The equation for this sequence is:

a_n = a_n-1 + 4

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 + 4
a₆ = 17 + 4
a₆ = 21

If a single cook can bake 5 large cakes per hour and the kitchen is available for 3 hours, a single cook can bake 5 x 3 = 15 large cakes during that time. 39 large cakes are needed for the party so \( \frac{39}{15} \) = 2\(\frac{3}{5}\) cooks are needed to bake the required number of large cakes.

If a single cook can bake 18 small cakes per hour and the kitchen is available for 3 hours, a single cook can bake 18 x 3 = 54 small cakes during that time. 340 small cakes are needed for the party so \( \frac{340}{54} \) = 6\(\frac{8}{27}\) cooks are needed to bake the required number of small cakes.

Because you can't employ a fractional cook, round the number of cooks needed for each type of cake up to the next whole number resulting in 3 + 7 = 10 cooks.

To take the square root of a fraction, break the fraction into two separate roots then calculate the square root of the numerator and denominator separately:

\( \sqrt{\frac{36}{16}} \)
\( \frac{\sqrt{36}}{\sqrt{16}} \)
\( \frac{\sqrt{6^2}}{\sqrt{4^2}} \)
\( \frac{6}{4} \)
1\(\frac{1}{2}\)

The least common multiple (LCM) is the smallest positive integer that is a multiple of two or more integers.

An integer is any whole number, including zero. An integer can be either positive or negative. Examples include -77, -1, 0, 55, 119.