Describe Number Sequences

In this activity, we will look at number sequences and find the rule being used! 

 

Let's look at a simple sequence:

 

2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ...

We can see that the first term is 2 and that we add 2 to get 4

We then have 4, we add 2 again to get 6, and so on.......so the rule is add 2 each time!

 

Let's look at another one!

 

Example

What is the rule to find each term of this sequence?

 

912, 812, 712, 612, ...

 

What is going on here?

 

 

Answer

The 1st term is 912  and the next is 100 less at 812

Just to check, we can see that 712 is exactly 100 less than 812 and so on .......

 

So, the rule is to subtract 100.

 

Let's try some - and remember we can use add, subtract, multiply or divide, so be careful!

Check your answer on a couple of terms!