Finding the formula for a sequence

Example
Instructions
n=1 n=2 n=3
1. For each question, there is a sequence of images.
You have to find a formula that connects the
number in the sequence and the total number of
shapes (unless otherwise stated).
2. Put the formula you have found in the table
provided.
3. Use your formula to find the value for the 100th
picture in the sequence. “The number of hearts H”
4. The questions are divided into 4 levels: Level 1,
Level 2, Level 3 and Level N. The questions in the
last level are more open-ended investigations, and Formula 100th value
it is unlikely you will find the full answer.
5. You can go on to the next level once you have put H = 2n + 1 201
up your hand and shown your solutions to the
teacher.

We have 1 heart at the top of each H = (2 x 100) + 1

image. We also have a rectangle of = 201
width 2 and height n. So we have
2n + 1 hearts in total.
www.drfrostmaths.com
 Answer Sheet
Formula 100th value Formula 100th value

1a 2a
1b 2b
1c 2c
1d 2d
1e 2e
1f 2f

Formula 100th value Your Findings

3a
Na
3b
Nb
1a 1b
n=1 n=2 n=3
n=1 n=2 n=3 n=4

The total number of squares S The total number of circles C

1c 1d
n=1 n=2 n=3 n=1 n=2 n=3 n=4

The total number of arrows A The total number of triangles T

1e 1f
n=1 n=2 n=3
n=1 n=2 n=3

The total number of cubes C

The total number of cubes C
2a 2b
n=1 n=2 n=3
n=1 n=2 n=3 n=4

The total number of squares S (both

The total number of black stars B
black and striped)

2c 2d
n=1 n=2 n=3

n=1 n=2 n=3

n=4

The total number of

hearts H
The total number of squares S
(hint: it might help to first find the average number of
squares on each row in terms of n)
2e 2f
n=1 n=2
n=1 n=2 n=3

The total number

n=3 of cubes M in the
monster (his
insides are solid,
not hollow)
The total number of stars S
3a 3b

n=1 n=2 n=3 n=4

n=4

The number of squares S (of any size) given the width

of the large square n
(Hint: the sum of the first n square numbers is )
The number of lightning bolts B based on
the intensity of the lightning n.

Na Nb
n=1 n=2 n=3

n=4

The number of rectangles R (of any size) given the

The number of triangles T (of any size)
width of the large square n
 Answers (left unsimplified)
Formula 100th value Formula 100th value

1a S = 4n + 1 401 2a S = n2 + (n+1)2 20201

1b C = 2n - 1 199 2b B = n2 + (n-1) 10099
1c A = 2n + 2 202 2c S = n(n+1) 10100
1d T = 3n - 2 298 2d H =8n - 4 796
1e C = 6n - 5 595 2e S = n2 + 4(n-1) 10396
1f C = n3 1,000,000 2f M= (n+2)3 + n2 + 2(2n + 1) 1,071,610

Formula 100th value Your Findings

3a 338,350
Na See overleaf
3b 1.27 x 1030

Nb See overleaf
 N Answers
The best strategy here is to split triangles into those pointing up, and those
Na pointing down, and to then spot patterns for triangles of each type and of
each size for different n.

Pointing Up: The number of triangles of size 1 is the nth triangular number.
Similarly the number of triangles of size 2 is the (n-1)th triangular number.
We find therefore that the total number of up triangles is the sum of the
first n triangular numbers. This is given by the formula:

Pointing Down: Here it gets more tricky, as you’ll find a new larger triangle only
appears for even n.
For odd n, our sums are 0, 3, 10+3, 21+10+3 for n=1,3,5,7 respectively. This again is a
sum of triangular numbers, but skipping every other number in the sequence.
Sums of numbers generated by a quadratic formula can be enumerated by a cubic
formula, so I found the coefficients an3 + bn2 + cn + d by using the first few values in the
sequence. But 0, 3, 13, 34 are the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th values in the sequence, so I used n
= 2k – 1, then formed four simultaneous equations using ak3 + bk2 + ck + d = Nk, where
N1 is 0, N2 is 3, etc. before substituting k for (n+1)/2 in the resulting formula.
 N Answers
(Continued) We can use a similar approach to get a formula for down
Na triangles when n is even.

The final solution (after simplification) is:

The trigonometric terms yield 1 and 0 for even n, and 0 and 1 for odd n,
allowing you to combine the formulas for odd and even n. So for even n,
this simplifies to n(n+2)(2n+1) / 8, and for odd n, to (n(n+2)(2n+1) - 1) / 8.
 N Answers
One strategy here is to consider rectangles of each size, say width w and height
Nb h. Students might be able to work out the number of rectangles Nwh as:

The total number of rectangles then is all the rectangles of width 1 to n and
height 1 to n:

Since the inner sum doesn’t depend

on w, so we can factor out.

Again factor by the same reasoning,

so we now have to product of two
easy summations.
This is a standard
formula for the sum of
1 to n.