Geometric Sequence #2

More on Geometric Sequence

- The nth term (A1) of a Geometric Sequence is
*An = A • rn - 1 for n ≥ 1
Solve
1) Find the 8th term in the sequence -2, 4, -8, 16,…
An = A1 • r n - 1
A8 = -2 • (-2)8 - 1
r= = = -2
= -2 • (-2)7
= -2 • -128
A8 = 256
2) Find the first five terms of a geometric sequence whose 6th term is 96 and common ratio is 2
__, __, __, __, __, 96,…
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A 6
A2 = 3 • r = 3 • 2 = 6
A1 = ? A3 = 6 • r = 6 • 2 = 12
*An = A1 • rn - 1 96 = A1 • 32 A4 = 12 • r = 12 • 2 = 24
96 = A1 • (2)6 - 1 96 𝐴 • 32 A5 = 24 • r = 24 • 2 = 48
=
96 = A1 • 25 32 32 3, 6, 12, 24, 48,…
A 1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A5
3 = A1
A1 = 3 ∴ The first five geometric terms are 3, 6, 12, 24, 48,…
Geometric Means
3) Insert 3 terms between 2 and 32 of a geometric sequence
2,__,__,__,32
A1 A2 A3 A4 A5
A2 = 2 • r = 2 • 2 = 4
An = A1 • rn - 1 A3 = 4 • r = 4 • 2 = 8

32 = 2 • r5 - 1 A4 = 8 • r = 8 • 2 = 16

32 = 2 • r4
∴ The 3 geometric means between 2 and 32 are 4, 8, and 16.
32 2 • 𝑟4
=
2 2
16 = r4
√16 = √𝑟4 *Note: If the indexes are even numbers,
there can be two signs 2 = 𝑟
2=r
r=2
4
√8 = 𝑟 *Note: No need to simplify if the number inside the radicand is not a perfect
power of 4. Leave as is