Repeating Patterns and What Comes Next

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What this lesson covers

  • > means greater than, < means less than, and = means equal.
  • A pattern follows a rule, and patterns are all around us.
  • The unit of repeat is the group that repeats.
  • 1st, 2nd and 3rd name the places in a pattern.
  • The unit of repeat tells you a missing or later piece.
Key idea

Bigger, smaller, the same

  • > means is greater than: 34 > 29.
  • < means is less than: 12 < 21.
  • = means is equal to: 50 = 50.
  • The open side of > and < faces the bigger number.
SentenceRead it
34 > 2934 is greater than 29
12 < 2112 is less than 21
50 = 5050 is equal to 50
Key idea

Try it: which sign fits?

Key idea

Patterns are everywhere

  • A pattern is things in an order that follows a rule.
  • Look for patterns in tukutuku panels and kōwhaiwhai, on fences, on a striped jersey, and in day and night.
  • The things in a pattern can be shapes, colours, sounds, letters or numbers.
Key idea

The unit of repeat

  • The unit of repeat is the smallest group that repeats again and again.
  • Red, blue, red, blue: the unit is red, blue.
  • ACDC ACDC ACDC: the unit is ACDC, 4 letters long.
PatternUnit of repeatLength
red, blue, red, bluered, blue2
circle, square, square, circle, square, squarecircle, square, square3
ACDCACDCACDCACDC4
Worked example

1st, 2nd, 3rd

  • We name places in a pattern with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and so on.
  • In circle, square, square, circle: the 1st is a circle, the 2nd is a square, the 4th is a circle.
Place1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
Shapecirclesquaresquarecirclesquaresquare
Key idea

Try it: circle, square, square. What is in each place?

Worked example

Predict a later piece

  • In ACDCACDC, the unit ACDC is 4 long.
  • Every 4th place ends a unit: 4th, 8th, 12th. The next place starts again with A.
  • So the 5th, 9th and 13th letters are all A.
PlaceLetter
1stA
2ndC
3rdD
4thC
5thA
9thA
10thC
13thA
Key idea

Try it: ACDC. Which letter is in each place?

Worked example

Find the missing piece

  • kiwi, kiwi, tūī, kiwi, ?, tūī.
  • The unit is kiwi, kiwi, tūī. The gap is the 5th place, the 2nd in its unit.
  • So the missing piece is kiwi.

Common mistakes

  • The unit of repeat in ACDCACDC is AC.
    AC is followed by D, not A. The whole unit is ACDC.
  • 12 > 21, because 12 comes first.
    21 has 2 tens and 12 has 1 ten, so 12 < 21.
  • Guessing the 10th piece from the last one you can see.
    Use the unit. In red, blue, every even place is blue, so the 10th is blue.

Your turn

1

Which sentence is true: 47 < 74, 47 > 74, 74 < 47 or 47 = 74?

2

What is the unit of repeat in star, moon, moon, star, moon, moon?

3

In the pattern A, B, A, B, what is the 7th letter?

4

In ACDCACDC, what is the 10th letter?

5

What comes next: red, red, green, red, red, ?

Show answer

1. 47 < 74 2. star, moon, moon 3. A 4. C 5. green

Summary

What to take away

  • > greater than, < less than, = equal.
  • Find the unit of repeat first.
  • 1st, 2nd, 3rd name the places.
  • Count in units to predict any place.
Report a mistake

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True or False? Number Sentences and GapsNotesRepeating Patterns and What Comes NextNotes

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