Sequences, Series and Permutations and Combinations

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to provide an introduction to sequences and series, including arithmetic and geometric sequences, and arithmetic and geometric series. We discuss the calculation of simple and compound interest, and the concept of the time value of money, and its application to determine the present value of a payment to be made in the future. We discuss annuities, which are a series of payments made at regular intervals over a period of time, and we determine the present value of an annuity. We discuss permutations and combinations, where a permutation is an arrangement of objects in a particular order, whereas the order of the elements is unimportant for a combination.