Inductive reasoning ( 7th grade)

[Fatima]

i really need help with inductive reasoning
i need help with this : 1,-2,4,-5,7.-8 i need to figure out what rule is used in this problem is is like start with 1 and subract something or is it like start with 1 add 2 with a negative number or something like that?? please help

 

[JeffM]

i really need help with inductive reasoning
i need help with this : 1,-2,4,-5,7.-8 i need to figure out what rule is used in this problem is is like start with 1 and subract something or is it like start with 1 add 2 with a negative number or something like that?? please help

You are thinking, which is good. That is what the problem is about: trying to see a pattern somewhere. The trick is that there are many possible patterns. This one is far from easy to see.

\(\displaystyle (-2) - 1 = - 3\)

\(\displaystyle 4 - (-2) = + 6\)

\(\displaystyle (-5) - 4 = - 9\)

Questions. Does the pattern appear to continue? How might you summarize it?