Paying bills on time is the most reliable habit for building good credit because your payment history carries the most weight in credit scores. Lenders want to see that you consistently repay what you borrow, and on-time payments become a positive record that boosts your score over time. Late payments are stark signals of risk and can be reported to credit bureaus for up to seven years, causing lasting damage. By making payments on or before the due date, you establish a track record of reliability that credit models reward. To put it into practice, set up automatic payments or reminders so you never miss a due date, and aim to pay at least the minimum on time—ideally paying in full when you can to avoid interest. The other behaviors are less reliable because they introduce potential negative signals: applying for credit frequently adds hard inquiries that can lower your score; carrying a high balance increases credit utilization, which can hurt your score; closing old accounts can shorten your credit history and reduce total available credit, potentially lowering your score.

Each step advances two letters in the alphabet, so you skip one letter each time. Starting at A (step 1), the sequence goes A → C → E → G, and the fifth term follows the same rule: from G move two letters forward to I. So the letter at step five is I. The other options correspond to other steps: G is step four, E is step three, and K would be step six.

Handling mistakes this way starts with treating errors as learning opportunities and keeping trust within the team intact. The best practice is to document what happened in neutral terms, noting what occurred, the impact, who was involved, and when it happened. Then escalate privately to the appropriate person—such as a supervisor or the project lead—so they can review, determine corrective actions, and put steps in place to prevent recurrence. This approach supports psychological safety, keeps communication professional, and creates a clear trail for follow-up. Publicly shaming or ignoring the error damages trust and morale and misses chances to fix underlying issues. Posting on social media is inappropriate and unprofessional. So, documenting and privately escalating the issue is the most effective way to address the error and promote improvement.

The pattern doubles each step. Each term is obtained by multiplying the previous one by 2, so the sequence goes 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and the next is 32. Using the formula a_n = a_1 × 2^(n−1), for step 6 you get 1 × 2^5 = 32. So the thickness at step 6 is 32px.