Problem

Given a sequence of numbers: 2, 5, 10, 17, find the formula for the nth term and calculate the 8th term of the sequence.

Answer

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Answer

Substitute n = 8 into the formula n2+n, we get the 8th term of the sequence.

Steps

Step 1 :The given sequence is 2, 5, 10, 17. We can notice that the difference between the consecutive terms is increasing by 2 each time. So the sequence can be a quadratic sequence, and the general formula for a quadratic sequence is an2+bn+c.

Step 2 :To find the values of a, b, and c, we can set up a system of equations using the first three terms of the sequence: {a+b+c=24a+2b+c=59a+3b+c=10

Step 3 :Solving the system of equations, we get a=1, b=1, and c=0. So the nth term of the sequence is n2+n.

Step 4 :Substitute n = 8 into the formula n2+n, we get the 8th term of the sequence.

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