Are You Smarter Than a 7th Grader
More from my son's homework. What is the missing number and why:
2 2 2 2
2 6 10 14
2 10 26 50
2 14 50 ?
posted by wysiwyg @ 9:52 AM
7 comments
No, I Am Not Claire Martin
This blog came into existence as a joking response to the fact that Claire Martin was so much more successful at getting her name mentioned on Dave Barry's Blog than the rest of his fan boys (including me). These days this where I stick copies of the funny, silly, crazy things that I either come across, or which are sent to me because people know I appreciate that sort of thing.
Monday, May 19, 2008
2 2 2 2
2 6 10 14
2 10 26 50
2 14 50 ?
7 Comments:
Here's a hint: it's a variation on Pascal's Triangle
***SPOILER***
The numerical answer is equal to the square root of 15876.
I'll check back tomorrow with a full explanation as to why.
GAH!
Thanks Bis, I understand why now that I know the trick, but REALLY, year 7 math?
I think high school math is looming to be rather more of a challenge than I was anticipating.
I also sent this around work, and a LARGE number of people figured it out. Which serves to make me feel thicker than ever.
BUT, someone suggested it was 110 based as follows:
1st sequence is T(n) = 2
2nd sequence is T(n) = 2 + (n-1) * 4
3rd sequence is T(n) = 2 + ((n-1)!) * 8
4th sequence is T(n) = 2 + ((n-1)**2) * 12
Yeah, it's not so much math as it is pattern recognition.
For anyone who is still clueless, each number is the sum of three numbers:
a)the number immediately above it
b)the number immediately to the left of it
c)the number diagonally adjacent, above and to the left
or to visualize it
ca
bX
where X is the number and a, b, and c correspond to a) b) and c) above.
42!
Oy. This is why I stopped helping the kids with math when they were in 5th Grade.
*whimper*
~neophyte
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