How many terms of the arithmetic sequence 88, 85, 82, . . . appear before the number -17 appears?
[L - F] / D + 1 = N, where L=Last term, F=First term, D=Common difference, N=Number of terms
[-17 - 88] / -3 + 1 =N
[- 105] / - 3 + 1 = N
[-105/-3] + 1 = N
35 + 1 =N
N = 36 - So -17 is the 36th term - 1 =35 terms before -17 appears.