How does your phone guess your next word?
You type "see you". Your phone suggests "soon". It is right most of the time.
The phone has seen that people often write "soon" after "see you". It found a pattern. Programmers use the same skill to solve problems.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Pattern | Something that repeats or looks alike. | 2, 4, 6, 8 |
| Pattern recognition | Finding patterns to help solve a problem. | two apps both need a login |
| Trend | A change that goes in one direction over time. | the bus is later each day |
| Similarity | A way that two things are alike. | both use a password |
| Prediction | A careful guess about what comes next. | Friday will be 6 minutes late |
| Assumption | Something we believe is true but have not checked. | there is no strike on Friday |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: spot the pattern
Have a go
Quick check: spot the pattern
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Why look for patterns?
Pattern recognition means finding what repeats or looks alike. Its purpose is to save time.
If a new problem looks like an old one, you can reuse the old solution. You do not start again.
Worked example: a trend
| Day | Minutes late | Change from the day before |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2 | none |
| Tuesday | 3 | up 1 |
| Wednesday | 4 | up 1 |
| Thursday | 5 | up 1 |
| Friday | ? | up 1, so 6 (a prediction) |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Read the trend
Look at the last column. The bus is 1 minute later each day. That is a trend: a change in one direction.
We predict that Friday is 5 + 1 = 6 minutes late. A prediction is a careful guess, not a fact.
Make a prediction
Have a go
Make a prediction
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.