Play with Patterns - Alphabet and Shape Patterns

Definition of Patterns: A pattern is a sequence where shapes, letters, or numbers are arranged according to a specific rule. Patterns can repeat, grow, or shrink consistently.

Repeating Shape Patterns: These involve a fixed set of shapes that appear again and again in the same order. For example, a sequence of $\bigcirc, \square, \triangle, \bigcirc, \square, \triangle$ repeats the core unit of three shapes.

Growing and Shrinking Patterns: In growing patterns, the number of elements increases, such as starting with $1$ star, then $2$ stars, then $3$ stars. In shrinking patterns, elements decrease, such as $10$ circles, then $8$ circles, then $6$ circles, where the rule is $-2$ at each step.

Alphabet Patterns with Skips: These patterns use the $26$ letters of the alphabet by skipping a fixed number of letters. For example, in the pattern $A, C, E, G$, we skip one letter ($B, D, F$) to find the next term.

Rotational Patterns: Shapes can change direction by turning. Imagine an arrow pointing Up $\uparrow$, then turning $90^{\circ}$ to the Right $\rightarrow$, then Down $\downarrow$, and finally Left $\leftarrow$. This follows a clockwise rotation rule.

Alphabet Coding: This is a secret way of writing where letters are replaced by numbers. Using the rule $A=1, B=2, C=3, \dots, Z=26$, the word 'BAG' can be written as the number pattern $2-1-7$.

Block Patterns: Patterns can be seen in tiles or floor designs where a single unit or 'block' is reflected or rotated to fill a space without leaving any gaps, often creating a repeating grid-like visual.