Precalculus Examples

$- 5$ , $- 4$ , $- 3$ , $- 2$ , $- 1$

Step 1

This is an arithmetic sequence since there is a common difference between each term. In this case, adding $1$ to the previous term in the sequence gives the next term. In other words, $a_{n} = a_{1} + d (n - 1)$ .

Arithmetic Sequence: $d = 1$

Step 2

This is the formula of an arithmetic sequence.

$a_{n} = a_{1} + d (n - 1)$

Step 3

Substitute in the values of $a_{1} = - 5$ and $d = 1$ .

$a_{n} = - 5 + 1 (n - 1)$

Step 4

Multiply $n - 1$ by $1$ .

$a_{n} = - 5 + n - 1$

Step 5

Subtract $1$ from $- 5$ .

$a_{n} = n - 6$