Question

Write an expression to

describe the sequence below. Use n to represent the position of a term
in the sequence, where n = 1 for the first term.
5, 6, 7, 8, ...

Answer 1

n + 4

Explanation:

n is being used to describe the position of a term.

We can see that the sequence is increasing linearly by 1.

Since the position of the next term is increasing linearly by 1, all we have to do is look at the first term and subtract 1 from it to get our constant (4).

An equation to think about this better would be

n + C = S

C is the constant we are solving for.

We know n = 1.

S is the number corresponding in the sequence with n.

1 + C = 5

Subtract 1 from both sides to isolate C.

C = 4

1 + 4 = 5 Checks out

n + 4

You don't need to include the equals sign because the problem asks for an expression which doesn't contain an equals sign unlike an equation.