Chapter 3: Pattern Around Us
Original notes — ready CBSE (NCERT, English Medium) • Class 4 • Mathematics • Book: Math Mela
Pattern Around Us — EG's own notes, in simple words
Book: Math Mela (CBSE, Class 4) | Chapter 3 | Medium: English
Diagram (labels are printed on the image): One row of shapes: blue star, red flower, blue star, red flower, blue star, red flower, blue star. 'Star' points to the first blue star, 'Flower' to the first red flower, and 'Pattern repeats' to a later blue star in the row. Honest note: the picture shows only this one repeating pattern (star, flower) — other patterns in the text use different shapes and numbers.
1. What is a pattern?
A pattern is something that repeats in the same order, again and again. A border on a dupatta may go flower, leaf, flower, leaf. A fence may go red pole, blue pole, red pole, blue pole. Once you know the repeating part, you can say what comes next without seeing it.
2. Patterns of shapes, colours and numbers
Patterns can be made of shapes: triangle, square, triangle, square... They can be made of colours: red, yellow, red, yellow... Or of numbers: 2, 5, 8, 11 — here each step adds 3. Worked example: a rangoli border goes circle, star, circle, star, circle. The repeating part is "circle, star", so the next shape is a star.
New diagram: A row of shapes, left to right: star, flower, sun, star, star. This is a row of shapes, not a strict repeating star-flower pattern — the repeating and growing patterns are worked out in the text.
| Pattern | Repeating part | What comes next? |
|---|---|---|
| ▲ ● ▲ ● ▲ | ▲ ● | ● |
| Red, blue, blue, red, blue, blue | Red, blue, blue | Red |
| 10, 20, 30, 40 | Add 10 | 50 |
3. Growing patterns
Some patterns do not just repeat — they grow. Look: 1 dot, then 3 dots, then 5 dots. Each step adds 2 more dots. The next step has 7 dots. Growing patterns are like stairs: each step is a little bigger than the one before.
4. Patterns around us
Look for patterns in tiles on the floor, in the grill of a window, in the stripes of a shirt, and in the days of the week. When you can spot the rule, you can continue the pattern, and you can also find a mistake — if one tile breaks the rule, your eye catches it at once.
New picture: A colourful rangoli with repeating flower and star shapes. Decorative picture; it shows a pattern, not one of the number patterns worked out in the text.
Key Terms
- Pattern — Something that repeats in the same order again and again.
- Repeating part — The small group that repeats to make the whole pattern.
- Growing pattern — A pattern that gets bigger at each step by a rule.
- Sequence — Numbers or shapes arranged in a fixed order.
Remember
- A pattern repeats its repeating part in the same order.
- Patterns can be shapes, colours or numbers.
- In a growing pattern, each step grows by a fixed rule.
Exam Tip / Common Mistake
Common mistake: guessing the next shape without finding the repeating part. First circle the repeating part, then continue it. If the part is 3 shapes long, the pattern repeats every 3 steps.
Practice set — try it yourself
- Continue the pattern: star, circle, circle, star, circle, circle, ___, ___.
Hint: Hint: What is the repeating part? - Continue the number pattern: 3, 6, 9, 12, ___, ___.
Hint: Hint: What is added each time? - A floor border goes red tile, white tile, white tile, red tile. What comes after red, white, white?
Hint: Hint: Repeat the whole part, not just the last tile. - Make a growing pattern: start with 2 dots, add 3 each step. Write the first 4 steps.
Hint: Hint: 2, then 2 + 3, then add 3 again... - Find the mistake: 5, 10, 15, 21, 25. Which number breaks the rule?
Hint: Hint: The rule is 'add 5' — which step breaks it?