Surprising numerical patterns can be explained using algebra and diagrams…
Charlie has been playing with calculations again…
2×4+1=9
4×6+1=25
5×7+1=36
9×11+1=100
What do you notice?
Click below to see what Charlie said:
Can you explain what’s happening?
Click below to see Charlie’s explanation:
or alternatively,
(n−1)(n+1)+1=n²−n+n−1+1=n²
Alison drew a diagram to explain the results. Click below to see:
Can you make sense of Charlie’s method and Alison’s diagrams?
Here are some more number patterns to explore. Some have been expressed numerically, some in words, and some algebraically.
Can you represent each pattern in all four ways,
in words (so you can describe the pattern),
algebraically (so you can prove the pattern continues),
and using a diagram (to explain the pattern)?
- 2×3+3=?
5×6+6=?
4×5+5=?
9×10+10=?
What do you notice? - Choose three consecutive numbers, square the middle one, and subtract the product of the other two.
Repeat with some other sets of numbers.
What do you notice? - 3×3−1×1=?
8×8−6×6=?
7×7−5×5=?
10×10−8×8=?
What do you notice? - n(n+1)−(n−1)(n+2)=?
(n+1)(n+2)−n(n+3)=?
(n−3)(n−2)−(n−4)(n−1)=?
What do you notice? - 3×5+1=?
5×7+1=?
7×9+1=?
9×11+1=?
What do you notice? - Choose three consecutive numbers and add the product of the smallest two to the product of the greatest two.
Repeat with some other sets of numbers.
What do you notice?
With thanks to Don Steward, whose ideas formed the basis of this problem.
You may be interested in the other problems in our Factorise This! Feature.
Age 11 to 14
