← Back to course
Number Trail Grade 4 / Week 04 / Thursday
4/6
Week 04 · Factors, multiples and patterns

Thursday

Samantha's acorn pattern
// Factor pairs, primes and number rules
⏱ about 15 min

Thursday: Samantha's acorn pattern

Chris the Coyote spreads his storyteller's cloak on the grass.

"Last autumn, Samantha made a plan for hiding acorns," he says.

"On the first day she hid 1 acorn. Each day after, she hid 3 more than the day before."

"So she hid 1, then 4, then 7, then 10."

"Oliver the Owl wrote the numbers in his notebook and noticed something."

"Odd, even, odd, even! The numbers took turns."

Chris raises a paw. "The rule never said that. So why did it happen?"

Story: A rule makes a pattern

The rule is add 3. The pattern starts at 1.

The first eight numbers are 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22.

They go odd, even, odd, even, and so on.

Why? Adding 3 to an odd number makes an even number.

Adding 3 to an even number makes an odd number. So they take turns.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE STORY
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
An acornHow many acorns did Samantha hide on the first day?
What was the rule?
Rule: add 3. Start at 1. What is number 6 in the pattern?
Is the 9th number odd or even?

Learn it: notice more than the rule

Rule: add 4, start at 2. 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22. Every number is even.

Rule: add 5, start at 5. 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30. The ones digits go 5, 0, 5, 0.

Rule: times 2, start at 3. 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96. After 3, every number is even.

WHAT COMES NEXT?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
2, 6, 10, 14, 18, ... What comes next?
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, ... What comes next?
3, 6, 12, 24, 48, ... What comes next?
Rule: add 4. Start at 2. What is number 7 in the pattern?
RULE: ADD 3, START AT 1
  • Use the rule to make the pattern.
  • Tap the numbers in order.
11st
22nd
33rd
44th
55th
SHAPE PATTERNS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
The pattern repeats circle, square, square. What is shape 7?
The pattern repeats circle, square, square. What is shape 12?
SentenceTrue or false?
Rule add 4, start at 2: every number is even.?
Rule add 3, start at 1: every number is odd.?
Rule add 5, start at 5: every number ends in 5 or 0.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEAdd 3 from 1 gives 1, 4, 7, 10. Odd and even take turns.
Try it
Make up your own rule, like add 2 or add 5.
Pick a starting number and write the first eight numbers.
What do you notice that the rule did not say?
Draw Samantha hiding acorns and write her pattern under the picture.

What a pattern! Tomorrow Freddy has a factor game.

← Wednesday