document.write( "<A HREF=/cgi-bin/jump-to-question.mpl?question=422414>Question 422414</A>: <I><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> The sum of a finite geometric sequence for n terms with common ratio r and initial term a1 is:\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "s(n)=a1 (1-r^n/1-r)\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "Find the sum of the first 10 terms of 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "I am EXTREMELY stuck and don't know where to even begin! All help is greatly appreciated! thanks! </SPAN>\n" );
document.write( "</I><HR><TABLE width=100%><TR><TD><B><A HREF=http://www.algebra.com/>Algebra.Com's</A> Answer #294852 by </B><A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=solver91311><B>solver91311(24713)</B></A><img src=\"/images/stars/stars-13.gif\" alt=\"\" >&nbsp;<A HREF=/tutors/aboutme.mpl?userid=solver91311><IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/images/aboutme-small.gif BORDER=0 alt=\"About Me\" VALIGN=MIDDLE></A>&nbsp;<IMG SRC=http://www.algebra.com/cgi-bin/show-face.mpl?user=solver91311><BR>You can <A HREF=\"/cgi-bin/embed-solution.mpl?show=1&solution=294852\">put this solution on YOUR website!</A><BR><SPAN STYLE=\"word-break: break-all;\"> <font face=\"Times New Roman\" size=\"+2\">\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "First, please satisfy my curiosity.  How does being EXTREMELY stuck compare to being quite stuck, or very stuck, or extraordinarily stuck, or even just plain stuck?  Is being EXTREMELY stuck different than being Extremely stuck or extremely stuck?  If so, by how much or what factor do they differ?  Do you think that the relative degree to which you are stuck should have a bearing on the amount of help you get or the rapidity with which it is provided?\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "I'll give you some help with that last question.  The answer is unequivocally no.  I'll also give you some pointers on how to improve your chances of a quick, detailed, and accurate response.\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "1.  Don't start with an untruth.  You posted the formula, hence your claim that you \"don't know where to even [sic] begin\" is a patently false statement on its face.  I suspect you are clever enough to determine the first number in the series, <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=\"/cgi-bin/rendertex.cgi?\Large a_1\">, and the number of numbers in the series, <IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=\"/cgi-bin/rendertex.cgi?\Large n\">, because both of these values were given.\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "2.  Show the work you have done so far, or at least ask a question that shows that you have given the question <i><b>some</b></i> independent thought.  Perhaps the idea of a common ratio is giving you trouble, so a statement like \"I don't know how to determine the common ratio\" would have gotten an immediate answer.\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "3.  Review your post before submitting it.  If it sounds more like you are whining and begging than a scholarly discussion of a mathematics concept, then revise before sending.\r<BR>\n" );
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document.write( "John<BR>\n" );
document.write( "<IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" SRC=\"/cgi-bin/rendertex.cgi?\LARGE e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0\"><BR>\n" );
document.write( "My calculator said it, I believe it, that settles it<BR>\n" );
document.write( "<div  DISABLED_style= \"text-align:center\"><a  rel=nofollow HREF=\"http://outcampaign.org/\" target=\"_blank\"><IMG STYLE=\"max-width:80%;\" src=\"http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c116811/scarlet_A.png\" border=\"0\" alt=\"The Out Campaign: Scarlet Letter of Atheism\" width=\"143\" height=\"122\" /></a></div><BR>\n" );
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