BC Education - Appendix G: Illustrative Examples

Patterns and Relations (Patterns)

Students use patterns to describe the world around them and to solve problems.

Prescribed Learning Outcomes

Illustrated Examples

It is expected that students will:

develop charts to record and reveal number patterns

How many whole numbers less than 1000 have 12 as the sum of their digits?
For example:

84	8 + 4 = 12
129	1 + 2 + 9 = 12
507	5 + 0 + 7 = 12

Carefully organize your investigation. Describe the patterns you see in the numbers.

describe how a pattern grows using everyday language orally and in writing

Darcy uses cubes to build these shapes.

Explain how the pattern grows.

construct and expand patterns in two and three dimensions, concretely and pictorially

Luis developed this chart to match a set of toothpick models.

Predict the next three numbers in the sequence. Explain your reasoning.
Predict the number of toothpicks needed to build the 25th shape and justify your answer.
Use the toothpicks to build the first three models in the sequence.

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th
Number of Toothpicks	6	11	16

generate number patterns within a problem-solving context

Bees made a honeycomb. They started on day 1 with the middle cell. Each day they added another ring of cells all around the honeycomb.

How many cells were there after the 7th day?

What was the first day on which there were more than 1000 cells?

predict and justify pattern extensions

Derek wrote the following in his journal:

I use patterns to help solve geometry problems like these: How many rectangles can you find in this figure?

[Click on image to enlarge.]

Do you agree with Derek's solutions? Why?

How would you solve these problems?

[Click on image to enlarge.]

Write your own journal entry to explain how you solved these problems.

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Revised: October 20, 1997

BC Ministry of Education