Question

Write the first five terms of the sequence whose nth term is given by the rule a_n= 3n + 2

Answer 1

Use the rule for the n-th term and substitute n=1, n=2, ... , n=5 to find the first five terms.

The n-th term is given by:

`a_n=3n+2`

Then:

`\begin{gathered} a_1=3(1)+2=3+2=5 \\ a_2=3(2)+2=6+2=8 \\ a_3=3(3)+2=9+2=11 \\ a_4=3(4)+2=12+2=14 \\ a_5=3(5)+2=15+2=17 \end{gathered}`

Therefore, the first five terms of the sequence are:

`5,8,11,14,17`