Pattern Recognition: How Smart Are You?

**waltonhockey05** · 10-12-2011, 03:19 PM

So there's a pattern within this sequence, can you figure it out?

Rules:
- The first term (111) is the highest value in the entire pattern.
- All values are whole numbers that are non negative.
- Any math required is basic. No calculus or anything like that required.

And the first five terms of the sequence are:
111, 21, 13, 12, 11,...

Anddddddd GO!

**advres** · 10-12-2011, 03:31 PM

10
........

**huckbucket** · 10-12-2011, 03:57 PM

we're not doing your homework for you ... slacker.

**waltonhockey05** · 10-12-2011, 04:05 PM

Not my homework. Professor introduced it during class as a brain teaser, but I'll take that response as you can't figure it out either. Not to mention pattern recognition for a college level hw assignment seems pretty dumb.

**Poop~Ghost** · 10-12-2011, 04:06 PM

Originally Posted by huckbucket

we're not doing your homework for you ... slacker.

I'll do homework or brain teasers for the yankee dollar.

**pointedem** · 10-12-2011, 04:38 PM

think outside the boundaries of math.. brah.

1
11
21
12,11
11,12,21
31,22,11
13,11,22,21
11,13,21,32,11

so on, so forth.

Edit: either you copied the problem incorrectly, or your professor was drunk.

**Blurred** · 10-12-2011, 05:24 PM

Originally Posted by pointedem

think outside the boundaries of math.. brah.

1
11
21
12,11
11,12,21
31,22,11
13,11,22,21
11,13,21,32,11

so on, so forth.

Edit: either you copied the problem incorrectly, or your professor was drunk.

The plane WILL take off.

**zartagen** · 10-12-2011, 05:26 PM

The only thing I can figure is 111, 21, 13, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. All of the numbers after 111 add to 111. Not much of a pattern, though.

**advres** · 10-12-2011, 05:45 PM

I already answered it for you In the second post.

http://mathforum.org/kb/message.jspa...90731&tstart=0

**BmillsSkier** · 10-12-2011, 07:53 PM

Are they teaching codebreaking at Miami now?

**iscariot** · 10-12-2011, 08:28 PM

BEDMAS. The answer is 9.

**Tippster** · 10-12-2011, 08:32 PM

Potatoe.

**cheese** · 10-13-2011, 04:47 AM

potato.
567

**The AD** · 10-13-2011, 11:00 AM

Maybe it's a palindromic pattern. If so the next would be 21, 31, 12, 111. This makes the entire sequence 111,21,13,12,11,21,31,12,111. Perfectly symmetric about the 11 and it doesn't violate any of the rules. I guess if all the numbers have to be less than the first one then it should end 11,1 rather than 111.

**The Suit** · 10-13-2011, 11:42 AM

What advres said. The sequence shown are representations of seven (7) in increasing base systems, starting with base 2.

in base 2: seven is represented as 111
in base 3: seven is represented as 21
in base 4: seven is represented as 13
in base 5: seven is represented as 12
in base 6: seven is represented as 11

Next in the sequence would be seven in base 7, represented as 10. Subsequent entries in the sequence would be 7,7,7 ...

I'm not smart enough to have figured it out without advres's hint.

**Caucasian Asian** · 10-13-2011, 12:42 PM

12.

**Blashyrkh** · 10-13-2011, 12:57 PM

Now, I'm admittedly not a math person. at all. But I'm not sure I'd consider an answer relying on base systems, or whatever, to be "basic math".

**Tippster** · 10-13-2011, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by cheese

potato.
567

**zartagen** · 10-13-2011, 05:32 PM

If it is the base system, then 111 wouldn't be the highest value. They would all be 7.

**advres** · 10-13-2011, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by zartagen

If it is the base system, then 111 wouldn't be the highest value. They would all be 7.

Read this. Translated to English from French. But it explains why I am right better than I could.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate...rUrl=Translate

**zartagen** · 10-13-2011, 07:50 PM

Originally Posted by advres

Read this. Translated to English from French. But it explains why I am right better than I could.

http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate...rUrl=Translate

That was hard to read, and I'm not saying you're wrong. Not that I would have figured out the pattern without a hint, I was simply pointing out a flaw in the parameters posed by the OP.

**bmg97** · 10-13-2011, 08:01 PM

Umm....pythagorean theorem or onamonapia ?

**ill-advised strategy** · 10-13-2011, 08:02 PM

**Tippster** · 10-13-2011, 08:37 PM

That's awesome, J.

**The Duke of Hurl** · 10-14-2011, 09:34 PM

Donald Rumsfeld is giving the president his daily briefing. He concludes by saying: "Yesterday, 3 Brazilian soldiers were killed."

"OH NO!" the President exclaims. "That's terrible!"

His staff sits stunned at this display of emotion, nervously watching as the President sits, head in hands.

Finally, the President looks up and asks, "How many is a brazillion?"

(There Advres goes again, bringing politics into the Padded Room

)