Use PEMDAS (Parentheses, Exponents, Multipy/Divide, Add/Subtract):

5 + (2 + 2) ÷ 2 x 4 - 5²
P: 5 + (4) ÷ 2 x 4 - 5²
E: 5 + 4 ÷ 2 x 4 - 25
MD: 5 + \( \frac{4}{2} \) x 4 - 25
MD: 5 + \( \frac{16}{2} \) - 25
AS: \( \frac{10}{2} \) + \( \frac{16}{2} \) - 25
AS: \( \frac{26}{2} \) - 25
AS: \( \frac{26 - 50}{2} \)
\( \frac{-24}{2} \)
-12

The factors of 36 are [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36] and the factors of 72 are [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 72]. They share 9 factors [1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36] making 36 the greatest factor 36 and 72 have in common.

The equation for this sequence is:

a_n = a_n-1 + 4(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 + 4(6 - 1)
a₆ = 41 + 4(5)
a₆ = 61

If 41% of the town's 36,000 voters cast ballots the number of votes cast is:

(\( \frac{41}{100} \)) x 36,000 = \( \frac{1,476,000}{100} \) = 14,760

The mayor got 86% of the votes cast which is:

(\( \frac{86}{100} \)) x 14,760 = \( \frac{1,269,360}{100} \) = 12,694 votes.

To add these fractions, first find the lowest common multiple of their denominators. The first few multiples of 6 are [6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, 60] 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 [24, 48, 72, 96] making 24 the smallest multiple 6 and 8 share.

Next, convert the fractions so each denominator equals the lowest common multiple:

\( \frac{6 x 4}{6 x 4} \) + \( \frac{4 x 3}{8 x 3} \)

\( \frac{24}{24} \) + \( \frac{12}{24} \)

Now, because the fractions share a common denominator, you can add them:

\( \frac{24 + 12}{24} \) = \( \frac{36}{24} \) = 1\(\frac{1}{2}\)