12
QuizMultiple Choice

Finite Geometric Series

Question 12 • Precalculus

Wen takes a job with a starting salary of $100,000 for the first year. She earns a 3% increase each year. What does S5 represent?

Answer
A
S5 represents the total amount of money that Wen earns over the last four years.
B
S5 represents the total amount of money that Wen earns over the first five years.
C
S5 represents the total of only the yearly increases that Wen earns over the first five years.
D
S5 represents the amount of money that Wen will earn in the fifth year.

Explanation

Wen’s salary each year forms a geometric sequence: the first year’s salary is $100,000, and each year’s salary is 1.03 times the previous year’s. In sequence notation, S5 represents the sum of the first five terms, so it is the total Wen earns over the first five years—not just her fifth-year salary.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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