Answer:
Part 1) On square 18 should be place [tex]131,072\ grains[/tex]
Part 2) The total number of grains of wheat is [tex]18,446,744,073,709,551,615\ grains[/tex]
Part 3) The total weight is [tex]W=2,635,249,153,387,079\ pounds[/tex]
Step-by-step explanation:
we know that
In a Geometric Sequence each term is found by multiplying the previous term by a constant
Part A) How many grains of wheat should be placed on square 18?
In this problem we have
a1=1
a2=2
a3=4
a4=8
The common ratio (r) is equal to
a2/a1=2/1=2
a3/a2=4/2=2
a4/a3=8/4=2
so
r=2
the explicit rule for the nth term is equal to
[tex]an=a1(r^{n-1} )[/tex]
For n=18
we have
a1=1
r=2
substitute
[tex]a18=(1)(2^{18-1})[/tex]
[tex]a18=(2^{17})[/tex]
[tex]a18=131,072\ grains[/tex]
Part 2) Find the total number of grains of wheat on the board
we know that
The formula of the sum in a geometric sequence is equal to
[tex]S=a1\frac{1-r^{n}}{1-r}[/tex]
we have
a1=1
r=2
n=64
substitute
[tex]S=(1)\frac{1-2^{64}}{1-2}[/tex]
[tex]S=\frac{1-2^{64}}{-1}[/tex]
[tex]S=18,446,744,073,709,551,615\ grains[/tex]
Part 3) Find the total weight in pounds. (Assume that each grain of wheat weighs 1/7000 pound.)
To obtain the total weight multiply the total grains by (1/7,000)
[tex]W=2,635,249,153,387,078.8\ pounds[/tex]
Round to the nearest pound
[tex]W=2,635,249,153,387,079\ pounds[/tex]