Lesson 8 — Activity 1: Recognizing Patterns



Getting Ready


There are patterns all around us. Figuring out how much money you would make if you worked one hour, two hours, or three hours is actually working with patterns! Patterns are something that we use without even thinking about them.



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One of the first things you must do is learn to recognize that you do have a pattern.

For example, which of the tables below has a pattern to it?

Courtesy of ADLC

If we look at Table A, as column x goes up evenly, so does column y. There is a pattern. However, in Table B, as column r goes up evenly, column t does not. Table B does not show a pattern.

Patterns do not have to be in tables. They can be in lists as well:

1,2,2,3,3,3,4,4,4,4

is a pattern because as each number is listed, there are that many numbers in the list.

What would come next in the pattern?


Let's try another one. Take a look at the list of numbers below.


Courtesy of ADLC


What would be the next number in the pattern?

As you can see by the green numbers, the pattern is going up by +1 each time, so now that we recognize the pattern, the next number would go up by +5. Therefore, the pattern would be:


1     3     6     10    15



  Self-check!

Try this!

Is there a pattern in the table below? If so, what is it?

As the Hours Worked column goes up evenly, so does the Pay column. For every hour worked, the person gets $10.




 Is there a pattern in the list below? If so, what is it?

8, 9, 11, 14, 18, 23

Digging Deeper

Click on the Play button below to watch a video on recognizing patterns.