445,843 views
2 votes
2 votes
Write a recursive formula for an, the nth term of the sequence 16,-8,4

User Ben Holland
by
2.8k points

1 Answer

22 votes
22 votes

Answer: If a1 = 16 and a2 = -8, then we can write a recursive formula for the nth term of the sequence as follows:

an = a(n-1)/2

This formula states that the nth term of the sequence is equal to the previous term (n-1) divided by 2. For example, if n = 3, then a3 = a(3-1)/2 = a2/-8/2 = 4.

We can also write this formula in terms of the initial values of the sequence as follows:

a(n) = (-1)^(n-1) * 8

This formula states that the nth term of the sequence is equal to (-1) raised to the power of (n-1), multiplied by 8. This formula will always give the correct value for the nth term of the sequence, regardless of the initial values of the sequence.

User Mjschultz
by
2.9k points