Question

Which statement best completes the sequence?

a) "1, 4, 9, 16, __"
b) "2, 4, 6, 8, __"
c) "3, 6, 9, 12, __"
d) "5, 10, 15, 20, __"

Answer 1

Each sequence follows a specific arithmetic pattern. For sequence a) the next number is the square of 5 which is 25; for b) add 2 to get 10; for c) add 3 to get 15; and for d) add 5 to get 25. The correct answer is d) "5, 10, 15, 20, __".

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves completing a sequence of numbers. Each sequence has a pattern that needs to be identified to determine the next number.

1. a) "1, 4, 9, 16, __": This sequence represents the squares of the natural numbers. So, after 16, which is 4 squared, the next number is 5 squared, which is 25.
2. b) "2, 4, 6, 8, __": This is an arithmetic sequence with a common difference of 2. Thus the next number would be 8+2=10.
3. c) "3, 6, 9, 12, __": Similarly, this sequence increases by 3 each time. The next number after 12 is 12+3=15.
4. d) "5, 10, 15, 20, __": This sequence is also arithmetic, increasing by 5. The number that completes it is 20+5=25.