Algebra

week9_forum.pdf

MA1310: Week 9 Solving Real-Life Problems Using Sequences

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Sequences are among the oldest objects of mathematical investigation, having been

studied for over 3,500 years. Arithmetic and geometric sequences appear in the Rhind

papyrus, a mathematical text containing 85 problems copied around 1650 BC by

Egyptian scribe Ahmes from an earlier work. When algebra became sufficiently

developed in the 1500s, more complicated problems were solved by using sequences. In

the modern world, sequences have many real-life applications, such as predicting world

population prospects.

Let’s discuss the following old English children’s rhyme from one of the Rhind papyrus

texts:

As I was going to St. Ives

I met a man with seven wives

Each wife had seven sacks

Each sack had seven cats

Each cat had seven kits [kittens]

Kits, cats, sacks, wives

How many were going to St. Ives?

• Assuming that the speaker and the cat fanciers met by traveling in opposite

directions, what is the answer?

• How many kittens are being transported?

• Kits, cats, sacks, wives; how many?

You are required to:

• Answer the above questions one by one. Explain if you can connect your answers to

sequences in any way.

• Pick a real-life application using sequences, preferably from the financial

applications, and state it in a few sentences.

• Describe in three sentences what your strategy will be to solve your application problem.

MA1310: Week 9 Solving Real-Life Problems Using Sequences

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Participation Requirements:

• Respond to two other peers’ initial posts with appropriate replies using at least

three sentences.

• State in your responses why you agree or disagree with your peers’ posts.

• Include in your responses tips to solve such problems in connection with sequences.