Stellar Numbers SL Type I
Stellar Numbers SL Type I
Stellar Numbers SL Type I
Aim: In this task you will consider geometric shapes whieh lead to special numbers. The simples!
example 0/ these are square numbers, 1, 4, 9, 16, which can be represented by squares 0/ side
J, 2, 3 and 4.
The following diagrams show a triangular pattern of evenly spaced dots. The numbers of dots in
each diagram are examples of triangular numbers (1, 3, 6, ... ).
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3 6 10 15
Complete the tri angular numbers sequence with three more terms.
Find a general statement that represents the nth triangular number in terms of n.
Consider stellar (star) shapes with p vertices, leading to p··stellar numbers. The first four
representations for a star with six vertices are shown in the four stages SI-S4 below. The ö-stellar
number at each stage is the total number of dots in the diagram.
Find the number of dots (i.e. the stellar number) in each stage up to S6. Organize the data so that
you can recognize and describe any patterns.
Hence, produce the general statement, in terms of p and n, that generates the sequence of p-stellar
numbers for any value of p at stage Sn.