Van needs to enter a formula into a spreadsheet to show the outputs of an arithmetic sequence that s

Discussion in 'Calculator Requests' started by math_celebrity, Oct 29, 2021.

  1. math_celebrity

    math_celebrity Administrator Staff Member

    Van needs to enter a formula into a spreadsheet to show the outputs of an arithmetic sequence that starts with 13 and continues to add seven to each output. For now, van needs to know what the 15th output will be. Complete the steps needed to determine the 15th term in sequence.

    Given a first term a1 of 13 and a change amount of 7, expand the series
    The explicit formula for an arithmetic series is an = a1 + (n - 1)d
    d represents the common difference between each term, an - an - 1
    Looking at all the terms, we see the common difference is 7, and we have a1 = 13
    Therefore, our explicit formula is an = 13 + 7(n - 1)

    If n = 15, then we plug it into our explicit formula above:
    an = 13 + 7(n - 1)
    a(15) = 15 + 7(15 - 1)
    a(15) = 15 + 7 * 14
    a(15) = 15 + 98
    a(15) = 113
     

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