Exercise · ZW-RECURRENCE-RELATION-006 · ★☆☆ Basic

How many initial values are needed to determine a sequence with \(a_n=a_{n-1}+a_{n-2}\)?

Choose one option.

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  • C. 2

Explanation

Each term depends on the two previous ones, so two values, \(a_0\) and \(a_1\), are needed to start.

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Review the concept: Recurrence relation

A recurrence relation is an equation that expresses each term \(a_n\) of a sequence in terms of the previous \(k\) terms; with initial values, it determines the whole sequence.

\[a_n=f(a_{n-1},a_{n-2},\dots,a_{n-k})\]

More practice problems: recurrence relation

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