Algebra Examples

$2$ , $- 4$ , $8$ , $- 16$

Step 1

This is a geometric sequence since there is a common ratio between each term. In this case, multiplying the previous term in the sequence by $- 2$ gives the next term. In other words, $a_{n} = a_{1} r^{n - 1}$ .

Geometric Sequence: $r = - 2$

Step 2

This is the form of a geometric sequence.

$a_{n} = a_{1} r^{n - 1}$

Step 3

Substitute in the values of $a_{1} = 2$ and $r = - 2$ .

$a_{n} = 2 {(- 2)}^{n - 1}$