Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Algebra 1, 2015
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Exercise 1 Page 155

The given rule means that, after the first term of the sequence, every term f(n) is the difference between the previous term f(n-1) and 4.

8, 4, 0, and - 4

Practice makes perfect

We are asked to write the first 4 terms of a sequence, given a recursive rule. f(1)&=8 f(n)&=f(n-1)-4, for n>1 To do so, we will use a table.

n f(n)=f(n-1)-4 f(n-1)-4 f(n)
1 f( 1)=8 - 8
2 f( 2)=f( 2-1)-4 f(1)-4= 8-4 4
3 f( 3)=f( 3-1)-4 f(2)-4= 4-4
4 f( 4)=f( 4-1)-4 f(3)-4= -4 - 4

Therefore, the first 4 terms of the sequence are 8, 4, 0, and - 4.