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Sub 505 (Easy)|   Sequences|                                          
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Bunuel
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What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17

Given that \(a_n=n+2^{n-1}\), thus:

\(a_6=6+2^{6-1}=38\);
\(a_5=5+2^{5-1}=21\);

The difference is 38-21=17.

Answer: E.

Just one question, why do they mention 2, 4, 7. Is that to throw a test-taker off?
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Walkabout
What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17

Given that \(a_n=n+2^{n-1}\), thus:

\(a_6=6+2^{6-1}=38\);
\(a_5=5+2^{5-1}=21\);

The difference is 38-21=17.

Answer: E.

Just one question, why do they mention 2, 4, 7. Is that to throw a test-taker off?

2, 4, and 7, are the first, second and the third terms of the sequence whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1). For n = 1, n + 2^(n - 1) = 1 + 2^0 = 2, for n = 2, n + 2^(n - 1) = 2 + 2^1 = 4, and for n = 3, n + 2^(n - 1) = 3 + 2^2 = 7. So, those numbers are given simply as an example.
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Walkabout
What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17

For the sixth term, we need to substitute 6 for n, and for the fifth term, we need to substitute 5 for n. Then we'll find the difference between the two terms.

Let’s first plug 6 in for n.

6 + 2^(6-1)

6 + 2^5

6 + 32 = 38

Next let’s plug 5 in for n.

5 + 2^(5-1)

5 + 2^4

5 + 16 = 21

Thus, the difference between the 6th and 5th term of the sequence is 38 – 21 = 17.

Answer is E.
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Plug in 6 and 5 for the sixth and fifth sequence respectively.....

Sixth sequence = 6 + 2^(6-1) = 38

Fifth sequence = 5 + 2^(5-1) = 21

38-21
=
17
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What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17--> correct

Analysis: t6-t5 = 6 + 2^5 - 5 -2^4=1+2^4=17
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n6 = 6+2^5
n5 = 5+2^4

n6-n5= 6+2^5-(5+2^4)
=1+2^5-2^4
=1+2^4(2-1)
=1+16(1)
=17
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Walkabout
What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17

AS, \(a_n=n+2^{n-1}\)

\(∴ a_6=6+2^{6-1}=38\);
\(∴ a_5=5+2^{5-1}=21\);

The difference \(=38-21=17\)

The answer is \(E\)
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Video solution from Quant Reasoning:
Subscribe for more: https://www.youtube.com/QuantReasoning? ... irmation=1
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To find the difference between the sixth and fifth terms of the given sequence, we need to calculate these terms using the provided formula.

The formula for the nth term of the sequence is given as n + 2^(n - 1).

Let's calculate the fifth term:
n = 5
5 + 2^(5 - 1) = 5 + 2^4 = 5 + 16 = 21

Now, let's calculate the sixth term:
n = 6
6 + 2^(6 - 1) = 6 + 2^5 = 6 + 32 = 38

The difference between the sixth and fifth terms is:
38 - 21 = 17

Therefore, the difference between the sixth and fifth terms of the sequence is 17.

The correct answer is (E) 17.
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Walkabout
What is the difference between the sixth and the fifth terms of the sequence 2, 4, 7, ... whose nth term is n + 2^(n - 1)?

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 6
(D) 16
(E) 17





Nick Slavkovich, GMAT/GRE tutor with 20+ years of experience

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