I had a student tasked with summing a finite geometric sequence with |r|>1, let’s say 1+2+4+8+16. He had apparently forgotten the formula for that, but knew the formula for the infinite series a/(1-r). Good enough he thinks, and sums 1+2+4+… = -1, then subtracts off the excess terms 32+64+128+… = -32, and gets the correct answer of 31.
- 0 Posts
- 2 Comments
Joined 9 months ago
Cake day: February 21st, 2026
You are not logged in. If you use a Fediverse account that is able to follow users, you can follow this user.


hankgreen.com/smush · Jul 14
330 pts · no hints
🥞🥞🥞
🥞⭐🥞
🥞🥞🟨