Nth Term Word Problems

Nth Term Word ProblemsAnytime you see the words

PEREACH

It is a pattern word problem and should be put into y = pattern x + zero term

- The per/each is the pattern and often they will say one time fee, one time bonus, starting fee for the zero term

Since the data shows a ___________ difference the pattern is __________.

If a pattern is linear then its graph is a straight _________.

A DVD buyers club charges a $20 membership fee

and $15 per DVD purchased. The table below

represents this situation.

Number of DVDs purchased 0 1 2 3 4 5

Total cost ($) 20 35 50 65 80 95

+15 +15 +15 +15 +15

Find the first differences for the total cost.

constant linear

line

The equation represents this situation. 15 20c d

Number of DVDs purchased 0 1 2 3 4 5

Total cost ($) 20 35 50 65 80 95

Constant difference or price per DVD Membership fee

1 2 3 4 5

20

10

30

40

50

80

70

60

Cindy needed a babysitter for her kids every Sunday night. She had two choices and she needs your help to determine which one is cheaper for 5 hours of babysitting. Alice charges a one-time fee

of $10 plus another $5 per hour. Katie charges only $10.50 per hour. Help Cindy make her decision by making equations for both

and finding the total charge for each babysitter.

ALICE

Per/each:

One time fee:

y = _________ x + _________

KATIE

Per/each:

One time fee:

y = _________ x + _________

Ace Car Rental costs $0.50 per mile driven. If you wanted to rent a car to drive 200 miles, what would be your

total cost?

Example 1: The costs associated with being a member of a CD Club are presented in the table below.

Number of CDs purchased 0 1 2 3 4 5

Total cost ($) 26 39 52 65 78 91

The club charges _________ per CD. The cost for 0 CDs is ____________. Therefore, the club membership (initial cost) must be _________.

$13$26

$26

Try this…A rental car company charges you 75 cents per mile that you drive their

Saturn Ion. How many miles would it take you to spend all of your $100 traveling budget?

Number of miles driven

0 1 2 3 4 5

Total cost ($)