Tanya distributes pencils to students in her class for an upcoming test. the number of pencils she hands out is given by the equation p = 3s, where p is the number of pencils and s is the number of students. if there are 16 students in tanya's class, how many pencils did she distribute?

hello from mrbilldoesmath!

answer:

a(n) - a(n-1) -3

discussion:

this ones a bit interesting. given a(n) = 5 - 3n consider this:

a(n-1) = 5 - 3(n-1)

          = (5 - 3n) + 3             => but a(n) = 5 - 3n, the first term

          = a(n)   + 3                 => subtract 3 from both sides

a(n-1) -3 = a(n)  

or

a(n) - a(n-1) -3

you,

mrb

set each factor equal to 0

4x-3 = 0

2x-1 = 0

solve for x.

4x-3=0

4x=3

x= 3/4

solve for x. 

2x-1= 0

2x= 1

x= 1/2

your answer should be 1/2 is less than or equal to x and 3/4 is greater than or equal to x