10  Formulas

Consider
A formula is a general instruction for finding one
quantity in terms of other quantities. You might, for
example, see this instruction for cooking a joint of beef
in a microwave oven:
• Allow 6 minutes per 400 g.
If you know the weight of the joint of beef, this formula
can be used to calculate the cooking time. The formula
does, however, assume that you can work out how many 400 g there are in the weight of
your joint.
We could try to overcome this problem by expressing the formula more fully in words,
for example
Find the weight of your joint in kilograms.
Multiply this number by 1000 and divide the result by 400.

Then multiply the answer by 6 to give the cooking time in minutes.

This is lengthy, and probably not much clearer.
We can overcome this problem by using letters for the unknown numbers.
Can you find a formula using letters and symbols for the time in minutes needed to cook a
joint of beef in a microwave oven?
You should be able to solve this problem after you have worked through this chapter.
Provided you understand the conventions used, algebra is a powerful tool for expressing
general instructions in a short form.

Class discussion

Discuss what is wrong about each of the following statements.

1 The length of the room is 2.
2 The length of the room is l metres and l 5 2 metres.
3 There are n cans on the shelf and n 5 5 cans.
4 The length of the room is l and l 5 2.
5 Now write each of the statements in questions 1 to 4 so that they
make sense.

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STP Maths 8

Constructing a formula
Discussion of the examples above shows that when we use letters, it is important that we
are clear about what the letters stand for. It is sensible to keep to the convention of using
letters for unknown numbers, for example
If there were an unknown number of cans on a shelf, we could use a
for the number. We can then say that there are a cans on the shelf, that is,
a is the number of cans.
If we use a for the cans as well, we would have to talk about a on the shelf.
This is not a clear way to describe the situation.
Similarly, if a length is unknown, that is, it is an unknown number of units, we use a letter
for the unknown number only; the letter does not include the units, for example
We can then say that the length is b cm, rather than talk about the length being b.
If we stick to this convention, any expression involving letters is a relationship between
numbers only, and the ordinary rules of arithmetic and algebra apply.
The other convention we use when working with letters is that when two letters are
multiplied together, or a number is multiplied by a letter, we omit the multiplication
symbol, for example
we write a 3 b as ab
and 3 3 a as 3a

Exercise 10a

Worked example
l cm
The perimeter of this square is P cm.
Write down a formula for P.
l cm l cm
P5l1l1l1l
P 5 4l  (collecting like terms)
l cm

In each of the following diagrams, the perimeter is P cm.

Write down a formula for P starting with ‘P 5’.

1 l cm 2

l cm l cm
w cm w cm

l cm
l cm

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 10  Formulas

3 4 l cm

l cm l cm l cm s cm

d cm
d cm

Worked example
If G is the number of girls in a class and B is the number of boys,
write down a formula for the total number, T, of children in the class.
T5G1B

?   5 I buy x kg of apples and y kg of pears. Write down a formula for W
if W kg is the weight of fruit that I have bought.
?   6 If l m is the length of a rectangle and b m is the breadth, write
down a formula for P if the perimeter of the rectangle is P m.
?   7 I start a game with N marbles and lose L marbles. Write down a
formula for the number, T, of marbles that I finish with.
?   8 Peaches cost n pence each. Write down a formula for N if the cost
of 10 peaches is N pence.
?   9 Oranges cost x pence each and I buy n of these oranges. Write down
a formula for C where C pence is the total cost of the oranges.
? 10 I have a piece of string which is l cm long. I cut off a piece which is
d cm long. Write down a formula for L if the length of string which
is left is L cm.
? 11 A rectangle is 2b m long and b m wide. Write down a formula for P
where P m is the perimeter of the rectangle.
? 12 Write down a formula for A where A m2 is the area of the
rectangle described in question 11.
? 13 A lorry weighs T tonnes when empty. Steel girders weighing a
total of S tonnes are loaded on to the lorry. Write down a formula
for W where W tonnes is the weight of the loaded lorry.
? 14 A train travels p km in one direction, and then it comes back q km
in the opposite direction. If it is then r km from its starting point,
write down a formula for r. (Assume that p . q.)
? 15 Two points have the same y-coordinate. The x-coordinate of one
point is a and the x-coordinate of the other point is b. If d is the
distance between the two points, write down a formula for d given
that a is less than b. Draw a sketch to illustrate this problem.

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 STP Maths 8

? 16 These are the coordinates of some points on a straight line.

x-coordinate 1 2 3 4 5
y-coordinate 2 3 4 5 6
Find the formula for y in terms of x.
? 17 In the sequence
3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, …
the first term is 3, the second term is 5, and so on.
If the nth term is un, (e.g. the third term is u3), we can place these
terms in a table, i.e.
n 1 2 3 4 5
un 3 5 7 9 11
Find a formula for un.
? 18 A letter costs x pence to post. The cost of posting 20 such letters is £q.
Write down a formula for q. (Be careful: Look at the units given.)
? 19 One grapefruit costs y pence. The cost of n such grapefruit is £ L.
Write down a formula for L.
? 20 A rectangle is l m long and b cm wide. The area is A cm2.
Write down a formula for A.
? 21 On my way to work this morning the train I was travelling on
broke down. I spent t hours on the train and s minutes walking.
Write down a formula for T, if the total time that my journey took
was T hours.

Using brackets (3x 2 2) cm

In this rectangle, the expression for length has
two terms, and we use brackets to keep them together. x cm

The perimeter of the rectangle is twice the length added to

twice the width, i.e. if P cm is the perimeter then
P 5 2 3 (3x 2 2) 1 2 3 x
Now 2 3 x can be written as 2x and, in the same way, we can
leave out the multiplication sign in 2 3 (3x 2 2) and write 2(3x 2 2).
Therefore P 5 2(3x 2 2) 1 2x
Now 2(3x 2 2) means ‘twice everything in the bracket’, i.e.
2(3x 2 2) 5 2 3 3x 2 2 3 2
5 6x 2 4
Note: This process is called ‘multiplying out the bracket’.
Therefore the formula becomes
P 5 6x 2 4 1 2x
i.e. P 5 8x 2 4

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 10  Formulas

Exercise 10b

Worked example
Multiply out  3(4x 1 2) Multiply out  2(x 2 1)
3(4x 1 2) 5 12x 1 6 2(x 2 l) 5 2x 2 2
Note: 3 3 4x 5 3 3 4 3 x 5 12x

Multiply out the brackets.

1 2 ( x 1 l ) 4 4(3x 2 3) 7 8(3 2 2x) 10 5(x 2 1)
2 3(3x 2 2) 5 2(4 1 5x) 8 4(4x 2 3) 11 7(2 2 x)
3 5(x 1 6) 6 2(6 1 5a) 9 3(6 2 4x) 12 5(a 1 b)

Worked example
To simplify an expression containing brackets, we first multiply out
the brackets and then collect like terms.
Simplify  6x 1 3(x 2 2)
6x 1 3(x 2 2) 5 6x 1 3x 2 6 First multiply out the bracket.
5 9x 2 6 Collect like terms.
Simplify  2 1 (3x 2 7)
2 1 (3x 2 7) 5 2 1 3x 2 7 This means 2 1 1 3 (3x 2 7).
5 3x 2 5

Simplify the following expressions.

13 2x 1 4 ( x 1 1 ) 18 3x 1 3(x 2 5)
14 3 1 5 ( 2 x 1 3 ) 19 3(x 1 1) 1 4
15 2 ( x 1 4) 1 3(x 1 5) 20 6(2x 2 3) 1 5(x 2 1)
16 6(2x 2 3) 1 2x 21 3x 1 (2x 1 5)
17 4 1 (3x 2 1) 22 7 1 2(2x 1 5)

Worked example
Simplify  4x 2 2(x 1 3)
4x 2 2(x 1 3) means 4x take away 2 xs and 2 threes
4x 2 2(x 1 3) 5 4x 2 2x 2 6
5 2x 2 6
Simplify  5 2 (x 1 7)
5 2 (x 1 7) 5 5 2 x 2 7
5222x

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 STP Maths 8

Simplify the following expressions.

23 3x 2 2(3x 1 4) 28 10 2 4(3x 1 2)
24 5 2 4(5 1 x) 29 40 2 2(1 1 5w)
25 7c 2 (c 1 2) 30 6y 2 3(3y 1 4)
26 5x 2 4(2 1 x) 31 8 2 3(2 1 5x)
27 7a 2 (a 1 6)

? 32 Roberto started the day with three unopened tubes of sweets.

He ate all the sweets in one tube and 5 sweets from another tube.
If x is the number of sweets in each unopened tube, write down
an expression for the number of sweets he has  a  eaten  b  left.

? 33 The perimeter of this rectangle is 8x cm.

Find the formula for y in terms of x.
(2x 1 1) cm

y cm

Multiplication of directed numbers

1(1a)
From Book 7, we know that            
​ 
2(2a)
Consider the expression 6x 2 (x 2 3).
 
} 1(2a)
 ​ 5 1 a and            
​ 
2(1a) }
 
 ​ 5 2a

Now 6x 2 (x 2 3) means ‘6x take away x and take away 23’, i.e
6x 2 (x 2 3) 5 6x 2 x 2 (23)
We know that 2(23) 5 13, so
6x 2 (x 2 3) 5 6x 2 x 1 3
Similarly 8x 2 3(x 2 2) means 8x 2 [3(x 2 2)]
Therefore 8x 2 3(x 2 2) 5 8x 2 [3x 2 6]
i.e. 8x 2 3(x 2 2) 5 8x 2 3x 2 (26)
5 8x 2 3x 1 6
We can also interpret 8x 2 3(x 2 2) to mean 8x 2 3 3 x 2 3 3 22
Comparing 8x 2 3 3 x 2 3 3 22
With 8x 2 3x 1 6
we see that 23 3 x 5 23x, i.e. (2 3) 3 (1 x) 5 2 3x
and that 23 3 2 2 5 16

i.e.
(1a)
​ 
(2a) 3 (2b) }
3 (1b)
In general,                      
(2a) 3 (1b)
}
   ​ 5 1ab and                      
​ 
(1a) 3 (2b)
   ​ 5 2ab

When two numbers are multiplied together, both signs the same give a
positive answer, different signs give a negative answer.

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 10  Formulas

Exercise 10c

Worked example
Calculate  (13) 3 (24)
(13) 3 (24) 5 212 Different signs give a negative answer.

Calculate  23 3 4
23 3 4 5 212 Remember: If a number does not have a positive or negative sign,
it is positive.

Calculate  (25) 3 (22)

(25) 3 (22) 5 10 The same signs gives a positive answer.

Calculate  25(24)
25(24) 5 20 25(24) means 25 3 (24).

Calculate
  1 ( 23 ) 3 ( 1 5 ) 11 (23) 3 (29) 21 3 (22)
  2 (14) 3 (22) 12 (22) 3 (18) 22 5 3 3
  3 ( 27 ) 3 ( 22 ) 13 7 3 (25) 23 6 3 (23)
  4 (14) 3 (11) 14 26 (24) 24 25 (24)
  5 (16) 3 (27) 15 23 3 5    ​ _12 ​  )​
25 6 3 ​(2
  6 (24) 3 (23) 16 5 3 (29)    ​ _34 ​  )​
26 23 ​(1
  7 (26) 3 (13) 17 26 (4)    ​ _23 ​  )​3 (19)
27 ​(1
  8 (28) 3 (22) 18 22 (24) 28 2 _​ 38 ​ 3 _​ 23 ​ 
  9 (15) 3 (21) 19 2 (23) 29 ​ _34 ​  (24)
10 (26) 3 (23) 20 4 3 (22) 30 ​(2    ​ _23 ​  )​
   ​ _14 ​  )​3 (​ 2

Worked example
Division is the reverse of multiplication. Therefore the rules for dividing with directed
numbers are the same as those for multiplying them, e.g.
(24) 4 (22) 5 12 and 6 4 (23) 5 22

Calculate
31 28 4 (22) 33 12 4 (23) 35 (23.6) 4 (21.8)
32 212 4 3    ​ _14 ​  )​
34 ​ _12 ​ 4 (​ 2 36 (21.2) 4 0.3

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STP Maths 8

Exercise 10d

Worked example 
Multiply out  24(3x 2 4)
24(3x 2 4) 5 212x 1 16

Multiply out the following brackets.

  1 26(x 2 5)   6 27(x 1 4)
  2 25(3c 1 3)   7 23(2d 2 2)
  3 22(5e 2 3)   8 22(4 1 2x)
  4 2(3x 2 4)   9 27(2 2 3x)
  5 28(2 2 5x) 10 2(4 2 5x)

Worked example 
Simplify  4(x 2 3) 2 3(2 2 3x)
4(x 2 3) 2 3(2 2 3x) 5 4x 2 12 2 6 1 9x Multiply out the brackets first.
5 13x 2 18 Collect like terms.

Simplify
11 5x 1 4(5x 1 3) 26 6x 1 2(3x 2 7)
12 42 2 3(2c 1 5) 27 20x 2 4(3 1 4x)
13 2m 1 4(3m 2 5) 28 4(x 1 1) 1 5(x 1 3)
14 7 2 2(3x 1 2) 29 3(2x 2 3) 2 5(x 1 6)
15 x 1 (5 x 2 4) 30 5(6x 2 3) 1 (x 1 4)
16 9 2 2(4g 2 2) 31 3x 1 2(4x 1 2) 1 3
17 4 2 (6 2 x) 32 4(x 2 1) 2 5(2x 1 3)
18 10f 1 3(4 2 2f ) 33 7x 1 8x 2 2(5x 1 1)
19 7 2 2(5 2 2s) 34 4(x 2 1) 2 5(2x 2 3)
20 7x 1 3(4x 2 1) 35 8(2x 2 1) 2 (x 1 1)
21 7(3x 1 l) 2 2(2x 1 4) 36 4(x 2 1) 1 5(2x 1 3)
22 5(2x 2 3) 2 (x 1 3) 37 5 24(2x 1 3) 2 7x
23 2(4x 1 3) 1 (x 2 5) 38 3(x 1 6) 2 (x 2 3)
24 7(3 2 x) 2 (6 2 2x) 39 3(x 1 6) 2 (x 1 3)
25 5 1 3(4x 1 1) 40 4(x 2 1) 1 5(2x 2 3)

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 10  Formulas

Worked example 
The width of a rectangle is x cm and the length is 4 cm more than the width.
The perimeter is P cm. Find a formula for P.
(x 1 4) cm
The width is x cm,
so the length is (x 1 4) cm.
 P 5 2x 1 2(x 1 4) x cm
5 2x 1 2x 1 8
i.e. P 5 4x 1 8

Simplify

? 41 (x 2 3) cm

x cm

The length of the base of an isosceles triangle is x cm and the

two equal sides are 3 cm shorter. The perimeter of the triangle is
P cm. Find a formula for P.

? 42 I think of a number, x, add 5 to it and treble the result. If the

result is y, find a formula for y.

? 43 N sweets are divided among Amy, Madge and Amir.

Amy has x sweets, Madge has 3 less than Amy and Amir has
twice as many as Madge.
a Write down an expression for the number of sweets Madge
has.
b Write down an expression for the number of sweets Amir has.
c Write down a formula for N.

? 44 A group of n children are taken to the theatre. For each child, the
cost of travel is .x pence, and the theatre ticket costs three times
as much as the travel. Each child is given an ice cream which
costs 90 p less than the travel cost. The total cost is £P.
Find a formula for P.

? 45 The terms in a sequence are formed from the rule ‘double the
position number of a term and subtract 2’.
Hence the first term is 2(1) 2 2 5 0,
the second term is 2(2) 2 2 5 2, and so on.
a Write down the first six terms of the sequence.
b If n is the position number of a term, find a formula for un,
where un is the nth term of the sequence.

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STP Maths 8

Indices
Using index notation, we know that 2 3 2 can be written as 22. We can also use index
notation with letters that stand for unknown numbers, e.g.
we can write a 3 a as a2,
and b 3 b 3 b can be written as b3
In the same way, d5 means d 3 d 3 d 3 d 3 d
and 3b4 means 3 3 b 3 b 3 b 3 b
Note: The index applies only to the number it is attached to: 2x2 means that x is squared,
2 is not. If we want to square 2x, we write (2x)2 or 22x2.

Exercise 10e

Worked example 
Simplify  3a 3 2a
3a 3 2a 5 3 3 a 3 2 3 a
563a3a
5 6a2
Remember: Numbers can be multiplied in any order, i.e.
3 3 a 3 2 3 a 5 3 3 2 3 a 3 a
5 6 3 a2

Write in index notation.

1 x 3 x 5 2a 3 4a   9 a 3 2a 3 3a
2 p 3 p 3 p 6 5d 3 3d 10 4n 3 n 3 2n
3 s 3 s 3 s 7 4x 3 3x 11 2p 3 2p 3 3p
4 t 3 t 3 t 3 t 8 3y 3 y 12 5s 3 3s 3 4

Worked example 
Simplify  2a 3 3b 3 a
2a 3 3b 3 a 5 2a 3 a 3 3b 2a2 3 3b 5 2 3 a2 3 3 3 b
5 2a 3 3b
2
5 2 3 3 3 a2 3 b
5 6a2b

Simplify
13 2b 3 3a 3 4b 17 2x 3 y 3 y 21 4x 3 y 3 2y
14 4x 3 2x 3 3y 18 4t 3 2t 3 s 22 s 3 t 3 2s
15 p 3 2q 3 p 19 2p 3 2r 3 p 23 5r 3 r 3 2s
16 3s 3 r 3 s 20 4a 3 3b 3 2b 24 3w 3 2u 3 5w

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 10  Formulas

Worked example 
A rectangle is 3a cm long and a cm wide. The area is A cm2.
Find a formula for A.
3a cm

a cm

A 5 3a 3 a
A 5 3a2

The area of a rectangle 5 length 3 width

The area of each rectangle is A cm2. Find a formula for A.
25 5a cm

2a cm

26 7t cm

t cm

27 3l cm 28 3bcm

4l cm 3bcm

The volume of each cuboid is V cm3. Find a formula for V.

29 2a cm 31 4a cm

a cm
b cm

a cm
a cm

30 2w cm 32 5s cm

t cm
5w cm

s cm

w cm

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STP Maths 8

Substituting numbers into formulas

The diagram shows a pattern made with floor tiles, each of which
is 3 times as long as it is wide, laid round a central square.
If l cm is the width of any one of these tiles, then its length is
3l cm and its area, A cm2, is given by the formula
A 5 3l2
If the width of the smallest of these rectangles is 5 cm, we can find
its area directly from the formula by substituting 5 for l, i.e.
when l 5 5, A 5 3 3 52
5 3 3 25 5 75
Therefore the area of the smallest rectangle is 75 cm2.
We can use this formula to find the area of any rectangle in the pattern if we know
its width.

Exercise 10f

Worked example 
If v 5 u 1 at, find v when u 5 2, a 5 _​ 12 ​ and t 5 4.
v 5 u 1 at
When u 5 2, a 5 ​ _12 ​ and t 5 4,
Do multiplication and division
v 5 2 1 ​ _12 ​ 3 4 before addition and subtraction.
521254

  1 If N 5 T 1 G, find N when T 5 4 and G 5 6.

  2 If T 5 np, find T when n 5 20 and p 5 5.

  3 If P 5 2(l 1 b), find P when l 5 6 and b 5 9.

  4 If L 5 x 2 y, find L when x 5 8 and y 5 6.

  5 If N 5 4 ( I 2 s ) , find N when I 5 7 and s 5 2.

  6 If S 5 n(a 1 b), find S when n 5 20, a 5 2 and b 5 8.

  7 If V 5 lbw, find V when l 5 4, b 5 3 and w 5 2.

PRT ​ 
  8 If A 5 ​ _____ , find A when P 5 100, R 5 3 and T 5 5.
100
  9 If w 5 u(v 2 t), find w when u 5 5, v 5 7 and t 5 2.

10 If s 5 ​ _12 ​(  a 1 b 1 c), find s when a 5 5, b 5 7 and c 5 3.

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 10  Formulas

Worked example 
If v 5 u 2 at, find v when u 5 5, a 5 22 and t 5 23.
v 5 u 2 at
When u 5 5, a 5 22, t 5 23,   so v 5 5 2 (22) 3 (23)
5 5 2 (16) 5 5 2 6 5 21
Notice that where negative numbers are substituted for letters, they have been put in
brackets. This makes sure that only one operation at a time is carried out.

11 If N 5 p 1 q, find N when p 5 4 and q 5 25.

12 If C 5 RT, find C when R 5 4 and T 5 23.
13 If z 5 w 1 x 2 y, find z when w 5 4, x 5 23 and y 5 24.
14 If r 5 u(v 2 w), find r when u 5 23, v 5 26 and w 5 5.
15 Given that X 5 5(T 2 R), find X when T 5 4 and R 5 26.
16 Given that P 5 d 2 rt, find P when d 5 3, r 5 28 and t 5 2.
17 Given that v 5 l(a 1 n), find v when l 5 28, a 5 4 and n 5 26.
a 2 ​ b, find D when a 5 24, b 5 28 and c 5 2.
18 If D 5 ​ ______
c  
19 If Q 5 abc, find Q when a 5 3, b 5 27 and c 5 25.
20 If I 5 ​ _23 ​(  x 1 y 2 z), find I when x 5 4, y 5 25 and z 5 26.
? 21 Oranges cost n pence each and a box of 50 of these oranges costs
C pence.
a Write down a formula for C.
b Use your formula to find the cost of a box of oranges if each
orange costs 62 p.
? 22 Lemons cost n pence each and a box of 50 lemons costs £L.
a Write down a formula for L (be careful with the units).
b Use your formula to find the cost of a box of these lemons when
they cost 40 p each.
23 Given N 5 2(n 2 m), find a N when n 5 6 and m 5 4
b N when n 5 7 and m 5 23
c n when N 5 12 and m 5 24
24 If z 5 x 2 3y, find a z when x 5 3 ​ _12 ​ and y 5 _​ 34 ​ 
b z when x 5 _​ 38 ​ and y 5 21​ _12 ​ 
c x when z 5 _​ 14 ​ and y 5 _​ 78 ​ 
25 If P 5 10r 2 t, find a P when r 5 0.25 and t 5 10
b P when r 5 0.145 and t 5 15.6
c t when P 5 18.5 and r 5 0.026

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STP Maths 8

26 A rectangular box is 3l cm long, 2l cm wide and l cm deep.

The volume of the box is V cm3.
a Write down a formula for V.
b Use your formula to find the volume of a box measuring
5 cm deep.
27 A rectangle is a cm long and (2a 2 10) cm wide.
a Write down a formula for P, if P cm is the perimeter of the
rectangle.
b Use your formula to find the perimeter of a rectangle
6.9 cm wide.
c What is the smallest integer that a can represent for the value
of P to make sense?
28 The length of a rectangle is twice its width. If the rectangle is
x cm wide, write down a formula for P if its perimeter is P cm.
Use your formula to find the width of a rectangle that has a
perimeter of 36 cm.
29 A roll of paper is L m long. N pieces each of length r m are cut off
the roll. If the length of paper left is P m, write down a formula
for P. A roll of paper 20 m long had 10 pieces, each of length 1.5 m
cut from it. Use your formula to find the length of paper left.

Finding a formula for the n th term of a sequence

In the sequence 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, …, the first term is 2, the second term is 6, the third term is
10 and so on.
If we use n for the position number of a term and un for that term, we can arrange the
terms in a table, i.e.
n 1 2 3 4 5
un 2 6 10 14 18
We can see that each term is 4 more than the term before it. We can use this fact to find un
in terms of n.
Rewriting the table to give un in terms of the first term, 2, and the difference between the
terms, 4, gives
n 1 2 3 4 5
un 2 2 1 1(4) 2 1 2(4) 2 1 3(4) 2 1 4(4)
Comparing the value of un with the value of n, we can see that un is equal to 2 plus one
fewer number of 4s than the value of n, i.e.
un 5 2 1(n 2 1)4
5 2 1 4n 2 4
5 4n 2 2

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 10  Formulas

Any sequence where the difference between the terms is always the same is called an
arithmetic progression. This difference may be added or subtracted from each term to
get the next term.
Some other sequences involve squaring the term number, for example, in the sequence
1, 4, 9, 16, 25, . . .
the first term is 1, the second term is 4, the third term is 9, and so on.
If we use n for the position number of a term and un for that term, we can arrange the
terms in a table, i.e.

n 1 2 3 4 5
un 1 4 9 16 25
Now we can see that the nth term, un, is equal to n2.
Therefore the formula for the nth term of this sequence is un 5 n2

Exercise 10g

In questions 1 to 4, find a formula for un. You should be able to do

this by sight (without calculation).
1 n 1 2 3 4 5 3 n 1 2 3 4 5
un 2 3 4 5 6 un 2 4 6 8 10

2 n 1 2 3 4 5 4 n 1 2 3 4 5
un 4 5 6 7 8 un 0 1 2 3 4
5 For each sequence given in question 1 to 4, write down, in words,
the rule for generating the sequence.
6 The terms of a sequence are generated by starting with 2 and
adding 3 each time.
a Write the first five terms in a table like those given in
questions 1 to 4.
b Find a formula for un in terms of n.
7 The terms of a sequence are generated by starting with 10 and
subtracting 2 each time.
a Write the first five terms in a table like those given in
questions 1 to 4.
b Find a formula for un in terms of n.
8 The terms of a sequence are generated by starting with 5 and
adding 5 each time.
a Write the first five terms in a table like those given in
questions 1 to 4.
b Find a formula for un in terms of n.

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STP Maths 8

  9 The terms of a sequence are generated by starting with 2 and

subtracting ​ _12  ​each time.
a Write the first five terms in a table like those given in
questions 1 to 4.
b Find a formula for un in terms of n.
Questions 10 to 17 describe how the terms of a sequence are
generated. For each question repeat parts a and b of question 6.
10 Double the position number and add one.
11 Subtract 5 from the position number.
12 Multiply the position number by itself and subtract one.
13 Multiply the position number by itself and add two.
14 Subtract the square of the position number from five.
15 Add twice the square of the position number to 3.
16 Multiply twice the square of the position number and subtract 3.
17 Add the position number to the next position number.
18 Look at this pattern of squares.

a Copy and continue this table.

nth pattern 1 2 3 4 5
Number of squares 1 5
b If N is the number of squares in the 10th pattern, find N.
19 Repeat question 18 for the number of sides in this pattern.

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 10  Formulas

Consider again
When cooking a joint of beef in a microwave oven:
• Allow 6 minutes per 400 g.
Find a formula using letters and symbols for the time in If you need some help,
go to the STP website.
minutes needed to cook a joint of beef in a microwave oven.

Investigation

This is the pattern from page 12. It is formed round a central

square from rectangles each of which is 3 times as long as it
is wide.
a The width of the smallest rectangle is a cm.
Write down a formula for A, where A cm2 is its area.
b Find a formula for B, where B cm2 is the area of each
rectangle in the next ring of 4 rectangles.
c Find a formula for C, where C cm2 is the area of each
rectangle in the third, outer ring of the pattern.
d The pattern is continued by adding further rings of rectangles.
Find a formula for N, where N cm2 is the area of a rectangle in the nth ring.

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