Geometric Sequences

This week in math I learned what a geometric sequence is.

A geometric sequence is a set of terms (numbers) that multiply by the same number each time.  This is called the common ratio.  To determine what the common ratio is, you have to take and divide it by .

When you have a geometric sequence and need to find there is a simple way we could do that.

If my geometric sequence was 2, 4, 8, 16, 32… and I wanted to find , I would take and divide it by .  In this case, the unknown term isn’t far from so this way would work, otherwise, you would have to use a formula to determine a further term.  In this equation, the common ratio would be 2.

So, to find would take 32 () and multiply it by 2. is equal to 64.