The idea in brief. The rule of a pattern is the gap between two neighbours, found by one subtraction, and it is applied in the direction the sequence is already moving: a falling sequence keeps falling. When the gaps alternate, the rule is the pair of gaps, and the term asked takes whichever gap its place in the pair says. The rule comes from the gap between two neighbours, and it is applied in the direction the sequence is already moving, carrying into the thousands where the step crosses one. In the lesson. In Primary 2, you completed number patterns by counting on and counting back. Today, we find the difference between the numbers in a pattern, and use it to find a missing number. Find the difference between two numbers next to each other, check it on the next pair, then use it.
Lesson video, with the working
Number patterns
4 min 52 s
The film teaches 3 questions in turn. Each question shows first; its working is written as the film explains it.
How do you solve P3 number pattern questions up to 10 000?
This page covers the MOE Primary 3 outcome on patterns in number sequences, with numbers up to 10 000.
What your child learns here
This page covers the MOE Primary 3 outcome on patterns in number sequences, with numbers up to 10 000. Children find the step between neighbouring numbers and use it to continue or complete a pattern.
Find the difference between two neighbouring numbers by subtracting, and check it on the next pair.
Decide whether a pattern is going up or down, and count on or back by the step.
Fill a missing number at the start, in the middle or at the end of a sequence.
Keep the step steady when the numbers cross a hundred or a thousand, as in 2970, 2980, 2990, 3000.
Spot a pattern that uses two steps in turn, and pick the right one for the next number.
Does the answer make sense?
Once the blank is filled, the gaps between neighbours should repeat along the whole row, either one steady step or two steps taking turns. When two patterns must share a number, your child can continue each list and see that the answer appears in both.
How to practise these questions
The Basic questions practise spotting the rule in a simple sequence and writing the next term. The Intermediate questions add a missing first or middle term, and steps that alternate instead of repeating. The Challenge questions hide the rule further, with alternating steps around a gap, or two patterns that share a number. If a pattern will not come, view that question's solution film and attempt it once more later from Revision.
Questions parents ask
Are number patterns in the Primary 3 syllabus? Yes. Patterns in number sequences is outcome 1.5 under Numbers up to 10 000 in the MOE Primary 3 syllabus. At this level the numbers go up to 10 000 and the step is found by subtracting neighbours.
My child can continue a pattern but cannot fill a gap in the middle. What helps? Ask them to find the step from two neighbours with no gap between them, then count on into the gap and once more past it. If counting on lands on the number after the gap, the answer is right.
Do P3 number patterns ever go down? Yes. The worked examples on this page include a pattern that falls by the same amount each time. Your child decides first whether the numbers are getting bigger or smaller, then counts on or back by the step.
