So I have a sequence like 14+16+18+20 and I need to do this 40 times and add it all together. Is there a quicker way and what is this called?

Question

So I have a sequence like 14+16+18+20 and I need to do this 40 times and add it all together. Is there a quicker way and what is this called?

Answer 1

When a sequence of terms are added together, that's the sum of series.

 

This one is obviously an arithmetic series, with starting value a=14 and constant difference d=2.

 

If there are n=40 terms, then the sum is  S_n = ½•n(2a+(n-1)d)  and you may substitute the values of n, a & d to get the answer.