Skill: Identify repeating patterns

A repeating pattern has a small group of items that repeats in the same order. This group is called the repeating unit.

Look for the smallest group that starts the pattern and appears again and again.

Example:

$$\triangle,\ \square,\ \circ,\ \triangle,\ \square,\ \circ,\ \triangle,\ \square,\ \circ,\ldots$$

Step 1: Find the group that repeats.

The first three shapes are:

$$\triangle,\ \square,\ \circ$$

Check the next shapes. They are also:

$$\triangle,\ \square,\ \circ$$

So the repeating unit is:

$$\boxed{\triangle,\ \square,\ \circ}$$

Step 2: Use the unit to find the next shapes.

The pattern has just shown $\triangle,\square,\circ$ three times. It starts over with $\triangle$.

The next two shapes are:

$$\boxed{\triangle,\ \square}$$

The shapes stay the same size and repeat in the same order. That makes this a repeating pattern, not a growing pattern.