A sequence is an ordered list of numbers; formally, a finite sequence on n terms is a function f:{1,2,…,n}→R with f(k)=ak, while an infinite sequence is a function on all of N. Terms may repeat (unlike the elements of a set).
Arithmetic progression (AP):a,a+d,a+2d,…, where d is the common difference. The nth term is
Tn=a+(n−1)d.
Every term (after the first) is the arithmetic mean of its neighbours: ak=2ak−1+ak+1 (Result 5.1) — equivalently, Tm+n+Tm−n=2Tm for any valid m,n.
Geometric progression (GP):a,ar,ar2,… (a=0,r=0), where r is the common ratio. The nth term is
Tn=arn−1.
Every term is the geometric mean of its neighbours: ak=ak−1ak+1 (Result 5.2), so tn−k,tn,tn+k is again a GP for any k. Taking logs of a GP with r>0 turns it into an AP with common difference logr.
Arithmetico-geometric progression (AGP): term-by-term product of an AP and a GP, a,(a+d)r,(a+2d)r2,…, with nth term Tn=(a+(n−1)d)rn−1. Setting r=1 recovers an AP; setting d=0 recovers a GP — AP and GP are special cases of AGP.
Harmonic progression (HP): a sequence whose reciprocals form an AP: h1,h2,… is an HP exactly when h11,h21,… is an AP, giving the general HP form a1,a+d1,a+2d1,… (provided no denominator vanishes). If a,b,c are in HP then b=a+c2ac. …
Check the pattern in the denominators — they form an AP with common difference 2 — which makes the given sequence (their reciprocals) a harmonic progression by definition.
Step 1. Look at the denominators.3,3+2,3+22,… — an AP with first term 3 and common difference 2. …