Make your own Number Patterns

You can make your own number patterns using coins or matchsticks. Here is an example using coins:

sample number pattern

How many coins do you need for Size=5 ?

Can you make a formula that will tell you how many coins are needed for any Size? For example Size=20? The formula may look something like

Coins = (Some Number) × Size − (Another Number)

Here is another example:

sample number pattern

Can you come up with a formula for this one?

Now try and make your own patterns!

(Note: There are lots of number patterns in Pascal's Triangle)