Question

The teacher gave this pattern to the class: the first term is 5 and the rule is add 4, subtract 1. Each student says one number. The first student says 5. Victor is tenth in line. What number should Victor say?

Answer 1

Each student says the number that is `3` above the previous answer.

Explanation:

If the the first term is `5`, then the first student will say `8`.
Student `2` : `11`
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
14 17 20 23 26 29 32

and the `10th` student, Victor, will say 35

There is a simpler way that works with even larger numbers far faster.

Take "n" to be the number in line the student is.
The students number is 3n + 5

Victor would say `(3 xx 10) + 5` which is `35`

The `100th` student would say `305` `(3 xx 100) + 5`