What is the common difference in the arithmetic sequence

Question

What is the common difference in the arithmetic sequence?

47,42,37,32,27

Answer 1

-5

47-42 = 5

42-37=5

37-32 =5

32-27 = 5

Each term is 5 less than the previous term

an = an-1 - 5

or

with a1 = 47

an = a1 - 5(n-1) = 47 -5n+5 = 52-5n

an=52-5n

-5 is the common difference