Description/Aim

Starting with 'Carte Blanche' students are asked to look for common features of a number of sequences. The sequences have varied powers of x ranging from linear to quartic.

Tha activity leads to using differences and differences of differences to detrmine the order of the sequence!

Why we like this activity ….

Students are asked straight away to look for common features and this prompts the discussion and the
need to find distinguishing features. This search and conversation quickly leads to the way in which
sequences move from term to term. I really like the differences theory too! I think its ciool that that the
fourth difference is constant for a quartic sequence and want to give students the same oppoertunity to
discover that. This leads nicely into 'Measuring Gradients' as part of building a fundamental
understanding of the idea behind calculus.

How this activity be used ….

There is a flip chart so that students can do this using an interactive whiteboard or on their own
computers. Otherwise this can be done with paper and scissors. There is probably not a need to keep
them so a pre printed set is probably as good a method as any!

What to expect when using this activity – from our experience

Lots of interesting ideas and a good insight in to the way your students think. They do not always take
the path we might consider most logical!

Extra Notes