Question

Find the 41st term an arithmetic sequence if the common difference is -4 and the first term is 2

Answer 1

ANSWER

-158

EXPLANATION

The general term of an arithmetic sequence is

$a_n=a_1+d(n-1)$

where

$a_1=2$

is the first term and

$d = - 4$

is the common difference.

Since we want to find the 41st term, we put n=41 to obtain,

$a_{41}=2+ - 4(41-1)$

$a_{41}=2- 4(40)$

$a_{41} = - 158$

The 41st term is -158.