Introduction to Geometric Sequences

What you’ll learn to do: Use formulas to make calculations for an geometric sequence or find a term in the sequence

Many jobs offer an annual cost-of-living increase to keep salaries consistent with inflation. Suppose, for example, a recent college graduate finds a position as a sales manager earning an annual salary of $26,000. He is promised a 2% cost of living increase each year. His annual salary in any given year can be found by multiplying his salary from the previous year by 102%. His salary will be $26,520 after one year; $27,050.40 after two years; $27,591.41 after three years; and so on. When a salary increases by a constant rate each year, the salary grows by a constant factor. In this section we will review sequences that grow in this way.

Contribute!

Did you have an idea for improving this content? We’d love your input.

Improve this pageLearn More