = 121 and 𝑡 = 193.

MCR3UZ

Geometric Sequences

Definition:

A is a sequence that has the same ratio, the

, between any pair of consecutive terms.

A geometric sequence goes from one term to the next by always multiplying (or dividing) by the
same value. THINK: COMMON RATIO

Find the common ratio and the 7th term of the following sequences:
a) 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, …

b) 81, 27, 9, 3, 1, , …

c) , , 2, 6, 18, …

The formula for the nth term of a geometric sequence is:

𝑡 = 𝑎𝑟

where a is the first term of the sequence and r is the common ratio (𝑟 ≠ 0).

In general, we write a geometric sequence like this:

Example 1: If 𝑎 = 3 and 𝑟 = 2, what are the first 5 terms of the geometric sequence?

Example 2: The first term of a geometric sequence is 5 and the sixth term is 160. What is the
common ratio?

Example 3: Consider the sequence 5, 10, 20, 40, …

a) Show that the sequence is geometric.

b) Find an explicit formula for the general term.

c) Find the value of the 15th term.

Example 4: Write the first five terms of the geometric sequence defined by 𝑡 = 5(−2)

Example 5: Determine the 13th term of a geometric sequence if the first term is 9 and the
common ratio is 2.

Example 6: Find 𝑡 if 𝑡 = −3(4) .

Example 7: Find the formula for the nth term and find 𝑡 for the geometric sequence 2, 6, 18, …

Example 8: Find the number of terms in the geometric sequence 3, 6, 12, …, 384.

Example 9: In a geometric sequence 𝑡 = 1875 and 𝑡 = 46875, find the formula for the nth
term.
MCR3UZ
Applications with Both Types of Sequences

Recall: What is the difference between arithmetic and geometric sequences?

Arithmetic Sequence Geometric Sequence

Review Practice:

The following sequences are Arithmetic Find an explicit formula for 𝑡

Sequences:

1, 4, 7, 10, 13, …

−5, −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, …

15, 5, −5, −15, −25, …

The following sequences are Geometric Find an explicit formula 𝑡

Sequences:

1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, …

7, 14, 28, 56, 112, …

−6, −18, −54, −162, …

1 1
8, −4, 2, −1, , − , …
2 4

11, 22, 44, 88, …

Example 1: Julia is getting better at math. On her first quiz, she scored 57 points, then she
scores 61 points and 65 points on her next two quizzes. If she scores continued to increase at
the same rate, what will her score be on her 9th quiz?

Example 2: Suppose you drop a tennis ball from a height of 15 feet. After the ball hits the floor,
it rebounds to 85% of its previous height. How high will the ball rebound after its third bounce?
Round to the nearest tenth.
Example 3: A house worth $350,000 when purchased was worth $335,000 after the first year
and $320,000 after the second year. If the economy does not pick up and this trend continues,
what will the value of the house be after 6 years?

Example 4: A company has 3kg of radioactive material that must be stored until in becomes
safe to the environment. After one year, 95% of the radioactive material remains. How much
radioactive material will be left after 100 years?
Example 5: In a certain region, the number of highway accidents increased by 20% over a four
year period. How many accidents were there in 2006 if there were 5120 in 2002? Hint: When
the percent increases, you want the original 100% plus the additional 20%.
 Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences
1) An arithmetic sequence is 8,14, 20, 26,... Which term is 92?
Answer: 15th

2 ) The 18thterm of an arithmetic sequence is 262. The common difference is 15. What is the first
term of the sequence? Show work.
Answer: 7
3) How many multiples of 5 are there between 15 to 450, inclusive? Show work.
Answer: 88

4) Find tM for the sequence: x, x+ 4, x+8, x+12,...

Answer: x +52

5) Fill in the blanks for each geometric sequence, showing work to justify your answer:

a) ___,8 ,1 6 ,___, ,...

b) 1,______, - 2 7 , ___ ,...
c) ___,1 6 0 ,___________ , , , 10,...
_

Answer: a) 4, 8,16,32, 64 b) 1, -3, 9, -27, 81 c)320,160, 80, 40, 20,10... OR -320,160, -80, 40, -20,10...

6) Fill in the blanks for each arithmetic sequence, showing work to justify your answer:
a) ___,7 ,1 2 ,___, ___,...
b) 5 ,___,21------ ,-
c) ___,-8 ,__ , _ , ___ ,32,...

Answer: a) 2, 7,12,17, 22,... b) 5,13, 21, 29, 37,... c) -18, -8, 2,1 2 ,2 2 , 32,...
7) Find the general term for the following sequences:
a) 2,10, 50, 250,...
b) 5, 3,1,-1,...
. 1 3 5 7_
2 ’5 ’ 8 ’ 11 ’ " "

d) 1x1,3x4,5x7,7x10,...
. 1x3 3x5 5x7 7x9
' 2 x 4 '4 x 6 '6 x 8 '8 x 1 0 '

(2n—l)(2 n + l)
Answer: a) b) tn= -2n + 7 c) tn = d) tn= (2n - l)(3n - 2) e) tn 271( 271+ 2 )

8) Prove that 119 is not a term in the sequence 1,4,7,10,...

Answer: Assume 119 is a term in the sequence.
Since the sequence is arithmetic, t„ = l + (n-1)(3).
So 119 = l + (n-1)(3) fo r som e integer n.
121
Solving gives th a tn = — , which is n o ta n integer.
So our assumption is false and so 119 cannot be a term in the sequence.

9) In an arithmetic sequence, the 3rdterm is 25 and the 9th term is 43. How many terms of the
sequence are less than 100?
Answer: 27
MCR3UZ
Arithmetic Series

Definition: A is the sum of the terms of a sequence. An

is the sum of the terms of an arithmetic sequence.

Notation: 𝑆 is used to indicate the sum of the first 𝑛 terms in a sequence.

i.e. 𝑆 = 𝑡 + 𝑡 + 𝑡 + ⋯ + 𝑡

Consider the example of the sum of the numbers from 1 to 100.

We could also write this same series in reverse order.

If we add both series together, we would see the following:

We will use this same technique on the general arithmetic series to derive an explicit formula
for the sum of an arithmetic series.

In general,

Reversing the sum, we have:

Now adding the two sums together, we see:

MCR3UZ
Arithmetic Series

There is an alternative version of the formula, which can sometimes simplify your work.
Consider the general term for an arithmetic sequence 𝑡 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑

If we rearrange the formula for 𝑆 slightly, we find:

Example 1: Find the sum of the first 40 terms of the following:

a) 3 + 11 + 19 + 27 + ⋯ b) 57 + 51 + 45 + 39 + ⋯

Example 2: Find the sum of 4 + 15 + 26 + ⋯ + 213.

MCR3UZ
Geometric Series

Recall: For arithmetic series,

𝑡 = 𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑 and 𝑆 = [2𝑎 + (𝑛 − 1)𝑑]

As we did for arithmetic series, we will use an example to demonstrate the method of deriving
the formula for geometric series.

Definition: A is the sum of the terms of a geometric sequence.

Example 1: Find the sum of the series: 3 + 6 + 12 + 24 + ⋯ + 1536

Since we see the common ratio is , we will find 2𝑆.

Let’s apply this to the general geometric series:

Since this does not simplify any further, the formula for the sum of a geometric series is:
Example 2: Find the sum of the first 10 terms of the series −3 + 15 − 75 + 375 − ⋯

Example 3: Find the sum of the series 64 + 32 + 16 + ⋯ +

Example 4: Find the sum of the series + + 1 + ⋯ + 3125.

MCR3UZ
Applications with Both Types of Series

Recall: What is the difference between arithmetic and geometric series?

Arithmetic Series Geometric Series

Example 1: In a supermarket, cereal boxes are displayed in a pyramid containing

125, 110, 95, … , 5 boxes. How many boxes are displayed in total?
Example 2: An ice-cream truck finds its profits from the sale of ice cream increases by
$5/week during the 15-week summer season. If the profit for the first week is
$30, what is the profit for the whole season?

Example 3: The number of bacteria in a culture is doubling every 30 minutes. If there are
10,000 bacteria at 4:00pm, how many will there be at 8:00pm on the same day?
Example 4: In an amphitheatre, seats are arranged in 50 semicircular rows facing a domed
stage. The first row contains 23 seats, and each row contains 4 more seats than
the previous row. How many seats are in the amphitheatre?

Example 5: At a fish hatchery, fish hatch at different times even though the eggs were all
fertilized at the same time. The number of fish that hatched on each of the first
four days after fertilization was 2, 10, 50, and 250, respectively. If the pattern
continues, calculate the total number of fish hatched during the first 10 days.
Example 6: Bricks are stacked in 20 rows such that each row has a fixed number of bricks
more than the row above it. The top row has 5 bricks and the bottom row has 62
bricks. How many bricks are in the stack?

Example 7: A tennis tournament has 128 entrants. A player is dropped from the tournament
after losing one match. Winning players go on to another match. What is the
total number of matches that will be played in this tournament?
MCR3UZ Recursion Formulas

A sequence is a list of numbers, shapes, letters, etc. that are in a distinct or recognizable
pattern.

Each number in a sequence is called a term.

Recursion or recursive sequence - the value of a term is based on the value of the previous
term(s).
Eg. Fibonacci 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, …….
To find the value of one term, add the previous two terms together
𝑡 =𝑡 +𝑡

𝑡 = 1, 𝑡 = 1, 𝑡 =𝑡 +𝑡

Alternatively, you could write this in function notation:

Continuous and Discrete Functions

Continuous Functions – domain is ____________

Example: 𝑦 = 𝑥

Discrete Functions – domain is _____________

Example: 𝑓(𝑛) = 𝑛

Example 1 Write the first 4 terms of each sequence, 𝑛 ∈ ℕ (natural numbers)

a) 𝑓(1) = 5 , 𝑓(𝑛) = 𝑓(𝑛 − 1) − 4

b) 𝑡 = 3, 𝑡 = 2𝑡 −𝑛

Example 2
Determine a recursion formula for

a) −2, 7, 16, 25, …

Use 𝑡 notation:

Use 𝑓(𝑛) notation:

b) 1, −3, 9, −27
Use 𝑡 notation:
Use 𝑓(𝑛) notation:
Don’t forget you need a starting value when you define your recursion formula!

Example 3
Find the recursive formula for: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ____, ____, ____

Find an explicit formula for the same sequence (a formula that does not depend on the
previous terms). Hint: Can you graph the sequence in some way?

Example 4 Determine a recursion formula and an explicit formula for each sequence.
a) 2, 5, 8, 11, …

b) 3, 2, 1, 0, …

c) 2, 6, 18, 54 …

d) 11, 7, 3, −1

e) −3, 6, −12, 24
Example 5 Write the first five terms of each sequence. Write an explicit formula for the
sequence if possible.
a) 𝑡 = 11, 𝑡 =𝑡 −4

b) 𝑡 = 4, 𝑡 = −3𝑡

c) 𝑡 = 2, 𝑡 =𝑡 + 2𝑛 − 3

d) 𝑡 = 5, 𝑡 = 7, 𝑡 =𝑡 +𝑡

Example 6 A famous recursive sequence is the Fibonacci Sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21

Write the recursion formula for this sequence.

The explicit formula for the Fibonacci Sequence is much more complicated:

Challenge Determine a recursive formula for the sequence 5, 9, 18, 34, 59, …
 Recursion Formula Practise Questions
***Questions #2e, 3,4 are Thinking questions!!!

1) Write the first 5 terms of the sequence defined by t1 = 1, tn = tn_.| + n, n > 1.

2) Write a recursion formula for each sequence:

a) 4,11,18,25,...

b) 32, 26, 20, 14,...

c) 1,-10,100,-1000,...

d) 32,16,8,4,...

e) 4, 5, 20, 100, 2000, ...

3) A sequence is defined by the recursion formula t, = 3, tn = t^ + 10, n > 1. Determine t100.

4) Write the first 5 terms of the sequence defined by t1 = 1, t2 = 2, tn = t^ + tn„2, n > 2.

Answers to Recursion Formula Practise Questions:

1) 1,3, 6, 10, 15
2a) t, = 4, tn= tn., + 7, n>1 2b) t, = 32, tn= tn., - 6, n>1 2c)t1 = 1,tn= -10tn.l,n>1
2d) t, = 32, tn= 1/2tn, + 7, n>1 2e) t, = 4, t2 = 5, x tn.2 n>2
3) 993
4) 1,2, 3, 5, 8,...
MCR3U Explicit and Recursion Formula Worksheet

The following sequences have a pattern. For each sequence find the next three terms and a
explicit formula and recursive formula.

Sequence Explicit Formula Recursion Formula

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ____, ____, ____ 𝑡 = 2𝑛 𝑡 =𝑡 +2

1
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, ____, ____, ____
2
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, ____, ____, ____
3
3, 9, 27, 81, 243, ____, ____,
4 ____
1, 4, 9,16, 25, ____, ____, ____
5
3, 5, 7, 9, 11, ____, ____, ____
6
1 1 1 1
1, , , , , ____, ____, ____
7 4 9 16 25

2, 5, 8, 11, 14, ____, ____, ____

8
1 2 3 4 5 ____, ____, ____
, , , , ,
9 2 3 4 5, 6
1 1 1 1 1 ,____, ____, ____
, , , ,
10 7 11 15 19 23

2, 5, 10, 17, 26, ____, ____, ____

11
1, -1, 1, -1, 1, ____, ____, ____
12
4, 1, -2, -5, -8, ____, ____, ____
13
3 3 3 3 ,____, ____,
, , ,
10 100 1000 10000
14 ____
1, -2, 4, -8, 16, ____, ____, ____
15
-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, ____, ____, ____
16
Which formula would you rather use if you were finding the 100 th term?
MCR3UZ Pascal’s Triangle and Binomial Theorem

One of the most interesting Number Patterns is

Pascal's Triangle (named after Blaise Pascal, a
famous French Mathematician and Philosopher).

To build the triangle, start with "1" at the top,

then continue placing numbers below it in a
triangular pattern.

Each number is just the two numbers above it

added together (except for the edges, which
are all "1").

(Here I have highlighted that 1+3 = 4)

Identifying Terms by Position

Any term in Pascal’s triangle can be identified by its position.

Eg. In row 3, the terms are 1, 3, 3, 1.

1 is t 3,0
3 is t 3,1
3 is t 3,2
1 is t 3,3
Expanding Binomials:

(𝑥 + 1) = (𝑎 + 𝑏) =
(𝑥 + 1) = (𝑎 + 𝑏) =

(𝑥 + 1) = (𝑎 + 𝑏) =

(𝑥 + 1) = (𝑎 + 𝑏) =

Example 1 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find

(𝑥 + 1) =
Example 2 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find
(𝑥 + 2) =

Example 3 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find

(3𝑥 − 2) =

Example 4 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find

(2𝑥 − 3𝑦) =

Example 5 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find

− =

Example 6 Using Pascal’s Triangle, find

(2𝑥𝑦 + 𝑧 ) =