[Math] How to find first five terms of sequence

discrete mathematicsrecurrence-relationsrecursion

I'm new to recursion so please bear with me. I have to find the first five terms of a sequence with initial conditions $u_1 = 1$ and $u_2 = 5$, and, for $n \geq 3$, $$u_n = 5u_{nāˆ’1} āˆ’ 6u_{nāˆ’2}.$$

I believe that $u_3 = 19$, if I'm correct, but after that I'm stuck. Could someone please help me figure the next two terms and the closed formula for this sequence.

Best Answer

The recurrence is given by:

$$u_n = 5 u_{n-1} - 6 u_{n-2}$$

  • $u_1 = 1$
  • $u_2 = 5$
  • $u_3 = 5 u_2 - 6u_1 = 5 \times 5 - 6 \times 1 = 19$
  • $u_4 = 5 u_3 - 6 u_2 = 5 \times 19 - 6 \times 5 = 65$
  • $u_5 = 5 u_4 - 6 u_3 = 5 \times 65 - 6 \times 19 = 211$
  • $\ldots$