The first prize in a lottery is $250 000. Each winner chosen after the first is paid 20% as much as the winner before them.

a) Determine t1 and r for the geometric sequence that represents this situation.
b) Determine an explicit formula for the general term.
c) Determine a formula for the sum of n terms of the geometric sequence.
d) If 5 winning numbers are chosen,
i) how much will the last person chosen be paid?

1 answer

t1 = 250000
r = 0.20

Now just plug those into the various formulas you have learned.