Building Graphs
This is a level 2 algebra strand activity from the Figure It Out series.
A PDF of the student activity is included.
Click on the image to enlarge it. Click again to close. Download PDF (293 KB)
continue a sequential pattern
continue a spatial pattern
show a pattern on a graph
FIO, Level 2-3, Algebra, Building Graphs, page 10
pattern blocks
Activities One, Two, and Three
As with the graphs formed for page 9, these relations can be shown as sets of points. These points can be written as ordered pairs, such as {(1,4), (2,8), (3,12), (4,16), …}, where the first number (the independent variable) gives the number of sheep and the second number (the dependent variable) gives the number of legs in Activity One.
The two graphs required are shown in the Answers section.
With both graphs, the sets of points lie along a line because the patterns increase by a regular number between points. For example, in the graph for Activity One, there are four more legs for each extra sheep.
Answers to Activities
Activity One
1. 3 sheep, 12 legs
4 sheep, 16 legs
5 sheep, 20 legs
6 sheep, 24 legs
2.
3. Answers could include: The pattern is diagonal.
Activity Two
Activity Three
Answers will vary.