However the portion of the series is always dependent on the previous two terms are given in the sequence. Substitute the initial term and the common difference into the recursive formula for arithmetic sequences. For a sequence a1 a2 a3 a n explicit formula is a formula that can compute the value of a n using its location.
Just use Order of Operations and you will get the right answer for every term.
We see that the common difference is the slope of the line formed when we graph the terms of the sequence as shown in Figure 3. An an - 1 - 7 where a1 -10. Since recursive sequences rules vary from each other it is nearly impossible to create a general pattern that applies to all recursive sequences unlike arithmetic or geometric sequences. A recursive formula allows us to find any term of an arithmetic sequence using a function of the preceding term.