Answer:
$315
Step-by-step explanation:
First, determine if this situation represents a geometric series by finding the common ratio between successive terms as shown below.
[tex]\frac{10}{5}=2[/tex]
[tex]\frac{20}{10}=2[/tex]
Stella's amount of money saved for the laptop is a finite geometric series. Use the formula below to find the sum of the first n terms in the sequence, where a is the first term and r is the common ratio between successive terms.
[tex]Sn= \frac{a(1-r^{n}) }{1-r}[/tex]
Find the sum of the terms in the sequence by using the formula for the sum of a finite geometric series. The first term of the sequence is 5, so a = 5. The common ratio is 2, so r = 2. To find the amount of money Stella has after 6 months, set n equal to 6.
[tex]S_6=\frac{5(1-2^{6}) }{1-2}[/tex]
[tex]=\frac{5(1-64)}{-1}[/tex]
[tex]=315[/tex]
So, after 6 months, Stella will have $315.