Mathgrade8onOct.

16,17,2010
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Counting and patterns

1. Counting

Counting is the action of finding the number of elements of nature numbers.

The traditional way of counting consists of continually increasing a (mental or spoken) counter
by a unit for every element of the nature numbers, in some order, while marking (or displacing)
those elements to avoid visiting the same element more than once, until no unmarked elements
are left; if the counter was set to one after the first object, the value after visiting the final object
gives the desired number of elements.

Counting sometimes involves numbers other than one.

For example, when counting money, counting out change, when "counting by twos" (2, 4, 6, 8,
10, 12) or when "counting by fives" (5, 10, 15, 20, 25).

2. Counting using tally marks.

Tally marks are a quick way of keeping track of numbers in
groups of five.

One vertical line is made for each of the first four numbers;
the fifth number is represented by a diagonal line across the
revious four.

3. Number Patterns

A sequence is a pattern of numbers that are formed in accordance with a definite rule.
We can often describe number patterns in more than one way. To illustrate this, consider the
following sequence of numbers {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, }.

Clearly, the first term of this number pattern is 1; and the terms after the first term are obtained
by adding 2 to the previous term. We can also describe this number pattern as a set of odd
numbers.

Alternatively, We can represent a number pattern by using special symbols. For the number
pattern under consideration, let t
n
represent the nth term.


Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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By trial and error, we find that:

By observation, we notice that we can describe this number pattern by the rule


where t
n
is nth term of the sequence.

4. Formula and Tables

A table of values can be generated from the rule


as shown below.

5. Finding the Algebraic Rule

We use algebra to study rules that describe the behavior of everyday things, for example, the
behavior of the height of a ball when it is thrown upward or the amount outstanding for a loan
after a number of regular repayments.

By finding a pattern in observed values (i.e. measurements), we are often able to discover a rule
that allows us to make accurate predictions.

6. Using a Difference Pattern

When we try to discover an algebraic rule for ordered pairs, we can find the difference between
two successive values of y. This allows us to find a rule as illustrated below.
Consider the following table.

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We notice that the values of x increase by just one at a time and the difference between the
successive values for y is 2.

So, the rule starts off with y =2x. Will this give a correct answer from the table? Let us check.


The answer is no. From the table, when x =1 the value of y should be 5. How do we change our
answer from 2 to 5? We should add 3.


Check the rule to see if it is correct:




Example 5
Discover the rule for the following table of values:



Solution:
In the given table, the x-values increase by 1 for each ordered pair.

Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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Find the difference between the successive values of y. That is:


The difference between successive values of y is always 3. So, the rule is of the form




, , .


Check the rule to see if it is correct:

So, our rule is correct.

7. Polygonal Numbers

Polygonal Numbers are really just the number of vertexes in a figure formed by a certain
polygon. The first number in any group of Polygonal Numbers is always 1, or a point. The
second number is equal to the number of vertexes of the polygon.

A formula that will generate the n
th
x-gonal number (for example: the 2
nd
3-gonal, or triangular
number) is:



Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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Type 1
st
2
nd
3
rd
4
th
5
th
6
th

Triangular

Value 1 3 6 10 15 21
Square

Value 1 4 9 16 25 36
Pentagonal


8. Points on a Circle

Image Points Segments Triangles Quadrilaterals Pentagons Hexagons Heptagons

1


2 1


3 3 1


4 6 4 1


5 10 10 5 1


Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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Questions in class

1. What number is directly above 142 in this array of numbers?


2. The number 6545 can written as a product of a pair of positive two-digit numbers. What is the
sum of this pair of numbers?

3. How many four-digit whole numbers are there such that the leftmost digit is odd, the second
digit is even, and all four digits are different?

4. How many whole numbers between 99 and 999 contain exactly one 0?

5. Find the number of two-digit positive integers whose digits total 7.

6. Three friends have a total of 6 identical pencils, and each one has at least one pencil. In how
many ways can this happen?

7. How many two-digit numbers have digits whose sum is a perfect score?

8. How many triangles can be found in the figure shown below?
fig. 8 fig. 9

9. How many different ways can one travel from A to E in the figure shown? A path must travel
in a straight line turning only at the points A, B, C, D, E and must go through every lettered point
exactly once.

10. An odd number between 301 and 370 has three different digits. If the sum of its digits is five
times the hundreds digit, find the number.

11. The digits of the number 4795 can e rearranged to form different numbers. What is the sum
of the largest and the smallest numbers that may be formed?

12. What is the number of ways that a sum of seven can occur when two ordinary dice, one black
and one white, are rolled?

Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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Homework

Basic problems
Find the number of possible choices when you choose one item from each category.
1. 12 flavors of ice cream, 4 cones

2. 13 boys, 10 girls
3. 6 sweaters, 4 shorts, 4 pairs of shoes

4. 3 drinks, 5 vegetables, 2 desserts

5. 3 colors, 5 styles

6. 9 video games, 6 CDs

7. 14 flavors of ice cream, 2 cones

8. 9 flavors, 3 toppings

9. 8 sizes, 6 flavors

10. 9 pens, 3 notebooks


Find the missing term in each pattern.
1. , 60, 300, 1,500, 7,500, 37,500

2.
110, 98, 86, 74, 62, 50, 38, , 14
3.
41, 205, , 5,125, 25,625, 128,125,
640,625, 3,203,125

4.
37, 222, 217, , 1,297, 7,782, 7,777,
46,662
5.
19, 22, , 47, 94, 97, 194

6.
2,367, 2,360, 295, 288, 36,

7.
43, 387, 383, , 3,443, 30,987, 30,983,
278,847

8. 1,114,112, 278,528, 69,632, 17,408, 4,352,
1,088, 272, 68,
9. , 37, 42, 47, 52, 57, 62, 67


10.
5,120, 1,280, 320, 80, , 5


Mathgrade8onOct.16,17,2010
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Complete.
1. If a number is decreased by 14, the result is
21. What is the number?

2. Sixteen less than a number is thirty. What is
the number?

3. A number minus 27 is twenty-seven. What
is the number?



4. Two times a number, decreased by eight,
equals eighteen. What is the number?



5. A number plus 60.35 is 88.04. What is
the number?

6. 14.48 less than 2 times a number is 6.12.
What is the number?




Complete.

1. Because of sea floor spreading, the Atlantic
Ocean is getting wider at a rate of about
one cm per year. At that rate of expansion,
how much wider will the Atlantic be at the
end of three-fourths of a century?




2. If a scale consists of the whole numbers
from 1 to 18, what is the sum of the
numbers that make up the scale?



3. A pony in a pony ride takes 35 seconds to
make one circuit around a circle. The
circumference of the circle is 70 m. What is
the average speed of the pony in meters per
second?



4. Isaac's go-kart travels at a maximum speed
of 40 kilometers per hour. How far can it
go in 25 seconds? Round your answer to
the nearest hundredth.




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Challenge problems

1. suppose one of the eight lettered identical squares is included with the four squares in the
T-shaped figure outlined. How many of the resulting figures can be folded into a topless cubical
box.


2. How many different patterns can be made by shading exactly two of the sine squares? Patterns
that can be matched by flips and/or turns are not considered different. For example, the patterns
shown below are not considered different.




3. A 2 by 2 square is divided into four 1 by 1 squares. Each of the small squares is to be painted
either green or red. In how many different ways can the painting be accomplished so that no
green square shares its top or right side with any red square? There may be as few as zero or as
many as four small green squares.





4. On a twenty-question test. Each correct answer is worth 5 points, each unanswered question is
worth 1 point and each incorrect answer is worth 0 points. Which of the following scores is NOT
possible?
(A) 90 (B) 91 (C) 92 (D) 95 (E) 97





5. Points R. S and T are vertices of an equilateral triangle, and points X. Y and Z are midpoints
of its sides. How many non-congruent triangles can be drawn using any three of these six points
as vertices?


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6. Each half of this figure is composed of 3 red triangles, 5 blue triangles and 8 white triangles.
When the upper half is folded down over the centerline, 2 pairs of red triangles coincide, as do 3
pairs of blue triangles. There are 2 red-white pairs. How many white pairs coincide?





7. A sequence of squares is made of identical square tiles. The edge of each square is one tile
length longer than the edge of the previous square. The first three squares are shown. How many
more tiles does the seventh square require than the sixth?




8. Each of the twenty dots on the graph below represents one of Sarah's classmates. Classmates
who are friends are connected with a line segment. For her birthday party, Sarah is inviting only
the following: all of her friends and all of those classmates who are friends with at least one of
her friends. How many classmates will not be invited to Sarah's party?


9. Big Al, the ape, ate 100 bananas from May 1 through May 5. each day he are six more
bananas than on the previous day. How many bananas did Big Al eat on May 5?






10. How many distinct triangles can be drawn using three of the dots below as vertices?