McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012
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McGraw Hill Glencoe Algebra 2, 2012 View details
5. Recursion and Iteration
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Exercise 19 Page 695

The given formula means that, after the first two terms of the sequence, every term a_(n+2) is the difference between two previous terms a_n and a_(n+1), both of which are multiplied by 4 and 2 respectively.

4, 5, 6, 8, 8

Practice makes perfect
We are asked to write the first five terms of a sequence, given a recursive formula.

a_1&=4 a_2&=5 a_(n+2)&=4a_n-2a_(n+1) To do so, we will use a table. To find a_3, we will substitute 1 for n in the above formula. To find a_4, we will substitute 2 for n, and so on.

n a_(n+2)=4a_n-2a_(n+1) 4a_n-2a_(n+1) a_(n+2)
- a_1= 4 - -
- a_2= 5 - -
1 a_(1+2)=4a_1-2a_(1+1)
⇕
a_3=4a_1-2a_2
a_3=4 a_1-2 a_2
⇓
a_3=4( 4)-2( 5)
a_3= 6
2 a_(2+2)=4a_2-2a_(2+1)
⇕
a_4=4a_2-2a_3
a_4=4 a_2-2 a_3
⇓
a_4=4( 5)-2( 6)
a_4= 8
3 a_(3+2)=4a_3-2a_(3+1)
⇕
a_5=4a_3-2a_4
a_5=4 a_3-2 a_4
⇓
a_5=4( 6)-2( 8)
a_5= 8

The first five terms of the sequence are 4, 5, 6, 8, and 8.