Lesson 5
1. Lesson 5
1.5. Explore
Module 1: Sequences and Series
Explore
How would you like to put your money to work for you? Compound interest has the power to make you rich! In the last lesson you compared graphs of simple-interest growth to graphs of compound-interest growth. You saw that, as time passes on, the value of a compound-interest investment grows at a much faster rate than that of a simple-interest investment.
© DIDEM HIZAR/13714776/Fotolia.com
In fact, a 15-year-old who invests $200/mo for 10 yr will have earned more money by the time she is 65 years old than a 25-year-old who invests $200/mo for 40 yr! It really pays to start investing early!
In this lesson you will study geometric series. You will derive formulas for evaluating any given geometric series, and you will apply those formulas to relevant contexts. You will also see that, if you make monthly contributions to your investment plan, the power of compound interest can make your money work for you.
You already saved Module 1 Glossary Terms in your course folder. In this lesson, you will define the following term, and maybe others, in your copy of Module 1 Glossary Terms:
- geometric series
Recall that an arithmetic series is the sum of the terms of an arithmetic sequence. Does this help you define a geometric series? Remember to check your definition against information you find on the Internet, in the textbook, or elsewhere.