Question

What kind of sequence is this? 473, 492, 508, 521, ...

Answer 1

To identify the sequence, let's look at the differences between the consecutive terms:

- The difference between the second term (492) and the first term (473) is:
\( 492 - 473 = 19 \)

- The difference between the third term (508) and the second term (492) is:
\( 508 - 492 = 16 \)

- The difference between the fourth term (521) and the third term (508) is:
\( 521 - 508 = 13 \)

Now we have the differences:
- 19 (between 473 and 492)
- 16 (between 492 and 508)
- 13 (between 508 and 521)

The differences decrease by 3 each time (19, 16, 13, ...), indicating that this is not a linear sequence.

This suggests that the sequence is quadratic in nature, where the difference between the terms decreases by a constant amount. The next difference would be \( 13 - 3 = 10 \).

If we continue this pattern, we can predict the next term:
\( 521 + 10 = 531 \).

Thus, the next term in the sequence would be 531, and the sequence follows a quadratic pattern.