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What is the recursive formula when given the explicit formula for the following geometric sequence?

What is the recursive formula when given the explicit formula for the following geometric-example-1

1 Answer

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Answer:

D. a[1] = 12; a[n] = 33·a[n-1]

Explanation:

You can make the correct choice by seeing what you get with n=1 and n=2 in the various expressions.

In general,

an = a1·r^(n-1)

For n=1, the value of this is ...

a1 = a1·r^(1-1) = a1·r^0 = a1 . . . . as you expect.

That is, the a1 term of the recursive formula is the leading coefficient in the explicit formula.

__

For n=2, you have ...

a2 = a1·r(2-1) = a1·r

That is, the previous term was multiplied by r. In the given explicit formula, r=33, so the recursive formula will tell you ...

a[n] = 33·a[n-1]

__

Altogether, we have ...


\boxed{a_1=12,\ a_n=33a_(n-1)}

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