Question

how can you tell if an equation is an arithmetic series/sequence or a geometric series/sequence?

Answer 1

a sequence is arithmetic if there is a common difference between each term

example

1, 5, 9, 13, 17

each term has a common difference of 4 (1+5 = 4, 5+4 = 9, etc)

notice how

5-1 = 4
9-5 = 4
13-9=4
17-13=4

so that's what they really mean when they say "common difference"

Answer 2

with a geometric sequence, you have a common ratio

example

7, 14, 28, 56

notice how

7*2 = 14
14*2 = 28
28*2 = 56

put another way

14/7 = 2
28/14 = 2
56/28 = 2

and we can see that the common ratio is 2

Answer 3

Thanks you!

Answer 4

np