College

Consider the following geometric sequence:

[tex]\[ 115, 690, 4,140, 24,840, \ldots \][/tex]

What is the explicit formula for this sequence?

A. [tex]a_n = 115 \cdot (5)^{(n-1)}[/tex]

B. [tex]a_n = 115 \cdot \left(\frac{1}{6}\right)^{(n-1)}[/tex]

C. [tex]a_n = 115 \cdot (6)^{(n-1)}[/tex]

D. [tex]a_n = 115 \cdot (-6)^{(n-1)}[/tex]

Answer :

Let's solve the question of finding the explicit formula for the given geometric sequence: 115, 690, 4,140, 24,840, ...

### Step-by-step Solution:

1. Identify the First Term:
The first term of the sequence, [tex]\( a_1 \)[/tex], is 115.

2. Find the Common Ratio:
In a geometric sequence, each term is obtained by multiplying the previous term by a constant called the common ratio, [tex]\( r \)[/tex].

[tex]\[
r = \frac{\text{second term}}{\text{first term}} = \frac{690}{115}
\][/tex]

After division, we find that [tex]\( r = 6 \)[/tex].

3. Verify the Common Ratio:
Let's check if this ratio holds for the other terms to confirm it's consistent:

- For the third term:

[tex]\[
\frac{\text{third term}}{\text{second term}} = \frac{4140}{690} = 6
\][/tex]

- For the fourth term:

[tex]\[
\frac{\text{fourth term}}{\text{third term}} = \frac{24840}{4140} = 6
\][/tex]

Since the common ratio is consistently 6 for each pair of consecutive terms, we can conclude that the sequence is indeed geometric with [tex]\( r = 6 \)[/tex].

4. Write the Explicit Formula:
The formula for the [tex]\( n \)[/tex]-th term of a geometric sequence is:

[tex]\[
a_n = a_1 \cdot r^{(n-1)}
\][/tex]

Substituting the values we found:

[tex]\[
a_n = 115 \cdot 6^{(n-1)}
\][/tex]

So, the explicit formula for the sequence is [tex]\( a_n = 115 \cdot (6)^{(n-1)} \)[/tex]. This corresponds to the third option from the list provided.