Geometric

Application

Suppose you go to work for a company that pays one penny on the first day, 2 cents on the second day, 4 cents on the third day, etc. If the daily wage continues to double, what is your total income for working 31 days?

Step 1. Write a geometric sequence to represent the situation.

1, 2, 4, 8, 16 â€¦

Step 2. Determine a₁, r and n.

and

Step 3. Determine the general formula for the sequence .

Step 4. To find the series, substitute and solve.

The total pay for 31 days is 2,147,483,647Â¢ or $21,474,836.47.