Question

Which rule describes the pattern for these numbers?

2, 6, 18, 54, 162
A) add 4
B) add 12
C) subtract 12
D) multiply by 3

Answer 1

The sequence 2, 6, 18, 54, 162 follows the rule of multiplying by 3 to get to the next number. Each term after the first is the previous term multiplied by 3, making D) multiply by 3 the correct rule.

Step-by-step explanation:

The rule that describes the pattern for the sequence of numbers 2, 6, 18, 54, 162 is multiply by 3. To discern the rule, observe how each number in the sequence changes to get to the next number:

• 2 × 3 = 6
• 6 × 3 = 18
• 18 × 3 = 54
• 54 × 3 = 162

As we can see, each term after the first is the previous term multiplied by 3. Therefore, the correct option is D) multiply by 3.