FINDING THE NTH TERM SOLUTIONS

TASK 1 Finding the nth term of an arithmetic sequence

1. Work out the first 4 terms of each of the following sequences.

a) 3n – 2

n = 1: 3 × 1 – 2 = 1

n = 2: 3 × 2 – 2 = 4

n = 3: 3 × 3 – 2 = 7

n = 4: 3 × 4 – 2 = 10

b) 6n + 5

n = 1: 6 × 1 + 5 = 11

n = 2: 6 × 2 + 5 = 17

n = 3: 6 × 3 + 5 = 22

n = 4: 6 × 4 + 5 = 27

c) 7n – 9

n = 1: 7 × 1 – 9 = –2

n = 2: 7 × 2 – 9 = 5

n = 3: 7 × 3 – 9 = 12

n = 4: 7 × 4 – 9 = 19

d) 21 – 4n

n = 1: 21 – 4 × 1 = 17

n = 2: 21 – 4 × 2 = 13

n = 3: 21 – 4 × 3 = 9

n = 4: 21 – 4 × 4 = 5
 e) 5 – 2n

n = 1: 5 – 2 × 1 = 3

n = 2: 5 – 2 × 2 = 1

n = 3: 5 – 2 × 3 = –1

n = 4: 5 – 2 × 4 = –3

f) 0.3n + 3

n = 1: 0.3 × 1 + 3 = 3.3

n = 2: 0.3 × 2 + 3 = 3.6

n = 3: 0.3 × 3 + 3 = 3.9

n = 4: 0.3 × 4 + 3 = 4.2

2. Work out the position-to-term rule for each of the following sequences.

a) 3, 7, 11, … 4n – 1

b) –1, 8, 17, … 9n – 10

c) 8, 14, 22, … 6n + 2

d) 35, 28, 21, … 42 – 7n

e) 8, 3, –2, … 13 – 5n

f) 2.6, 3.2, 3.8, … 0.6n + 2

TASK 2 Using the nth term

1. Determine whether the number given is a term of the sequence. If it is, state the value of n.

a) 34: 3n – 2
3n – 2 = 34
3n = 34 + 2
3n = 36
n = 36 ÷ 3 = 12
34 is the 12th term

b) 68: 5n + 3
5n + 3 = 68
5n = 68 – 3
5n = 65
n = 65 ÷ 5 = 13
68 is the 13th term

c) 47: 150 – 6n
150 – 6n = 47
–6 n = 47 – 150
–6n = –103
n = –103 ÷ (–5) = 20.6
47 is not a term in the sequence.

d) 23: 3.5n – 5
3.5n – 5 = 23
3.5n = 28
n = 28 ÷ 3.5 = 8
so 23 is a term in the sequence.