Question

Michael and John are creating patterns. Each pattern starts at 1. Michael uses the rule "multiply by 4". John uses the rule "Multiply by 6".

Complete the table attached to show the next three numbers in each pattern.

We are confused about the "term" does it mean we should find the 23rd number in each pattern? If so, this is incredibly complex for a 5th grader.

Answer 1

Pretty sure it's not. Just do 23*4, 24*4, 25*4, 23*6,24*6,25*6 etc

Answer 2

Yes, it does mean you need to find out the 23rd, 24th and 25th terms.

There is a formula which easily calculates these terms.
term(n) = term(1) + (n -1) * d
Michael terms:
term (23) = 1 + (23 -1)*4 = 89
term (24) = 1 + (24 -1)*4 = 93
term (25) = 1 + (25 -1)*4 = 97

John terms:
term (23) = 1 + (23 -1)*6 = 133
term (24) = 1 + (24 -1)*6 = 139
term (25) = 1 + (25 -1)*6 = 145