Skip to main content

Discrete Mathematical Structures

Subsection 2.4.1 Basic Terminology

Definition 2.4.1.1.

A sequence is a function from a subset of the integers (usually \(\set{0, 1, 2, \dots}\) or \(\set{1, 2, 3, \dots}\)) to a set \(S\text{.}\)
We use \(a_n\) to denote the image of \(n\text{,}\) and we call \(a_n\) a term of the sequence.
We use the notation \(\seq{a_n}{n}\) to describe the whole sequence, and \(a_n\) represents an individual term in the sequence.

Remark 2.4.1.2.

Note the notation conflicts with our notation for sets. The context will make it clear which we are discussing.

Example 2.4.1.3. Sequence.

The sequence \(\seq{a_n}{n}\text{,}\) where \(a_n = \frac{1}{n^2}\) for \(n = 1, 2, 3, \dots\) has terms
\begin{equation*} 1, \frac{1}{4}, \frac{1}{9}, \frac{1}{16}, \frac{1}{25}, \dots, \frac{1}{n^2}, \frac{1}{(n + 1)^2}, \dots. \end{equation*}