What is a number pattern?
A number pattern is a list of numbers that follow a rule. To find the next number, look at how the numbers change. Do they go up or down? By how much each time?
Key idea
Find the step between two numbers. Then add the step (going up) or take away the step (going down).
Counting in steps
We often count in 2s, 5s, 10s or 100s. For example: 5, 10, 15, 20, ... each number goes up by 5. Some patterns go down instead, like 20, 18, 16, ... where each number is 2 less than the one before. To find the step, take away one number from the number after it.
Worked example
Find the next number: 10, 20, 30, ___
The step is +10 (20 − 10 = 10). So 30 + 10 = 40. We can check by counting: 10, 20, 30, 40. It works!
Remember
- Going up: add the step.
- Going down: take away the step.
- Check that the step is the same all the way.