Find an equation for the nth term of the arithmetic sequence. a15 = -53, a16 = -5

an = -773 + 48n

Step-by-step explanation:

an = a + (n -1)d

a15 = a + (15 - 1)d = -53

         a + 14d = -53 1

a16 = a + (16 - 1)d = -5

         a + 15d = -5 2

subtract equation 2 from 1

a - a + 14d - 15d = -53 + 5

-d = -48

d =48

substitute d =48 in equation 1

a + 14(48) = -53

a +672 = -53

a = -53 -672

a = -725

an = -725 + (n -1)48

an = -725 + 48n - 48

an = -773 +48n

let's add {f(x)=x+1}f(x)=x+1 and {g(x)=2x}g(x)=2x together to make a new function.

f(x)+g(x) =(x+1)+(2x)=x+1+2x=3x+1

let's call this new function hh. so we have:

{h(x)}={f(x)}+{g(x)}{=3x+1}h(x)=f(x)+g(x)=3x+1

we can also evaluate combined functions for particular inputs. let's evaluate function hh above for x=2x=2. below are two ways of doing this.

method 1: substitute x=2x=2 into the combined function hh.

h(x)

h(2)

​    

=3x+1

=3(2)+1

=7

​ since h(x)=f(x)+g(x)h(x)=f(x)+g(x), we can also find h(2)h(2) by finding f(2) +g(2)f(2)+g(2).

first, let's find f(2)f(2):

f(x)

f(2)

​    

=x+1

=2+1

=3

​  

now, let's find g(2)g(2):

g(x)

g(2)

​    

=2x

=2⋅2

=4

​  

so f(2)+g(2)=3+4=\greend7f(2)+g(2)=3+4=7.

notice that substituting x =2x=2 directly into function hh and finding f(2) + g(2)f(2)+g(2) gave us the same answer!

part a

answer: a reasonable domain is where n is a real number. so n can be between 0 and 10. both endpoints are included.

work shown:

n is the number of days after the experiment starts. the smallest n can be is n = 0 which means that 0 days have gone by, and we're at the start. to find out how large n should be, then replace f(n) with 16.13 and solve for n. use logarithms to isolate the exponent.

f(n) = 12*(1.03)^n

16.13 = 12*(1.03)^n

16.13/12 = (1.03)^n

1.34416666666667 = (1.03)^n

(1.03)^n = 1.34416666666667

log[ (1.03)^n ] = log[ 1.34416666666667 ]

n*log[ 1.03 ] = log[ 1.34416666666667 ]

n = log[ 1.34416666666667 ]/log[ 1.03 ]

n = 10.0062999823929

this rounds to n = 10 which is fairly close but not 100% perfect. so this is the largest n can be.

note: if you plug n = 10 into f(n), you'll get roughly 16.127 which rounds to 16.13 (this comes up again in part c)

=====================================

part b

answer: the y intercept is 12. it represents the starting height of the plant in cm.

work shown:

plug n = 0 into the f(n) function. simplify

f(n) = 12*(1.03)^n

f(0) = 12*(1.03)^0

f(0) = 12*(1)

f(0) = 12

on day n = 0, aka the starting point, the height f(n) is 12 cm

=====================================

part c

answer: the average rate of change is approximately 0.43061036458991 (round however you need to). this represents the average growth rate from day n = 3 to day n = 10. so the plant grew roughly 0.43 cm per day during this timespan, assuming you round to 2 decimal places.

work shown:

compute f(3)

f(n) = 12*(1.03)^n

f(3) = 12*(1.03)^3

f(3) = 13.112724 < we'll use this later

compute f(10)

f(n) = 12*(1.03)^n

f(10) = 12*(1.03)^10

f(10) = 16.1269965521294 < we'll use this later

now use the formula below with a = 3 and b = 10

aroc = average rate of change

aroc = [ f(b) - f(a) ]/[ b - a ]

aroc = [ f(10) - f(3) ]/[ 10 - 3 ]

aroc = (16.1269965521294 - 13.112724)/(10 - 3)

aroc = 3.0142725521294/7

aroc = 0.43061036458991

round this however you need to

note: the plant grew approximately 3.01 cm over 7 days, so roughly 0.43 cm per day is the average growth rate (if you were to round to 2 decimal places).