Relating Two Number Patterns Worksheets

Sample problems

1. Write the first five terms of “start at 0, add 2” and of “start at 0, add 8”.
2. How does the second pattern in item 1 compare with the first? Test your answer on two different pairs.
3. Write the ordered pairs for item 1, and describe what they would look like plotted.
4. For “add 3” and “add 9” from 0, write the difference between each pair of corresponding terms. What does a growing difference tell you?

Common mistakes to watch for

• Gave 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 — four terms and a fifth, with the 0 dropped because it looks like nothing has happened yet. It is the first term, and dropping it shifts every pair on the rest of the sheet.
• Answered “it goes up by 9”. That describes the second pattern correctly and is not a comparison between the two — the question is about corresponding terms, and this answer never looks at the first pattern at all.
• Showed that 6 does not work for later pairs without naming why the check failed. The transferable lesson is about the CHECK — test on a second pair — and a child who only learns “this one was times, not more” will make the same error on the next pattern, and again on ratios in Grade 6.

The answer key explains each one, so you can tell what a wrong answer means.