Question

what are the first five terms of the sequence with the following general term starting with a1:an=n²- 5

Answer 1

To find the first five terms we have to replace n by 1,2,3,4 and 5 so:

$a_1=1^2-5=1-5=-4$

And we do the same with the next values so:

$\begin{gathered} a_2=2^2-5=4-5=-1 \\ a_3=3^2-5=9-5=4 \\ a_4=4^2-5=16-5=11 \\ a_5=5^2-5=25-5=20 \end{gathered}$