POLITE NUMBERS

I-OVERVIEW
Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers,
formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained,
and quantities and their changes. Most mathematical activity involves the discovery
of properties of abstract objects and the use of pure reason to prove them.

In the real world, the use of mathematics has vast effect on the lives of man, it
is in the since that most human activities employs numbers, so man must learn how
to understand numbers and its properties.

In Mathematics, a number is an arithmetic value which is used to represent the

quantity of an object. We are using numbers in our day-to-day life, such as counting
money, time, things, and so on. We have different types of numbers in the number
system such as natural numbers, whole numbers, integers and other more.

Moreover, numbers also are determined and named based on their resulting
operations and factors, such as prime and composite numbers and some are known
to be polite and impolite numbers.

A number being polite and impolite doesn’t bears any negative connotations of
the associated digits that are operated in order to derive the said numbers.

II- INTRODUCTION

In Mathematics computational task is sometimes tedious without the aid of a

formula or a pattern how a certain mathematical problem be solved. A pattern
enables a mathematics enthusiast to come-up varied ways of deriving answers to
specific arithmetic problem. Likewise a patterns are important in mathematics for
several reasons such as, they provide a framework for understanding complex
mathematical concepts and relationships; They enhance problem-solving skills by
enabling students to identify similarities and differences between problems, leading
to more efficient solutions; They promote critical thinking by encouraging students to
make predictions and test them based on patterns they observe; They improve
memory retention by providing a structured way of organizing information; They
facilitate communication and collaboration in mathematical discussions by enabling
individuals to articulate and share patterns they observe and Patterns are also
essential in many real-world applications, including scientific research, finance, and
engineering. One interesting on patterns in mathematics are the pattern on polite
numbers.

In number theory, a polite number is a positive integer that can be written as

the sum of two or more consecutive positive integers. Consecutive implies numbers
that come one right after another in the counting sequence (Gaskins, 2023).

Polite numbers are a number pattern that is not of much known in the concepts
sequence and series. Of this idea this paper will explore on pattern resulting to polite
numbers, and how this number generates patterns.

Statement of the problem

1.What will be type of numbers defined when consecutive numbers are added?
2.When polite numbers are obtained, will there be certain pattern/ that maybe
derived?

III- MATHEMATICAL IDEAS RELATED TO THE STUDY

Sequence and series will be the mathematical concepts used to verify and
test the hypotheses coupled with observation. As defined by Bju’s.com an itemized
collection of elements in which repetitions of any sort are allowed is known as a
sequence, whereas a series is the sum of all elements. Sequences and series are a
mathematical topic that is closely related to everyday life. This topic is introduced to
elementary students as pattern of numbers pattern, and then continued to the
sequences and series topic at the secondary and high school level (Kemendikbud,
2018).
However, Students need to understand this topic well because it is taught
continuously at several levels of school. Students, in fact, still experience learning
difficulties and learning obstacles related to the conceptual understanding and the
application of sequences and series. Some of the learning difficulties experienced by
students include difficulty in determining the first and nth terms of a sequence
(Wibowo, 2018); difficulty in applying rules and procedures in solving problems
related to arithmetic sequences and series (Oktopiani, 2017); and the difficulty in
identifying what is known from the word problem related to sequences and series
then converting it into a mathematical model (Wibowo, 2018).
 Therefore, this mathematical investigation on polite numbers can be related to
translating serries from sequences into patterns.

IV- MATERIALS
The materials that will be used are pieces of paper, a ballpen, and a
calculator. The paper and pen will be used to write down solutions that will show the
pattern based on the conjectures, while calculator will be used to check the
correctness of the solution.

V- MATHEMATICAL PROCESS
The process below shows the computations of serries leading to the discovery
of different conjectures.

Table 1: Sum of two Consecutive numbers

Consecutive numbers Sum In table 1 shows the sum of two
added consecutive numbers, as we investigate,
1+2 3 we have observed that the obtained sum
2+3 5 two consecutive integers are odd numbers.
3+4 7
4+5 9 Looking into the serries we can say
5+6 11 that the pattern generated by the polite
numbers (3,5,7,..) will be an=2n+1

Table 2: Sum of two or more consecutive numbers

Consecutive Numbers Added Sum
1+2+3 6
1+2+3+4 10
1+2+3+4+5 15 Table 2 is another example of polite
1+2+3+4+5+6 21 numbers obtained by adding two or more
1+2+3+4+5+6+7 28 consecutive numbers, as we explore on the
sum, we have observed that the numbers
produced was triangular numbers.
And from the series another pattern
of numbers can be derived which will be
an=n(n-1)/2