Question

The first term of an arithmetic sequence is -3 and the fifteenth term is 53. What is the common difference of the sequence?

14/13
25/7
4

Answer 1

The following formula may be helpful: l = a + (n-1)d, where l is the "last term" or "nth term," a is the first term, n is the number of terms, and d is the "common difference."

Answer 2

The first term of an arithmetic sequence is -3 and the fifteenth term is 53. What is the common difference of the sequence? Here you are told right away that the first term, a, is -3. What would be your next step?