Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Example: 1, 4, 9, 16, ?
Answer: They are Squares (12=1, 22=4, 32=9, 42=16, ...)
Rule: xn = n2
Sequence: 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, ...
Did you see how we wrote that rule using "x" and "n" ?
xn means "term number n", so term 3 is written x3
And we also used "n" in the formula, so the formula for term 3 is 32 = 9. This could be
written
x3 = 32 = 9
Once we have a Rule we can use it to find any term. For example, the 25th term can be
found by "plugging in" 25 wherever n is.
x6 = x6-1 + x6-2
x6 = x5 + x4
We already know the 4th term is 13, and the 5th is 21, so the answer is:
x6 = 21 + 13 = 34
Pretty simple ... just put numbers instead of "n"
Many Rules
One of the troubles with finding "the next number" in a sequence is that mathematics is so
powerful we can find more than one Rule that works.
Simplest Rule
When in doubt choose the simplest rule that makes sense, but also mention that there are
other solutions.
Finding Differences
Sometimes it helps to find the differences between each pair of numbers ... this can often
reveal an underlying pattern.
Here is a simple case:
The differences are always 2, so we can guess that "2n" is part of the answer.
n:
Terms (xn):
2n:
Wrong by:
1
7
2
5
2
9
4
5
3
11
6
5
4
13
8
5
5
15
10
5
The last row shows that we are always wrong by 5, so just add 5 and we are done:
Rule: xn = 2n + 5
OK, we could have worked out "2n+5" by just playing around with the numbers a bit, but we
want asystematic way to do it, for when the sequences get more complicated.
Second Differences
In the sequence {1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, 22, ...} we need to find the differences ...
... and then find the differences of those (called second differences), like this:
n:
Terms (xn):
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
7
5
11
n2:
n2 / 2:
Wrong by:
1
0.5
0.5
4
2
0
9
4.5
-0.5
16
8
-1
25
12.5
-1.5
n2 / 2 - n/2:
Wrong by:
0
1
1
1
3
1
6
1
10
1
1
0
2
0
4
0
7
0
11
0
n2 / 2 - n/2 + 1:
Wrong by:
Rule: xn = n(n-1)/2 + 1
Sequence: 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, 16, 22, 29, 37, ...
Arithmetic Sequences
Geometric Sequences
Fibonacci Sequence
Triangular Sequence