Instead of thinking of the sequence starting with the 1st term, think of it starting with the 0th term: 0th term = 0 = 0×3 = 0×(0+3) 1st term = 5 = 1×5 = 1×(2+3) 2nd term = 14 = 2×7 = 2×(4+3) 3rd term = 27 = 3×9 = 3×(6+3) 4th term = 44 = 4×11 = 4×(8+3) 5th term = 65 = 5×13 = 5×(10+3) So each term is the term number times twice the term number plus 3. So the nth term, counting starting with 0 is n(2n+3) But if you want to start counting with 1 instead of 0, you have to replace n by 1 less than n, so it would be an = (n-1)[2(n-1)+3) = (n-1)[2n-2+3] = (n-1)(2n-1) Edwin