Question

After knee replacement surgery, a patient is told to start a walking program. The patient should walk a distance of 2 miles the first week, 5 miles the second, 8 miles the third, and so on for a period of 7 weeks. After the seventh week, how far will the patient walk during the seventh week?

a) 16 miles

b) 18 miles

c) 20 miles

d) 22 miles

Answer 1

Using the pattern of increasing distances by 3 miles each week starting from 2 miles in the first week, the patient will walk 20 miles during the seventh week of their walking program post-knee replacement surgery.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the total distance the patient will walk during the seventh week of their walking program post-knee replacement surgery, we can identify a pattern in the weekly increments provided.

The patient walks distances in the following pattern over the first three weeks: 2 miles, 5 miles, and 8 miles which shows an increment of 3 miles each week (5 - 2 = 3 and 8 - 5 = 3). If we continue this pattern for the seven weeks, the progression of weekly walking distances will be:

• 
  
• Week 1: 2 miles
• 
  
• Week 2: 5 miles
• 
  
• Week 3: 8 miles
• 
  
• Week 4: 11 miles
• 
  
• Week 5: 14 miles
• 
  
• Week 6: 17 miles
• 
  
• Week 7: 20 miles

Therefore, during the seventh week, the patient will walk a total of 20 miles.