Recognising geometric sequences
I can recognise a geometric sequence.
Recognising geometric sequences
I can recognise a geometric sequence.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Identifying a common ratio between each term can help us identify a geometric sequence.
- Divide each term by its previous consecutive term, if the results are all the same, this is the common ratio.
- If there is a common ratio, then the sequence is geometric.
Common misconception
After becoming very familiar with arithmetic sequences pupils can find the difference between the first two terms and just assume the sequence is arithmetic.
Explore a large number of geometric and arithmetic sequences and see if pupils can articulate how they check if a sequence is geometric. They might say the terms of the sequence grow more quickly (for some geometric sequences).
Keywords
Common ratio - A common ratio is a key feature of a geometric sequence. The constant multiplier between successive terms is called the common ratio.
Licence
This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).
Video
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Starter quiz
6 Questions
Exit quiz
6 Questions
16, 80, 400, 2000, ... -
5
4.2, 16.8, 67.2, 268.8, ... -
4
0.07, 0.56, 4.48, 35.84, ... -
8
1602, 4806, 14 418, 43 254, ... -
3
20 376, 10 188, 5094, 2547, ... -
$${1\over2}$$
2, 0.4, 0.08, 0.016, ... -
$${1\over5}$$
