The first three terms of a sequence are given. Write your answer as a decimal or whole number. Round to the nearest thousandth (if necessary).460,451,442,…Find the 46th term.Answer:
Q. The first three terms of a sequence are given. Write your answer as a decimal or whole number. Round to the nearest thousandth (if necessary).460,451,442,…Find the 46th term.Answer:
Determine common difference: First, we need to determine the common difference in the sequence by subtracting the second term from the first term.460−451=9
Verify consistency: Now, we subtract the third term from the second term to verify that the common difference is consistent. 451−442=9
Confirm arithmetic sequence: Since the common difference is consistent, we can confirm that this is an arithmetic sequence with a common difference of 9.
Use nth term formula: To find the 46th term, we use the formula for the nth term of an arithmetic sequence: an=a1+(n−1)d, where an is the nth term, a1 is the first term, n is the term number, and d is the common difference.
Plug in values: We plug in the values we know into the formula: a46=460+(46−1)(−9), since the sequence is decreasing, the common difference is negative.
Calculate parentheses: Now we calculate the value inside the parentheses: 46−1=45.
Multiply common difference: Next, we multiply the common difference by 45: 45×(−9)=−405.
Add to find 46th term: Finally, we add this value to the first term to find the 46th term: 460+(−405)=55.
Final result: The 46th term of the sequence is 55, which is a whole number and does not need to be rounded.