Q. Which word best describes this formula for the sequence an?an=−2an−1−4an−4+10n−3Choices:(A)explicit(B)recursive
Formula Analysis: Look at the formula: an=−2an−1−4an−4+10n−3. Does it use previous terms of the sequence? Yes, it uses an−1 and an−4, which are earlier terms in the sequence.
Explicit vs Recursive: Since the formula for an depends on previous terms of the sequence, it's not explicit. An explicit formula would directly define an in terms of n alone.
Correct Terminology: The correct word to describe the formula is "recursive" because it defines each term using previous terms in the sequence.
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