Question

Determine whether the sequence is arithmetic or geometric.

Sequence 1: 32, 16, 0, –16, ...
Sequence 2: 32, 16, 8, 4, ...
Which of the following statements are true regarding Sequence 1 and Sequence 2.

Answer 1

Sequence 1 is arithmetic because it is being subtracted by 16.

Sequence 2 is geometric because it is being divided by 2.

Arithmetic is when you're adding or subtracted and geometric is when you multiplying or dividing.

Answer 2

Sequence 1: arithmetic; Sequence 2: Geometric

Explanation:

An arithmetic sequence is one in which each term is found by adding a constant to the previous term. In sequence 1, we see that we add -16 to each term to find the next one; that makes this an arithmetic sequence.

A geometric sequence is one in which each term is found by multiplying a constant to the previous term. In sequence 2, we see that we multiply 0.5 by each term to find the next one; that makes this a geometric sequence.