Arithmetic Sequence

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#23 - Arithmetic Sequence

While walking home from school, I have often seen spiraling blackberry bushes dominating other plants. If you never encountered one before, they are a prickly, fruit-bearing bush of the genus  Rubus, known for its dark edible fruits and is native chiefly to north temperate regions. You may be surprised how a simple berry bush could lead to negative impacts on the environment. Blackberries form dense thickets that squash native plants, leading to completion for dominance of the vegetation understory and eventually the canopy. The lack of native understory vegetation prevents the establishment of native trees that require sun for germination, such as the Pacific Madrone, Douglas Fir, and Western White Pine. Dense, impenetrable blackberry thickets can block access of larger wildlife to water and other resources. My backyard and the trails were swarmed by blackberries and getting rid of them was not an easy task. To solve this, I had to stick with a planned routine and estimate the right amount of blackberry vines to get rid of. This removal allows for better conditions for the surrounding plants and nice, peaceful walks around the neighborhood. To help me plan the removal, I can apply an arithmetic sequence.

Arithmetic sequence relates to cutting back blackberry vines in this situation, specifically to what is known as constant flow. For this, we utilize the number of blackberry vines that are being taken out of a yard or trail due to the invasiveness of this species and gauge how much is being taken out over a course of days. In my backyard, there are large amounts of blackberry bushes, so I would plan to work every day. Throughout the days, I may encounter some challenges, such as soreness or equipment faultiness, but I will make sure to improve and pick more as the days go by. If I worked from Monday to Sunday of the following week, how much could I remove?

First, I will calculate how many blackberry vines I can remove on the fourteenth day.

Next, I will calculate how many blackberry vines I will have removed total by the fourteenth day.

In conclusion, I could remove 98 blackberry vines on the fourteenth day and 735 blackberry vines total if I put in my best effort each day, working harder than the previous day. Blackberries are beautiful in their own right and produce very tasty fruit. Unfortunately, they negatively impact their surrounding environment, including the creatures and plants that share the habitat. However, with this set routine, getting rid of those nasty, invasive blackberry bushes will be no problem. My limitations in my exploration include that it may not be possible to do the removal daily, and not knowing the total amount of blackberry vines present changes how long it will take to remove.