Final answer:
To determine the nth term of the arithmetic sequence, subtract the third term from the fifth term to find the common difference.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the nᵗʰ term of the arithmetic sequence, we need to find the common difference first. The common difference is the difference between consecutive terms in the sequence. To find it, we subtract the third term (20) from the fifth term (24). 24 - 20 = 4. So, the common difference is 4.
Now that we have the common difference, we can find the nᵗʰ term using the formula: nth term = first term + (n - 1) * common difference. In this case, the first term is unknown, so we'll call it 'a'.
Using the given information, we have: a + 2 * 4 = 20. Simplifying, we get a + 8 = 20. Subtracting 8 from both sides, we get a = 12.Then, use the formula nth term = first term + (n - 1) * common difference to find the nth term. In this case, the first term is 12.
Therefore, the nth term of the arithmetic sequence is a + (n - 1) * 4, which becomes 12 + (n - 1) * 4.