Patterns are one of the important maths topics in academics at schools and colleges. We can see many patterns in our day-to-day activities, including numbers or figures. However, it is crucial to learn about various patterns in real life. In early education, students can learn basic number patterns, but in high school and college, they can learn how to create patterns and solve different types of number patterns. They will also come across patterns in shapes apart from the number patterns. These will help us to deal with many real-time transactions and analyse the scenarios in a better way. In other words, patterns are important as it assists us in understanding how the problem concludes.
Patterns aid us in understanding mathematics with ease. Actually, the National Council of Mathematics has made it mandatory to teach various ways to apply patterns in classrooms so that the children will have a better understanding of the topic and applications of patterns. This is the basic necessity the council sets since it helps individuals with reasoning and faster problem-solving. For instance, students can quickly solve sequences problems in maths using the concept of patterns. In mathematical words, Pascal’s triangle is a simple expression of numbers in an array. Not only the Pascal triangle but there are also many concepts which evolved in mathematics based on the topic patterns.
Some Mathematicians say that “mathematics is the study of patterns, patterns and structure in numbers, patterns and structures in geometry”. In mathematics, patterns follow a predictable rule, allowing us to forecast what will come next or what is missing in the given pattern. Seeing patterns and designs in the world around us is a crucial mathematical practice of intellect and one that children develop from the initial school days of life. Children are naturally tuned to patterns, as they can foresee what will come next and make the importance of their world. Whenever we see patterns, we can expect to count on things happening and predict what can be the next thing to happen. Thus, we can feel more confident and secure. Witnessing these practices and patterns in day-to-day life helps train children to identify other patterns in maths.
Once we understand how to recognise these patterns, calculations become easier. Subsequently, students can learn how to solve sequence and series problems in maths quickly. When we solve problems involving number groups, we notice that most of them have a specific pattern or sequence. It is easy to identify these patterns in some cases, which will come with practice. So, students must practise as many problems as possible to get a thorough understanding of patterns in numbers or patterns in structures. The more you practise with numbers, the easier it is to recognise the hidden pattern in the given maths problem.
Sometimes, mathematics has been called a science of patterns. When we consider mathematics a subject with structure, enabling us to solve problems, we can understand the pattern that connects various topics. The structure is built around looking for and manipulating patterns. For example, we can employ mathematics to represent actions in the real world. Suppose a two-wheeler can go 15 km/hr and the other two-wheeler can go 20 km/hr; the ratio of the speeds of these two-wheelers will create a pattern. Similarly, we can correlate many daily life incidents with patterns in maths.
