4.4.3 Recurrence Relations

What do I need to know about recurrence relations?

• A recurrence relation describes each term in a progression as a function of the previous term – ie u_n+1 = f(u_n)
• Along with the first term of the sequence, this allows you to generate the sequence term by term

 

 

• Both arithmetic progressions and geometric progressions can be defined using recurrence relations
  • Arithmetic can be defined by 
  • Geometric can be defined by 

 

 

• However, you can also define progressions that are neither arithmetic nor geometric

 

Exam Tip

Worked Example