How can you use an equation to make a prediction from a pattern

To use an equation to make a prediction from a pattern, you can first figure out the rate of change to figure out how much the pattern is increasing or decreasing. in a linear equation, this would be the m value or the slope of the equation. then, you would have a starting point which is the value at which the pattern starts. in a linear equation, this is the b value or the y-intercept. then, the x value would be multiplied to the rate of change and this x value represents the value you want to predict in the pattern. if you put this all together, your equation would look something like this format: y=mx+b