Sigma notation

Sequence: 4, 7, 10, 13, 16

Series: 4 + 7 + 10 + 13 + 16 +
We write series in shorthand by using sigma notation.
This is a capital Greek S, called sigma.
Mathematicians use it to mean to sum

3 +1
5
=1

The term at which we stop summing
The term at which we start summing
The n
th
term
3 +1
5
=1
= 3 1 +1 + 3 2 + 1 + 3 3 +1 + 3 4 +1 +(3 5 +1)
= 4 +7 + 10 +13 +16 = 50
3 +1
8
=5
= 3 5 + 1 + 3 6 + 1 + 3 7 +1 + 3 8 + 1
= 16 + 19 +22 +25 = 82