How to recognize a geometric sequence while solving by unfolding? I have a problem with how this is

glycleWogry

glycleWogry

Answered question

2022-06-21

How to recognize a geometric sequence while solving by unfolding?
I have a problem with how this is written as a geometric sequence. I got this screenshot from my math book. r should be 2 and a should be 1.
S = 1 2 n 1 1 2
Step 2
How did they come up with n as the power of 2? And why is the sum being written backwards?
a n = 5 + 5 ( 2 ) + 5 ( 2 2 ) + 5 ( 2 3 ) + + 5 ( 2 n 1 ) + 2 n a 0 = 5 ( 1 + 2 + 2 2 + + 2 n 1 ) + 2 n ( 2 ) = 5 2 n 1 2 1 + 2 ( 2 n )

Answer & Explanation

Carmelo Payne

Carmelo Payne

Beginner2022-06-22Added 25 answers

Step 1
The sum of the first n terms of a geometric sequence with initial term a 1 and common ratio r is
(1) S = k = 1 n a 1 r k 1 = a 1 + a 1 r + a 1 r 2 + + a 1 r n 1
If we multiply this sum by r, we obtain
(2) r S = k = 1 n a 1 r k = a 1 r + a 1 r 2 + a 1 r 3 + + a 1 r n
Subtracting equation 2 from equation 1 yields
S r S = a 1 + a 1 r + a 1 r 2 + + a 1 r n 1 = a 1 r a 1 r 2 a 1 r n 1 a 1 r n S ( 1 r ) = a 1 a 1 r n
Step 2
If r 1, we may divide by 1 r to obtain the formula for a geometric series
(3) S = a 1 a 1 r n 1 r = a 1 1 r n 1 r
In your problem, the geometric series is
5 + 5 ( 2 ) + 5 ( 2 2 ) + 5 ( 2 3 ) + + 5 ( 2 n 1 ) = k = 1 n 5 ( 2 k 1 )
so a 1 = 5 and r = 2. Using the formula in equation 3, we obtain
S = 5 + 5 ( 2 ) + 5 ( 2 2 ) + 5 ( 2 3 ) + + 5 ( 2 n 1 ) = 5 1 2 n 1 2
If we multiply the numerator and denominator of the fraction
1 2 n 1 2
by -1, we obtain
1 2 n 1 2 1 1 = 1 + 2 n 1 + 2 = 2 n 1 2 1
Therefore, S = 5 + 5 ( 2 ) + 5 ( 2 2 ) + 5 ( 2 3 ) + + 5 ( 2 n 1 ) = 5 1 2 n 1 2 = 5 2 n 1 2 1 as the author claims.
Amber Quinn

Amber Quinn

Beginner2022-06-23Added 3 answers

Step 1
Note that for r 1, we have
1 + r + . . . + r n 1 = ( 1 + r + . . . + r n 1 ) ( 1 r ) ( 1 r ) = 1 r n 1 r = r n 1 r 1 .
Step 2
Yours is the case r = 2. Convince yourself of the second equality by distributing and cancelling intermediate terms. The final equality is just multiplying top and bottom by -1.

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