Lunx Arithmetic Sequences: Find zoo's Lunx population at end of 24th year

[ValDy]

The Lunx is a creature that reproduces according to thefollowing rules.
• All mature Lunx produce one baby each year.
• A Lunx becomes mature at 2 years and will produce an offspringat the beginning of its third year.
• Lunx die at the end of their 5th year.
At the end of year 1 the zoo has one Lunx aged 1 year. It willproduce its first baby at the beginning
of year 3. If the zoo population is left to grow uninhibited,what will the population be at the end of
the 24th year?

 

[Deleted member 4993]

The Lunx is a creature that reproduces according to the following rules.
• All mature Lunx produce one baby each year.
• A Lunx becomes mature at 2 years and will produce an offspring at the beginning of its third year.
• Lunx die at the end of their 5th year.
At the end of year 1 the zoo has one Lunx aged 1 year. It will produce its first baby at the beginning
of year 3. If the zoo population is left to grow uninhibited,what will the population be at the end of
the 24th year?

Please share your thoughts/work regarding this assignment? Why do you think that this is a problem of arithmetic sequence?

 

[Dr.Peterson]

The Lunx is a creature that reproduces according to the following rules.
• All mature Lunx produce one baby each year.
• A Lunx becomes mature at 2 years and will produce an offspring at the beginning of its third year.
• Lunx die at the end of their 5th year.
At the end of year 1 the zoo has one Lunx aged 1 year. It will produce its first baby at the beginning
of year 3. If the zoo population is left to grow uninhibited,what will the population be at the end of
the 24th year?

I would start by just making a table showing the number of first year, second year, and mature Lunxes each year. This will help in determining a recursive formula for the sequence. If you need help, please show as much work as you can, so we can see where you are struggling.

 

[ValDy]

Thank you-sorry for the slow reply- I've been camping. I've since found a worked solution for that question which came from a year 11 textbook regarding arithmetic sequences. I was lost but see the table is useful in displaying the pattern of 2 and then 3 the following year. I made the assumption that the Lunx reproduced each year until they died. The worked example had them only producing one offspring.

 

[Nit Head]

While I am glad to see someone else also attempted to solve this problem, I find myself wondering whether the author of the textbook question should find a different career path. It quite clearly states that "All mature Lunx produce one baby each year. ", however the worked solution does not apply this rule. This wasted a lot of time because building a table showing growth over even a few years using the actual supplied rules was a lot of work. At year 12 there were already 42 Lunx.
Imagine the consequences if this had occurred in an exam situation. Inexcusable!
(Of course, if someone with some real maths skills can explain what myself and @ValDy missed, I would love to know).