The general term of an infinite sequence 9, 4, -1, -6,... is . Find the values of a and b.
A. a = 5, b = 14
B. a = -5, b = 14
C. a = 5, b = -14
D. a = -5, b = -14
Correct Answer: B
Explanation
The terms of the sequence can be written as : in this case, being that they have a regular common difference for each of the r terms.
We can rewrite the sequence as where a is the common difference of the sequence and b is a given constant gotten by solving
or or any other one.
The common difference here is 4 - 9 = -1 - 4 = -5.
The equation can be written as .