Carly Lynch Tricky Triangles 2/8/14 1.Problem Statement In the problem Tricky Triangles, e ere gi!

en the "ollo ing t o #$estions% many

1. In the &iagram, there is a pattern o" toothpick triangles that are 'gro ing.( )o toothpicks make $p the 8th pattern* )o many make $p the nth pattern*

2. In the "irst pict$re belo is one triangle. In the ne+t one, ith the base split in t o- there are "i!e triangles. In the one a"ter that, ith the base split in three- there are thirteen triangles. )o many triangles are in the "o$rth image* )o many are in one here the base is split into 1.* )o many are there in a pict$re ith the base split in n* /hat sort o" gro th is this*

2.Process 0escription 1. The "irst problem I looke& at as the toothpick one. I starte& by co$nting all o" the lines in each o" them to "ig$re o$t ho many ere in each triangle. I notice& that in the "irst image there ere 1, then there ere 2 in the secon&. In the thir&, there ere 23. It as by that obser!ation that I as able to come #$ickly to my sol$tion. 2. The triangles problem took me a lot longer to "ig$re o$t. I starte& o$t by making a table

o" the cycle an& the n$mber o" triangles that looke& something like this% Cycle 4$mber o" Triangles 1 2 1 1 . 11

4 23 I "o$n& the "o$rth cycle by simply co$nting the n$mber o" triangles an& comparing ith some o" my peers. I then reali5e& that i" I co$l& ha!e a table, I co$l& ha!e a graph, so I plotte& it o$t to get a better $n&erstan&ing o" hat the pattern looke& like. I en&e& $p getting a c$r!e, hich tol& me,along ith the n$mbers pro!i&e&- that the relationship is not linear, hich meant that once I ha& to come $p ith a r$le, it o$l& ha!e something to &o ith e+ponents. I &eci&e& my ne+t step sho$l& be to try an& "in& o$t ho many triangles ere in the "i"th cycle, so I &re it o$t an& starte& co$nting them in the or&er o" ho many times their bases ere &i!i&e&. This is here it got a little less reliable, so I s itche& to obser!ing something else. I notice& ho each a&&itional triangle seeme& to be a&&ing a ro o" the smallest triangles to one si&e o" the original. I &eci&e& there might be something interesting in this, so I in!estigate&. I "o$n& that each one o" them a&&e& t ice the n$mber o" the cycle an& one to the pre!io$s cycle, or a&&ing 2s61 here 's( stan&s "or se#$ence.So, i" yo$ are on se#$ence n$mber 2, yo$ pl$g it in so yo$ get 2,2-61, a&&e& to the n$mber o" triangles in se#$ence 1. 7t this point, I "elt !ery close to my goal, an& I starte& to play aro$n& ith this e+pression. I "ig$re& that yo$ o$l& nee& to a&& this to each one be"ore it, in a manner similar to ,2,s-61-6,2,s81-61-6,2,s82-61-... etc, $ntil yo$ reache& the "irst se#$ence. )o e!er, I co$l& not get this to ork "or any o" my n$mbers. That9s hen I notice& that I as $sing a linear e#$ation to e+plain something that asn9t linear. I reali5e& that there o$l& ha!e to be at least one e+ponent in my e#$ation to gi!e it a c$r!e, so I trie& the e+pression 2s:,s81-61. I &on9t remember here this came "rom, b$t I trie& it an& it &i&n9t ork. Since both o" those "aile&, I &eci&e& to look at something else. I ante& to kno ho many triangles o" each si5e ere in each image, hich is here I "o$n& something really interesting. ;ach o" the smallest triangles in the images ere the s#$ares o" the cycle e ere on. Cycle 2 ha& 4 tiny triangles, cycle 1 ha& 2 o" them, cycle 4 ha& 1<, an& cycle . ha& 2. o" them. I &eci&e& to s$btract that "rom the total n$mber o" triangles in the image, an& got a table that looks like this% Cycle 4$mber o" Triangles 1 2 1 = 1 4

4 2 The remaining n$mber o" triangles as the s#$are o" the pre!io$s cycle. That is ho I came to my sol$tion. 1.Sol$tion

1. The sol$tion I "o$n& to the "irst Toothpicks #$estion as <.<1. I "o$n& this by noticing that each cycle triple& the n$mber o" toothpicks. /e starte& ith 1, an& then in the secon& cycle e ha& 2. That9s like 1:2. This theory as soli&i"ie& hen I notice& 23 toothpicks in the thir& cycle, hich is the same as 1:1. There"ore, the n$mber o" toothpicks in the nth pattern o$l& be 1:n. 2. The sol$tion I "o$n& to the "irst Triangles #$estion as 23. I "o$n& this by simply co$nting the n$mber o" triangles in the image. The ans er that I "o$n& to the secon& #$estion as 421, thanks to the e#$ation I "o$n& "or the "inal #$estion, hich as n:2 6,n81-:2. I "o$n& this by noticing that hen I s$btracte& the n$mber o" the smallest triangles "rom the total n$mber o" triangles, it le"t the s#$are o" the pre!io$s cycle, hich co$l& be "o$n& ith ,n81-:2. This is a non8linear gro th beca$se the inter!als bet een pro&$cts are not the same. 4.Sel"87ssessment an& >e"lection% ?athematical Practices an& ;+pectations I think that in this problem, I $se& the ?athematical Practice 'reason abstractly an& #$antitati!ely(. I $se& this to "ig$re o$t hat kin& o" e#$ation I as looking "or "ar be"ore I ha& gotten "ar eno$gh into speci"ics. I took it step by step, looking at hat I ha!e an& trying to apply meaning to it. I think that I &i& !ery ell on this problem, especially compare& to ho I ha!e &one in the past. I allo e& mysel" eno$gh time, I e+plore& it persistently, an& I came to a sol$tion, hich makes me pro$& o" my ork. I belie!e that I &eser!e a 2../1= at least, beca$se I "eel that I really p$t a lot o" e""ort into this one.