<< Chapter < Page Chapter >> Page >

Section exercises

Verbal

What is a geometric sequence?

A sequence in which the ratio between any two consecutive terms is constant.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

How is the common ratio of a geometric sequence found?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

What is the procedure for determining whether a sequence is geometric?

Divide each term in a sequence by the preceding term. If the resulting quotients are equal, then the sequence is geometric.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

What is the difference between an arithmetic sequence and a geometric sequence?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Describe how exponential functions and geometric sequences are similar. How are they different?

Both geometric sequences and exponential functions have a constant ratio. However, their domains are not the same. Exponential functions are defined for all real numbers, and geometric sequences are defined only for positive integers. Another difference is that the base of a geometric sequence (the common ratio) can be negative, but the base of an exponential function must be positive.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Algebraic

For the following exercises, find the common ratio for the geometric sequence.

1 , 3 , 9 , 27 , 81 , ...

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

0.125 , 0.25 , 0.5 , 1 , 2 , ...

The common ratio is 2

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

2 , 1 2 , 1 8 , 1 32 , 1 128 , ...

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, determine whether the sequence is geometric. If so, find the common ratio.

6 , 12 , 24 , 48 , 96 , ...

The sequence is geometric. The common ratio is 2.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

5 , 5.2 , 5.4 , 5.6 , 5.8 , ...

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

1 , 1 2 , 1 4 , 1 8 , 1 16 , ...

The sequence is geometric. The common ratio is 1 2 .

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

6 , 8 , 11 , 15 , 20 , ...

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

0.8 , 4 , 20 , 100 , 500 , ...

The sequence is geometric. The common ratio is 5.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write the first five terms of the geometric sequence, given the first term and common ratio.

a 1 = 5 , r = 1 5

5 , 1 , 1 5 , 1 25 , 1 125

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write the first five terms of the geometric sequence, given any two terms.

a 6 = 25 , a 8 = 6.25

800 , 400 , 200 , 100 , 50

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, find the specified term for the geometric sequence, given the first term and common ratio.

The first term is 2, and the common ratio is 3. Find the 5 th term.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

The first term is 16 and the common ratio is 1 3 . Find the 4 th term.

a 4 = 16 27

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, find the specified term for the geometric sequence, given the first four terms.

a n = { 1 , 2 , 4 , 8 , ... } . Find a 12 .

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 2 , 2 3 , 2 9 , 2 27 , ... } . Find a 7 .

a 7 = 2 729

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write the first five terms of the geometric sequence.

a 1 = 486 , a n = 1 3 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a 1 = 7 , a n = 0.2 a n 1

7 , 1.4 , 0.28 , 0.056 , 0.0112

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write a recursive formula for each geometric sequence.

a n = { 1 , 5 , 25 , 125 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 32 , 16 , 8 , 4 , ... }

a = 1 32 , a n = 1 2 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 14 , 56 , 224 , 896 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 10 , 3 , 0.9 , 0.27 , ... }

a 1 = 10 , a n = 0.3 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 0.61 , 1.83 , 5.49 , 16.47 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 3 5 , 1 10 , 1 60 , 1 360 , ... }

a 1 = 3 5 , a n = 1 6 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 2 , 4 3 , 8 9 , 16 27 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 1 512 , 1 128 , 1 32 , 1 8 , ... }

a 1 = 1 512 , a n = 4 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write the first five terms of the geometric sequence.

a n = 4 5 n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = 12 ( 1 2 ) n 1

12 , 6 , 3 , 3 2 , 3 4

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, write an explicit formula for each geometric sequence.

a n = { 2 , 4 , 8 , 16 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 1 , 3 , 9 , 27 , ... }

a n = 3 n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 4 , 12 , 36 , 108 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 0.8 , 4 , 20 , 100 , ... }

a n = 0.8 ( 5 ) n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 1.25 , 5 , 20 , 80 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 1 , 4 5 , 16 25 , 64 125 , ... }

a n = ( 4 5 ) n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 2 , 1 3 , 1 18 , 1 108 , ... }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 3 , 1 , 1 3 , 1 9 , ... }

a n = 3 ( 1 3 ) n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, find the specified term for the geometric sequence given.

Let a 1 = 4 , a n = 3 a n 1 . Find a 8 .

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Let a n = ( 1 3 ) n 1 . Find a 12 .

a 12 = 1 177 , 147

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, find the number of terms in the given finite geometric sequence.

a n = { 1 , 3 , 9 , ... , 2187 }

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = { 2 , 1 , 1 2 , ... , 1 1024 }

There are 12 terms in the sequence.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Graphical

For the following exercises, determine whether the graph shown represents a geometric sequence.

Graph of a scattered plot with labeled points: (1, -0.5), (2, 0.25), (3, 1.375), (4, 3.0625), and (5, 5.5938). The x-axis is labeled n and the y-axis is labeled a_n.

The graph does not represent a geometric sequence.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For the following exercises, use the information provided to graph the first five terms of the geometric sequence.

a 1 = 3 , a n = 2 a n 1

Graph of a scattered plot with labeled points: (1, 3), (2, 6), (3, 12), (4, 24), and (5, 48). The x-axis is labeled n and the y-axis is labeled a_n.
Got questions? Get instant answers now!

a n = 27 0.3 n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Extensions

Use recursive formulas to give two examples of geometric sequences whose 3 rd terms are 200.

Answers will vary. Examples: a 1 = 800 , a n = 0.5 a n 1 and a 1 = 12.5 , a n = 4 a n 1

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Use explicit formulas to give two examples of geometric sequences whose 7 th terms are 1024.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Find the 5 th term of the geometric sequence { b , 4 b , 16 b , ... } .

a 5 = 256 b

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Find the 7 th term of the geometric sequence { 64 a ( b ) , 32 a ( 3 b ) , 16 a ( 9 b ) , ... } .

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

At which term does the sequence { 10 , 12 , 14.4 , 17.28 ,   ... } exceed 100 ?

The sequence exceeds 100 at the 14 th term, a 14 107.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

At which term does the sequence { 1 2187 , 1 729 , 1 243 , 1 81   ... } begin to have integer values?

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

For which term does the geometric sequence a n = 36 ( 2 3 ) n 1 first have a non-integer value?

a 4 = 32 3 is the first non-integer value

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Use the recursive formula to write a geometric sequence whose common ratio is an integer. Show the first four terms, and then find the 10 th term.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Use the explicit formula to write a geometric sequence whose common ratio is a decimal number between 0 and 1. Show the first 4 terms, and then find the 8 th term.

Answers will vary. Example: Explicit formula with a decimal common ratio: a n = 400 0.5 n 1 ; First 4 terms: 400 , 200 , 100 , 50 ; a 8 = 3.125

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Is it possible for a sequence to be both arithmetic and geometric? If so, give an example.

Got questions? Get instant answers now!

Questions & Answers

how did you get 1640
Noor Reply
If auger is pair are the roots of equation x2+5x-3=0
Peter Reply
Wayne and Dennis like to ride the bike path from Riverside Park to the beach. Dennis’s speed is seven miles per hour faster than Wayne’s speed, so it takes Wayne 2 hours to ride to the beach while it takes Dennis 1.5 hours for the ride. Find the speed of both bikers.
MATTHEW Reply
420
Sharon
from theory: distance [miles] = speed [mph] × time [hours] info #1 speed_Dennis × 1.5 = speed_Wayne × 2 => speed_Wayne = 0.75 × speed_Dennis (i) info #2 speed_Dennis = speed_Wayne + 7 [mph] (ii) use (i) in (ii) => [...] speed_Dennis = 28 mph speed_Wayne = 21 mph
George
Let W be Wayne's speed in miles per hour and D be Dennis's speed in miles per hour. We know that W + 7 = D and W * 2 = D * 1.5. Substituting the first equation into the second: W * 2 = (W + 7) * 1.5 W * 2 = W * 1.5 + 7 * 1.5 0.5 * W = 7 * 1.5 W = 7 * 3 or 21 W is 21 D = W + 7 D = 21 + 7 D = 28
Salma
Devon is 32 32​​ years older than his son, Milan. The sum of both their ages is 54 54​. Using the variables d d​ and m m​ to represent the ages of Devon and Milan, respectively, write a system of equations to describe this situation. Enter the equations below, separated by a comma.
Aaron Reply
find product (-6m+6) ( 3m²+4m-3)
SIMRAN Reply
-42m²+60m-18
Salma
what is the solution
bill
how did you arrive at this answer?
bill
-24m+3+3mÁ^2
Susan
i really want to learn
Amira
I only got 42 the rest i don't know how to solve it. Please i need help from anyone to help me improve my solving mathematics please
Amira
Hw did u arrive to this answer.
Aphelele
hi
Bajemah
-6m(3mA²+4m-3)+6(3mA²+4m-3) =-18m²A²-24m²+18m+18mA²+24m-18 Rearrange like items -18m²A²-24m²+42m+18A²-18
Salma
complete the table of valuesfor each given equatio then graph. 1.x+2y=3
Jovelyn Reply
x=3-2y
Salma
y=x+3/2
Salma
Hi
Enock
given that (7x-5):(2+4x)=8:7find the value of x
Nandala
3x-12y=18
Kelvin
please why isn't that the 0is in ten thousand place
Grace Reply
please why is it that the 0is in the place of ten thousand
Grace
Send the example to me here and let me see
Stephen
A meditation garden is in the shape of a right triangle, with one leg 7 feet. The length of the hypotenuse is one more than the length of one of the other legs. Find the lengths of the hypotenuse and the other leg
Marry Reply
how far
Abubakar
cool u
Enock
state in which quadrant or on which axis each of the following angles given measure. in standard position would lie 89°
Abegail Reply
hello
BenJay
hi
Method
I am eliacin, I need your help in maths
Rood
how can I help
Sir
hmm can we speak here?
Amoon
however, may I ask you some questions about Algarba?
Amoon
hi
Enock
what the last part of the problem mean?
Roger
The Jones family took a 15 mile canoe ride down the Indian River in three hours. After lunch, the return trip back up the river took five hours. Find the rate, in mph, of the canoe in still water and the rate of the current.
cameron Reply
Shakir works at a computer store. His weekly pay will be either a fixed amount, $925, or $500 plus 12% of his total sales. How much should his total sales be for his variable pay option to exceed the fixed amount of $925.
mahnoor Reply
I'm guessing, but it's somewhere around $4335.00 I think
Lewis
12% of sales will need to exceed 925 - 500, or 425 to exceed fixed amount option. What amount of sales does that equal? 425 ÷ (12÷100) = 3541.67. So the answer is sales greater than 3541.67. Check: Sales = 3542 Commission 12%=425.04 Pay = 500 + 425.04 = 925.04. 925.04 > 925.00
Munster
difference between rational and irrational numbers
Arundhati Reply
When traveling to Great Britain, Bethany exchanged $602 US dollars into £515 British pounds. How many pounds did she receive for each US dollar?
Jakoiya Reply
how to reduced echelon form
Solomon Reply
Jazmine trained for 3 hours on Saturday. She ran 8 miles and then biked 24 miles. Her biking speed is 4 mph faster than her running speed. What is her running speed?
Zack Reply
d=r×t the equation would be 8/r+24/r+4=3 worked out
Sheirtina
Got questions? Join the online conversation and get instant answers!
Jobilize.com Reply
Practice Key Terms 2

Get Jobilize Job Search Mobile App in your pocket Now!

Get it on Google Play Download on the App Store Now




Source:  OpenStax, Precalculus. OpenStax CNX. Jan 19, 2016 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11667/1.6
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc.

Notification Switch

Would you like to follow the 'Precalculus' conversation and receive update notifications?

Ask