Question

Rachel is placing playing cards on a table by following these steps.

Answer 1

Rachel is placing playing cards on a table by following these steps.
Step 1: First she places one card in the middle of the table.
Step 2: Next she adds one more card directly to the left, to the right, and below the first card.
Step 3: Next she adds one more card directly to the left, to the right, above, and below the cards that were already on the table. The cards form the pattern shown.

a. If Rachel continues the same pattern, how many cards will be on the table after Rachel completes Step 4?
b. Write the first 6 terms of the sequence that represents the total number of cards on the table after each step.
c. Describe the pattern in the sequence.