Here we’ll be looking at how you can generate a sequence by spotting a pattern or using a term-to-term rule. This rule could be given to you in the exam algebraically or in words. There’s no need to worry though, as we’ll go through this step-by-step!
A number sequence is set of numbers that follow a rule or pattern. This rule or pattern could be using any of the various mathematical operations - adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing.
In every sequence the numbers are called terms.
This is a sequence that either increases or decreases by the same amount each time.
For every sequence, the term-to-term rule is what describes how to get from one term to the next.
By knowing what each of the above mean we should be able to spot a sequence. Let’s try this out with an example!
2, 5, 8, 11…
It should be quite clear that 3 is being added to the term each time…
2 + 3 = 5
5 + 3 = 8 etc.
This means to find the next term in the sequence, we just add on 3!
11 + 3 = 14
14 + 3 = 17 etc.
The term-to-term rule here is ‘add 3’. This now means, if we needed too, we could work out all the terms of the sequence!
To get the best results in your GCSE examinations across all exam boards, including WJEC, AQA and OCR, you’ll have to know how to spot a sequence. Learn all of the above and have a listen to our Spotting a Sequence song!
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