8 patterns can be formed from three bits.
Repeat the trick. Make two copies of the table for two bits:
0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 1
Now make each row unique by putting a "0" in front of the first group and a "1" in front of the second group:
0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
Now you have all the patterns that can be formed from three bits.
How many patterns can be formed from N bits?