A Natural 48 47 46 45 44

Algebra
Way To 49 27 26 25 24 43

50 28 12 11 10 23 42

51 29 13 3 2 9 22 41

52 30 14 4 0 1 8 21 40 65

53 31 15 5 6 7 20 39 64

54 32 16 17 18 19 38 63

55 33 34 35 36 37 62

Summerschool Martin Kindt

56 57 58 59 60 61
2015 Freudenthal Institute
 Algebra
the art of ‘thingification’

And now is a good moment to open up Pandora’s box

and explain one of the most powerful general weapons
in the mathematician’s armory, which we might call the
‘thingification of processes’.
Ian Stewart in Nature’s Numbers
 Algebra at school

RESTRICTIONS PROCESSES PATTERNS

(CHANGE) &
equations FIGURES
operations
inequalities sequences
functions
linear figured
programming graphs numbers
 ICME Berkeley 1980

2 3 5 8
1 ?
13 ?
? ?
1

Guess the rule !

 2 3 5 8
1
13
1

2 3 5 8
1 89
13 21 5
34 5
1
f0 = 1 f10 = 89 f20 = 10946
f1 = 1 f11 = 144 f21 = 17711
f2 = 2 f12 = 233 f22 = 28657
f3 = 3 f13 = 377 f23 = 46368
f4 = 5 f14 = 610 f24 = 75025
f5 = 8 f15 = 987 f25 = 121393
f6 = 13 f16 = 1597 f26 = 196418
f7 = 21 f17 = 2584 f27 = 317811
f8 = 34 f18 = 4181 f28 = 514229
f9 = 55 f19 = 6765 f29 = 832040
 Another pattern ?

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

 Even or Odd? Explain your strategy!
A

E
C D

From ‘PATTERNS and SYMBOLS’ (MIC)

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

ODD + ODD = EVEN

ODD + EVEN = ODD

 choose five consecutive Fibonacci-numbers ....

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

+
24 = 3  8
1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

+
39 = 3  13

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

+
699 = 3  233
representation of any 5 consecutive Fibonacci-numbers

in the style of
first
second
third
fourth
fifth
Euclid
 PROOF!

+
 a a

b b
a b
+ a+b
b a b
b+a+b
a b b a b
a+b+b+a+b

a + (a + b + b + a + b) = (a + b) + (a + b) + (a + b)
 a a +  2a + 3b 
b =
3a + 3b
=
+ a+b 3  (a + b)
a + 2b

2a + 3b

Progressive symbolization
 more ‘Fibonacci-exercises’

* Take any subsequence of nine consecutive numbers.

The sum of the first and the ninth number equals ....

1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 ...

* Compare the sum of any six consecutive numbers with the 5th in the row ....
Which relation do you observe? Prove that it’s valid for all groups of six.
* Design your own Fibonacci-exercise
 PATTERNS
&
FIGURES
Ian Stewart

A natural number is an idea that has

long ago been thingified so thoroughly
that everybody thinks of it as a thing.

figured numbers
Which pattern has the biggest number of dots?
Same question ....
 Productive exercises

* Design a dice-pattern with 625 dots

* Design another dice- pattern with a number of dots

between 100 and 1000
Nikomachos of Gerasa
(ca. 100 AD) sum of ‘odds’ = square number

sum of ‘evens’ = oblong number

Introduction to
Arithmetic sum of consecutive numbers
=
triangular number
square number

n2

oblong number oblong number

n  (n + 1)
or
n2 + n

triangular number

1
--- n
2
 (n + 1)
 Air-show
a squadron flied in a ‘W-formation’
W-numbers

0 1 2 3

pattern-number 0 1 2 3 4 5 6
number of dots 1 5 ... ... ... ... ...

Formula?
0 1 2 3

W=4n+1
0 1 2 3

W = [2n] + [2n + 1] = 4n + 1
 W = double V  1

= + -

W = (1 + 2n) + (1+ 2n)  1 = 1 + 4n

W-squadrons sometimes can transform in square(dron)s
* Which ones? Why?
Sequence of W-numbers

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57

0 2 6 12
Sequence of W-numbers

1 5 9 13 17 21 25 29 33 37 41 45 49 53 57

Is every
odd square
a W-number ?
 2n + 1
2n + 1

2n + 1
4n2 + 2n
+
4n2 + 4n + 1 = 4(n2 + n) + 1

oblong number
4  oblong number + 1 = square number

2
4  n  n + 1  + 1 =  2n + 1 
number-strip

2 3 4 5
1 10
6 7 8 9
0

Which colour has 2015 ?

 2 3 4 5
1 10
6 7 8 9
0

Add a white number to a blue one, what do you get?

Does the colour of the answer depend on the chosen
white and blue number?
+ 2 5 8 11 14 17 20 23

1 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24

4 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27

7 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30

10 12 15 18 21 24 27 29 31

13 15 18 21 24 27 30 33 36

16 18 21 24 27 30 33 36 39

19 21 24 27 30 33 36 39 42

22 24 27 30 33 36 39 42 45
using dot patterns
White + Blue = Red

+ = =
+ R W B

R R W B

W W B R

B B R W
 2 3 4 5
1 10
6 7 8 9
0

What is the colour-pattern of : 0, 10, 20, 30, 40, ... ?

And what of : 0, 100, 200, 300, 400, ...?
And of : 0, 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000, ... ?
 What is the colour of 2015 ?

2000 + 10 + 5

has same colour as

2 + 1+ 5 =8

The colour of a number =

the colour of the sum of its digits
Formulas 0 1 2

3 4 5

R = 3n 6 7 8

W = 1 + 3n 9 10 11

B = 2 + 3n 12 13 14

15 16 17
n = 0,1,2,3, ...

3n 1 + 3n 2 + 3n
 start number 2
+5
7
+5
arithmetic 12
equal
sequence +5
steps
17
+5
22
+5
27

2 + 5n

expression
n = number of steps
 4 1

Adding 9 4

number-strips 14 7
(‘thingification’) 19 10

24
+ 13
=
29 16

34 19

4 + 5n + 1 + 3n =
 4 1 5
+5 +3 +8
9 4 12
+5 +3 +8
14 7 19

19 10 26

24
+ 13
= 33

29 16 40

34 19 47

4 + 5n + 1 + 3n = 5 + 8n
 2

11
5  14
=
17

20

5  =
 2 10
+3 +15
5 25
+3 +15
8 40

11 55
5  14
= 70

17 85

20 100

5  2 + 3n = 10 + 15n
0 0 0 1

1 2 1 7

4 6 3 19

9 12 6 37

16 20 10 61
0 0 0 1

1 2 1 7

4 6 3 19

9 12 6 37

16 20 10 61

25 30 15 91

36 42 21 127

nn + 1
n2 n2 + n ---------------------- ???
2
0 0 0 1

1 2 1 7

4 6 3 19

9 12 6 37

16 20 10 61

25 30 15 91

36 42 21
? 127

nn + 1
n2 n2 + n ---------------------- ???
2
1, 7, 19, 37, 61, ...
+6 +12 +18 +24 +30

1 7
19
37
Hexagonal numbers
1, 7, 19, 37, 61, ...
+6 +12 +18 +24 +30

‘honey-comb-numbers’
 7
19
37

32+1=7 3  6 + 1 = 19 3  12 + 1 = 37
 7
19
37

32+1=7 3  6 + 1 = 19 3  12 + 1 = 37

3n(n + 1) + 1
 7
19
37

61+1=7 6  3 + 1 = 19 6  6 + 1 = 37

6  1--- n  n + 1  + 1 = 3n  n + 1  + 1
2
7
19
37

1 + 6 + 6  2 + 6  3 + ... + 6  n =

1 + 6 (1 + 2 + 3 + ... + n) =

1 + 6  1--- n  n + 1  = 3n  n + 1  + 1
2
 48 47 46 45 44

49 27 26 25 24 43

50 28 12 11 10 23 42

51 29 13 3 2 9 22 41

52 30 14 4 0 1 8 21 40 65

53 31 15 5 6 7 20 39 64

54 32 16 17 18 19 38 63

55 33 34 35 36 37 62

56 57 58 59 60 61
 Three propositions about algebra education

1
During the first two years of secondary education,
teachers should pay a great deal of attention to the
arithmetic side of algebra, i.e. algebra in relation
to (mental) arithmetic, number patterns, number theory
and combinatorial counting problems.
 2
It is advisable to use historical contexts.
Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Indo and Arabic
mathematics have a great deal to offer in the
area of concrete (and discrete) algebra
 3
Once students attain reasonable mastery over
enough tools or techniques, algebra can -
and should - be used to make proofs , for example
of special properties of natural numbers.
 Homework (1)

* Make two numberstrips, one with the oblong numbers and

the other with the hexagonal numbers.
Adding these strips pairwise, you will find a strip of ...
square numbers!
How to prove this?
 Homework (2)
* Check and prove the three given formulas to the diagonals.
Give the three missing formulas.

48 47 46 45 44

3(n + 1)2 49 27 26 25 24 43

50 28 12 11 10 23 42

51 29 13 3 2 9 22 41

52 30 14 4 0 1 8 21 40 3n2 + 4n + 1

53 31 15 5 6 7 20 39

54 32 16 17 18 19 38
3n2 + 3n
55 33 34 35 36 37
Welcome to Holland

6 9 12 15
3 18
0 7 10 13 16
4 19
1 8 11 14 17 20
5
2