Problem

Determine the sum of the first four terms of the geometric sequence where $a=5$ and $r=3$.

The sum is $\square$.

Answer

Expert–verified
Hide Steps
Answer

The sum of the first four terms of the geometric sequence is \(\boxed{200}\).

Steps

Step 1 :Determine the sum of the first four terms of the geometric sequence where \(a=5\) and \(r=3\).

Step 2 :Use the formula for the sum of the first \(n\) terms of a geometric sequence: \(S_n = a \cdot \frac{1 - r^n}{1 - r}\).

Step 3 :Substitute \(a = 5\), \(r = 3\), and \(n = 4\) into the formula: \(S_n = 5 \cdot \frac{1 - 3^4}{1 - 3}\).

Step 4 :Simplify the expression to find that \(S_n = 200.0\).

Step 5 :The sum of the first four terms of the geometric sequence is \(\boxed{200}\).

link_gpt