Question

PLEASE HELP! I AM IN DESPERATE NEED OF IT!
Bobby has been planting blackberries in a garden in his backyard. Bobby started with blackberries in one square foot of garden modeled by the function s(x) = 30. He is allowed to convert more of the garden, and each additional square foot he maintains allows his blackberry plants to produce more by a rate of a(x) = 1.3^(x-1).

Explain to Bobby how to create an equation to predict the number of blackberries he can expect based on the number of square feet he maintains. Describe how to determine the number of blackberries he will grow with 20 square feet. Use complete sentences.

Answer 1

Help please! All I need to know is if this is a geometric sequence or a geometric series, as I am familiar with how to go about solving for both, but this word problem is very tricky to me.

Answer 2

I feel like it's tricky because it could be a geometric sequence because it gives me
s(x) = 30
a(x) = 1.3^(x - 1)
which when multiplied together gives me a geometric sequence equation, BUT, the problem is asking for the number of blackberries in 20 feet, which would imply the total # of blackberries in ALL of his 20 square foot patch. If the problem were asking for how many he will have in his 20th square foot, it would have said "how many blackberries are in his 20th square foot of blackberries?"

Answer 3

To find the total number of blackberries in ALL of his 20 square foot patch, I would need to use a geometric SERIES formula

Answer 4

I am just having trouble deciding if this calls for a geometric SERIES formula, or a geometric SEQUENCE formula. Sorry for making this so long.