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What is the common difference between successive terms in the sequence?

[tex]\[9, 2.5, -4, -10.5, -17, \ldots\][/tex]


Sagot :

To determine the common difference in the given sequence [tex]\(9, 2.5, -4, -10.5, -17, \ldots\)[/tex], we need to find the differences between successive terms and observe if these differences are consistent.

Let's begin by calculating each difference step-by-step:

1. Calculate the difference between the second term ([tex]\(2.5\)[/tex]) and the first term ([tex]\(9\)[/tex]):
[tex]\[ 2.5 - 9 = -6.5 \][/tex]

2. Calculate the difference between the third term ([tex]\(-4\)[/tex]) and the second term ([tex]\(2.5\)[/tex]):
[tex]\[ -4 - 2.5 = -6.5 \][/tex]

3. Calculate the difference between the fourth term ([tex]\(-10.5\)[/tex]) and the third term ([tex]\(-4\)[/tex]):
[tex]\[ -10.5 - (-4) = -10.5 + 4 = -6.5 \][/tex]

4. Calculate the difference between the fifth term ([tex]\(-17\)[/tex]) and the fourth term ([tex]\(-10.5\)[/tex]):
[tex]\[ -17 - (-10.5) = -17 + 10.5 = -6.5 \][/tex]

After calculating these differences, we observe that each difference is [tex]\(-6.5\)[/tex]. Hence, the common difference between successive terms in the sequence is:
[tex]\[ \boxed{-6.5} \][/tex]