Question

You are a math teacher who writes the following sequence of numbers on the board: {3, 0, -9, -36, ____, ? _}. What is the sixth term of the sequence if the pattern is to find the difference between the two preceding numbers and then multiply by -3?

a) 135
b) -108
c) 81
d) -64

Answer 1

The sixth term of the sequence is -27.

Step-by-step explanation:

The given sequence is {3, 0, -9, -36, ____, ? _}. We are told that the pattern is to find the difference between the two preceding numbers and then multiply by -3. To find the sixth term of the sequence, we can follow the pattern:

Fourth term: (-36 - (-9)) * -3 = (-36 + 9) * -3 = -27 * -3 = 81

Fifth term: (9 - 0) * -3 = 9 * -3 = -27

Sixth term: (-27 - (-36)) * -3 = (-27 + 36) * -3 = 9 * -3 = -27

Therefore, the sixth term of the sequence is -27, which corresponds to option d) in the given choices.