Introduction to Sequences: Exercise 2

1 What type of sequence are each of these: arithmetic, quadratic, geometric or

Fibonacci-type?

a 4, 12, 20, 28, 36 … g −5, 8, 3, 11, 14, …

b 4, 12, 36, 108, 324, … h −5, 8, 21, 34, 47, …
c 7, −5, −17, −29, −41, … i 2.5, 5, 10, 20, 40, …

d 7, −5, −15, −23, −29, … j 2.5, 5, 9.5, 16, 24.5, …

e −9, 9, −9, 9, −9, … k 450, 90, 18, 3.6, 0.72, …
f −9, 9, 0, 9, 9, … l 450, 90, 30, 270, 810, …

2 For each of the following numerical sequences, describe the rule and work out the
next two terms.
1 2 13 23 12
a 6, 13, 20, 27, … i , , , , ,…
5 3 15 15 5
b 4, 2.5, 1, … 16 8 12 18
j , , , ,…
c 4, 12, 36, … 21 7 7 7
1 1 2 7 11
d 4, 6, 9, 13, … k , , , , ,…
10 5 5 10 10
e 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, … l 2𝑦, −3𝑦, −8𝑦, −13𝑦, …
f 27, 64, 125, 216, … m 10𝑧, 20𝑧 2 , 40𝑧 3 , 80𝑧 4 , …
g 25, 36, 49, … n 500𝑥𝑦, 50𝑥 2 𝑦, 5𝑥 3 𝑦, …
h 1, 3, 6, 10, … o 𝑎, 𝑎 + 4𝑏, 2𝑎 + 4𝑏, 3𝑎 + 8𝑏, …

N [IMC 2002 Q11]

The Fibonacci sequence 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, … begins with two 1s, and each later
number in the sequence is the sum of the previous two numbers.

Other Fibonacci-like sequences can be constructed by starting with any two numbers
a and b (not necessarily 1 and 1) and using the same rule for creating the other
numbers in the sequence.

What is the first term of the Fibonacci-like sequence whose second term is 4 and
whose fifth term is 22?

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