A similar formula works for when the terms skip some numbers, like

1 + 4 + 7 + 10 + 13 + ...

Here's the formula:

To find the sum of the first n terms:

a1 + a2 + a3 + ... + an


Sn = ( n / 2 )( a1 + an )

Here's how I remember it:

Sum n = ( n / 2 )( first term + last term )

* This is for arithmetic sequences ONLY!

Let's try it!

Let's find the sum of the first 50 terms of the arithmetic sequence:

1 + 4 + 7 + 10 + 13 + ...

We have:

          a1 = 1

            n = 50

We need:

          a50