The distributive property for division helps in solving expressions like \({b + c \over a}\). It specifies that the result of dividing a fraction with multiple terms in the numerator and one term in the denominator can be obtained by dividing each term individually and then totaling the results: \({b + c \over a} = {b \over a} + {c \over a}\). For example, \({a^3 + 6a^2 \over a^2} = {a^3 \over a^2} + {6a^2 \over a^2} = a + 6\).

The first few multiples of 2 are [2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20] and the first few multiples of 8 are [8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 72, 80]. The first few multiples they share are [8, 16, 24, 32, 40] making 8 the smallest multiple 2 and 8 have in common.

To fill a 15 gallon tank exactly halfway you'll need 7\(\frac{1}{2}\) gallons of fuel. Each fuel can holds 2\(\frac{1}{2}\) gallons so:

cans = \( \frac{7\frac{1}{2} \text{ gallons}}{2\frac{1}{2} \text{ gallons}} \) = 3

The amount of flour you need is (2\(\frac{7}{8}\) - \(\frac{3}{8}\)) cups. Rewrite the quantities so they share a common denominator and subtract:

(\( \frac{23}{8} \) - \( \frac{3}{8} \)) cups
\( \frac{20}{8} \) cups
2\(\frac{1}{2}\) cups

The equation for this sequence is:

a_n = a_n-1 + 3(n - 1)

where n is the term's order in the sequence, a_n is the value of the term, and a_n-1 is the value of the term before a_n. This makes the next number:

a₆ = a₅ + 3(6 - 1)
a₆ = 31 + 3(5)
a₆ = 46