How does the n drop down in this recurrence relation problem?

In summary, the base case of 2^k = n is used to simplify the summation in the recurrence relation problem. The substitution of k with log base 2 n allows for the (7/4)^k to become (7/4)^log base 2 n, which then simplifies to n in the numerator of the final formula.
  • #1
seansrk
3
0
[PLAIN]http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4514/ballsp.jpg
The base case is 2[itex]^{K}[/itex] = n (which turns into log[itex]_{2}[/itex]n = k

So I have a question on this recurrence relation problem. (I'm trying to get to make the top equation look like the bottom equation.) I know that the summation ends up becoming

[itex]\frac{((7/4)^K)-1}{(7/4)-1}[/itex]

which gives us
((7/4)^log[itex]_{2}[/itex]n)-1 / (3/4)

I'm lost on how the n drops down. I know how the (log[2]7-2)-1 comes to be but how does the n and log[2]7 -2 get on the same level and the exponent level disappeared?

Hopefully I didn't make this confusing. Just trying to find out how the n came down.
 
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  • #2
Your basic problem is that the first sum depends upon the value of "k" but there is no "k" in the second. What happened to it? And, since there is no "n" in the sum (ignore the "n^2" for the moment), how do you get that "n" in the numerator of the second formula?
 
  • #3
HallsofIvy said:
Your basic problem is that the first sum depends upon the value of "k" but there is no "k" in the second. What happened to it? And, since there is no "n" in the sum (ignore the "n^2" for the moment), how do you get that "n" in the numerator of the second formula?

Well previously in the problem it was stated that 2^k = n. Which using the rules of logs we turned that into k = log base 2 n. So when we got the (7/4)^k what I did was i substituted log base 2 n into k giving us the n. in the exponent.
 

1. What is a recurrence relation?

A recurrence relation is a mathematical equation that defines a sequence of values by expressing each value in terms of one or more previous values in the sequence.

2. How is a recurrence relation different from a regular mathematical equation?

A regular mathematical equation defines a relationship between two or more variables, while a recurrence relation defines a relationship between terms in a sequence, where each term is dependent on the previous terms.

3. Can you give an example of a recurrence relation?

One example of a recurrence relation is the Fibonacci sequence, where each term is the sum of the two previous terms: F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2), with the initial terms being F(0) = 0 and F(1) = 1.

4. How can recurrence relations be used in real-world applications?

Recurrence relations can be used to model and solve various problems in fields such as computer science, economics, physics, and biology. For example, they can be used to analyze the growth of a population or the complexity of a computer algorithm.

5. What are some techniques for solving recurrence relations?

Some techniques for solving recurrence relations include substitution, iteration, and generating functions. Other methods such as the master theorem and tree method may also be used for specific types of recurrence relations.

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