Whats With That Triangle of Numbers?
That is a special triangle named after a mathematician named Pascal. Humans have been studying number patterns for thousands of years. As you move down each level, you should notice three things… (1) A “1” is attached on the ends of each new row. (2) The middle numbers are the sum of the two numbers above. A sum is the result of any addition problem. So level 3 has “1-2-1.” Two ones were attached and the “2” was the sum of the ones from the previous row. (1+1 = 2) (3) The sum of all of the numbers in each row doubles as you move down. Sum of Row-1 is 1. (1 = 1) Sum of Row-2 is 2. (1+1 = 2) Sum of Row-3 is 4. (1+2+1 = 4) Sum of Row-4 is 8. (1+3+3+1 = 8) Sum of Row-5 is 16. (1+4+6+4+1 = 16) The pattern will continue forever. You may also see other patterns in the triangle. Notice the order of the numbers if you move diagonally. There’s a lot to be learned from that little triangle. We’ll use it as an example many times on the site.
