An arithmetic sequence adds the same number — the common differenced — to get from each term to the next. Drag the sliders and watch the terms, the straight-line graph, and the running sum all respond together.
Every arithmetic sequence graphs as a straight line
first term a1middle termslast term an
The points never bend. The slope of the line is the common difference d: each step to the right rises by exactly d.
Arithmetic sequenceset the first term and the common difference