Find the first 5 terms of the sequence

Question

First five terms of the sequence an = 3n-2

Answer 1

The letter n indicates which term you are looking at

when n = 1 you have the first term,
when n = 2 you have the second term,
when n = 3 you have the third term,
and so on.

So to find the first term let n = 1 and you get

 

3n-2 (we substitute 1 for n)

3(1)-2 = 3-2 = 1

 

So to find the first term let n = 2 and you get

 

3n-2 (we substitute 2 for n)
3(2)-2 = 6-2 = 4

 

So to find the first term let n = 3 and you get

3n-2 (we substitute 3 for n)
3(3)-2 = 9-2 = 7

 

So to find the first term let n = 4 and you get

3n-2 (we substitute 4 for n)
3(4)-2 = 12-2 = 10

 

So to find the first term let n = 5 and you get

3n-2 (we substitute 5 for n)
3(5)-2 = 15-2 = 13

 

So the first 5 terms are 

 

1, 4, 7, 10, 13

 

Hope this helps and makes sense.