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Number sequences are sets of numbers that follow a pattern or a rule. Sometimes the pattern is to add or subtract a number each time, or to multiply or divide by a number each time.

Each number in a sequence is called a term.

A sequence which increases or decreases by the same amount each time is called a linear sequence.

Term to term rules

The term to term rule of a sequence describes how to get from one term to the next.

Example one

Work out the next two terms in the following sequence and write down the term to term rule:

3, 7, 11, 15, ...

Firstly, work out the difference in the terms.

This sequence is going up by 4 each time, so add 4 on to the last term to find the next term in the sequence.

3, 7, 11, 15, 19, 23, ...

To work out the term to term rule, give the starting number of the sequence and then describe the pattern of the numbers.

The first number is 3. The term to term rule is ‘add 4’.

Once the first term and term to term rule are known, all the terms in the sequence can be found.

Example two

Work out the next two terms in the following sequence and write down the term to term rule:

-1, -0.5, 0, 0.5, ...

The first term is -1. The term to term rule is ‘add 0.5’.