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2 votes
A₁ = 7
an = an-1 - 3

Write explicitly.

User GeorgiG
by
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1 Answer

4 votes

Answer:

a(n) = 10 -3n

Explanation:

You want the explicit formula for the sequence recursively defined by a(1)=7, a(n)=a(n-1) -3.

Common difference

The recursion relation tells you that each term is 3 less than the one before. That is, the common difference between terms is -3.

Explicit formula

A sequence with a common difference is an arithmetic sequence. The formula for the n-th term is ...

a(n) = a(1) +d(n -1)

where a(1) is the first term and d is the common difference.

The first term is given by the recursive definition as 7. Then the explicit formula is ...

a(n) = 7 -3(n -1)

This can be simplified to ...

a(n) = 10 -3n

User Dmytro Kutetskyi
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