Starting with number 0 on my calculator, I do a calculation in five steps. At each step, I either add 1 or multiply by 2. What is the smallest number that cannot be the final result?

assuming only positive integers, the answer is 1

Step-by-step explanation:

the smallest number that you can get by adding is:

but you can also multiply, and anything multiplied by 0 is 0:

The question does not say that we need to do any specific calculation, it only gives us 2 options and we can choose them as many times as we want.

step-by-step explanation:

part a. the differences are decreasing, so we know the sequence is not arithmetic. the ratios are constant (=3/4), so we know the sequence is geometric.

part b. from part a, we know the common ratio is 3/4, so each term is 3/4 of the one before. the initial term is the number of gallons at h=1.

g[h] = (3/4)·g[h-1]

g[1] = 384 . . . . initial value required for a recursive definition

part c. the general formula for a geometric sequence is

a[n] = a[1]·r^(n-1)

we have a[1] = 384, r = 3/4, and the term number given by h. the formula that follows is

g[h] = 384·(3/4)^(h-1)

part d. filling in the value and doing the arithmetic, we have

g[12] = 384·(3/4)^11 ≈ 384·0.042235136 ≈ 16.2183 . . gallons

part e. each gallon is 4 quarts, so

16.2183 gal × 4 qt/gal = 64.8732 qt