Question 22
Have you noticed how the colours change in a traffic signal? The sequence of colour changes is shown below. Find the colour at positions 90, 190, and 343. Write expressions to describe the positions for each colour.

The colors repeat in a fixed pattern.
Step 1 — Identify the repeating pattern
We look at the sequence of colors. The sequence is Red, Yellow, Green, Yellow, Red, ... The colors repeat every 4 positions. The repeating pattern is Red, Yellow, Green, Yellow. Let us call the length of this pattern the cycle length. The cycle length is 4.

Step 2 — Determine color at position 90
To find the color, we divide the position number by the cycle length. We look at the remainder of this division. For position 90, we divide 90 by 4.
A remainder of 1 means the 1st color (Red). A remainder of 2 means the 2nd color (Yellow). A remainder of 3 means the 3rd color (Green). A remainder of 0 means the 4th color (Yellow). Since the remainder is 2, the color at position 90 is Yellow.
Step 3 — Determine color at position 190
For position 190, we divide 190 by 4.
Since the remainder is 2, the color at position 190 is Yellow.
Step 4 — Determine color at position 343
For position 343, we divide 343 by 4.
Since the remainder is 3, the color at position 343 is Green.
Step 5 — Write expressions for Red positions
Red appears at positions 1, 5, 9, and so on. These numbers leave a remainder of 1 when divided by 4. Let be the position number. Let be a whole number starting from 0. The expression for Red positions is .
Step 6 — Write expressions for Green positions
Green appears at positions 3, 7, 11, and so on. These numbers leave a remainder of 3 when divided by 4. Let be the position number. Let be a whole number starting from 0. The expression for Green positions is .
Step 7 — Write expressions for Yellow positions
Yellow appears at positions 2, 4, 6, 8, and so on. These are all the even numbers. Let be the position number. Let be a whole number starting from 1. The expression for Yellow positions is .
Answer
(i) The colors at positions 90, 190, and 343 are Yellow, Yellow, and Green, respectively. (ii) The expressions for the positions of each color are: Red: (where is a whole number) Green: (where is a whole number) Yellow: (where is a whole number)
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