What's the Pattern in This Sequence of Numbers?

  • Thread starter Thread starter davee123
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Sequence
AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around identifying the next number in a sequence: 1, 3, 11, 13, 17, 23, 73. Participants note that the sequence appears to consist primarily of prime numbers, with the exception of the first number, 1. A key observation is that each subsequent number has more letters than the previous one, which adds complexity to the sequence. The conversation highlights the confusion stemming from the prime nature of the numbers and the unique characteristics of the sequence, suggesting that the next number could follow the established pattern of increasing letter count.
davee123
Messages
671
Reaction score
4
What's the next number?

1, 3, 11, 13, 17, 23, 73, ?

DaveE
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Alright, more numbers in the sequence:

1, 3, 11, 13, 17, 23, 73, 101, 103, 111, 113, 117, 123, 173, 323, 373, ?

DaveE
 
A really teasing sequence.

Though I am trying to figure out for so many days, but failed. Anyway I would make a blind guess:


No, wait a minute:

...1103, 1111, 1113, 1117, 1123, 1173, 1323, 1373, 3323, 3373, 11373, 13323, 13373, 17373, 23323, 23373, 73373, 101373, 103323, 103373, 111373, 113323, 113373, 117373

Not my own work ;)

Every next number is the one next with more number of letters.

It added to the confusion that the first sequence contains prime numbers except the first one.
 
Last edited:
mabs239 said:
Every next number is the one next with more number of letters.

Ding!

mabs239 said:
It added to the confusion that the first sequence contains prime numbers except the first one.

I didn't even notice that, but that's an interesting point! The first 9 numbers are all coincidentally prime, excluding 1, which is sort of a prime number anyway on certain technicalities.

I think I had heard some variant on the sequence before, but I couldn't seem to find it, so I figured it'd be worth posting...

DaveE
 
davee123 said:
I didn't even notice that, but that's an interesting point! The first 9 numbers are all coincidentally prime, excluding 1, which is sort of a prime number anyway on certain technicalities.

DaveE

Thats what lead me off. I was wondering how primes fit into all of it.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top