SOLUTION: Find the 50th term of the sequence: 5, -2, -9, -16 A) -352 B) -343 C) -338 D) -331

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Question 1117243: Find the 50th term of the sequence: 5, -2, -9, -16
A) -352
B) -343
C) -338
D) -331

Answer by ikleyn(52850) About Me  (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website!
.
Arithmetic progression with the first term  5  and the common difference  d = (-2-5) = -7.


The n-th term is  a%5Bn%5D = a%5B1%5D + d*(n-1).


In your case  a%5Bn%5D = 5 + (-7)*(n-1).       (1)


To find  a%5B50%5D,  substitute  n= 50 into the formula (1) and calculate.

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For introductory lessons on arithmetic progressions see
    - Arithmetic progressions
    - The proofs of the formulas for arithmetic progressions
    - Problems on arithmetic progressions
    - Word problems on arithmetic progressions
in this site.