Series
Series
ALLEN
Series
This chapter consists of questions in which series of numbers or alphabetical letters or combinations of both are
given, which are generally called the terms of the series. These terms follow a certain pattern throughout the
series. The candidate is required to study the given series, identify the pattern followed in the series and either
complete the given series with the most suitable alternative or find the wrong term in the series.
1 Number series
Solved examples
Directions : Find the missing term in each of the following series.
Ex.1 1, 6, 15,?, 45, 66, 91
(1) 25 (2) 26 (3) 27 (4) 28
Sol. Clearly, the given sequence follows the pattern : + 5, + 9, + 13, + 17, + 21, + 25, .....
Thus, 1 + 5 = 6, 6 + 9 = 15, .....
So, missing term = 15 + 13 = 28. Hence, the answer is (4).
Ex.2 2,5, 9, 19, 37,?
(1) 73 (2) 75 (3) 76 (4) 78
Sol. Clearly, we have: 2 × 2 + 1 = 5, 5 × 2 – 1 = 9, 9 × 2 + 1 = 19, 19 × 2 – 1 = 37, .....
So, missing term = 37 × 2 + 1 = 75.
Hence, the answer is (2).
Ex.3 4, 8, 28, 80, 244,?
(1) 278 (2) 428 (3) 628 (4) 728
Sol. The terms of the given series are: 3 + 1, 3 – 1, 3 + 1, 3 – 1, 3 + 1, .....
1 2 3 4 5
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Class VIII
ALLEN
Ex.8 1,3,3, 6, 7, 9,?, 12,21
(1) 10 (2) 11 (3) 12 (4) 13
Sol. Clearly, the given sequence is a combination of two series;
(I) 1, 3, 7,?, 21 and (II) 3, 6, 9, 12
The pattern followed in I is + 2, + 4, ..... and the pattern followed in II is + 3.
So, missing number = 7 + 6 = 13.
Hence, the answer is (4).
1 3 5 7
Ex.9 Which fraction comes next in the sequence , , , ,?
2 4 8 16
9 10 11 12
(1) (2) (3) (4)
32 17 34 35
Sol. Clearly, the numerators of the fractions in the given sequence form the series 1, 3, 5, 7, in which each term is
obtained by adding 2 to the previous term.
The denominators of the fractions form the series 2, 4, 8, 16, i.e., 21, 22, 23, 24.
So, the numerator of the next fraction will be (7 + 2) i.e. 9 and the denominator will be 2 5 i.e. 32.
9
Thus, the next term is . Hence, the answer is (1).
32
EXERCISE
Directions (Q. 1 to Q.30) : In each of the following questions, a number series is given with one term missing.
Choose the correct alternative that will continue the same pattern and replace the question mark in the given
series.
1. 1, 9, 25, 49,?, 121
(1) 64 (2) 81 (3) 91 (4) 100
2. 4, 7, 12, 19, 28,?
(1) 30 (2) 36 (3) 39 (4) 49
3. 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 25,?
(1) 26 (2) 27 (3) 29 (4) 37
4. 6, 12, 21,?, 48
(1) 33 (2) 38 (3) 40 (4) 45
5. 2, 5, 9,?, 20, 27
(1) 14 (2) 16 (3) 18 (4) 24
6. 6, 11, 21, 36, 56,?
(1) 42 (2) 51 (3) 81 (4) 91
7. 10, 18, 28, 40, 54, 70,?
CBSE-2022\Module\Advance\8th\Mental Ability\01_Verbal\07_Series.p65
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Mental Ability
ALLEN
13. 28, 33, 31, 36,?, 39
(1) 32 (2) 34 (3) 38 (4) 40
14. 125, 80, 45, 20,?
(1) 5 (2) 8 (3) 10 (4) 12
15. 2, 15, 41, 80,?
(1) 111 (2) 120 (3) 121 (4) 132
16. 6, 17, 39, 72,?
(1) 83 (2) 94 (3) 116 (4) 127
17. 325, 259, 204, 160, 127, 105,?
(1) 94 (2) 96 (3) 98 (4) 100
18. 1, 4, 10, 22, 46,?
(1) 64 (2) 86 (3) 94 (4) 122
19. 5, 6, 9, 15,?, 40
(1) 21 (2) 25 (3) 27 (4) 33
20. 2, 3, 5, 7, 11,?, 17
(1) 12 (2) 13 (3) 14 (4) 15
21. 4, 9, 25,?, 121, 169, 289, 361
(1) 49 (2) 64 (3) 81 (4) 87
22. 1, 9, 25, 49, 81,?
(1) 100 (2) 112 (3) 121 (4) 144
23. 1, 1, 4, 8, 9, 27, 16,?
(1) 32 (2) 64 (3) 81 (4) 256
24. 4, 12, 36, 108,?
(1) 144 (2) 216 (3) 304 (4) 324
25. 0.5, 0.55, 0.65, 0.8,?
(1) 0.9 (2) 0.82 (3) 1 (4) 0.95
BRAIN TEASERS
29. 7, 4, 5, 9, 20,?
(1) 48.5 (2) 49.5 (3) 52.5 (4) 46.5
30. 289, 378, 456, 512, 524,?
(1) 548 (2) 620 (3) 625 (4) 480
ANSWERS
Que. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Ans. 2 3 3 1 1 3 4 1 1 3 4 3 2 1 4 3 1 3 2 2
Que. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Ans. 1 3 2 4 3 4 4 1 3 1
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Class VIII
ALLEN
2 Alphabet series
In this type of questions, a series of single, pairs or groups of letters or combinations of letters and numerals is
given. The terms of the series form a certain pattern as regards the position of the letters in the English
alphabet. The candidate is required to decipher this pattern and accordingly find the missing term or the wrong
term in the given series.
Solved examples
Ex.1 Find the next two terms in the series: A, C, F, J,?,?
(1) L, P (2) M,O (3) O, U (4) R, V
Sol. Clearly, the first, second, third, ..... letters of the series are respectively moved two, three, four, ..... steps
forward to obtain the successive terms of the series.
Thus, the fifth term in the series must be a letter which is five steps ahead of J i.e. O, while the sixth term must
be a letter six steps ahead of O i.e. U.
Thus, we have the following pattern :
+2 +4 +5 +6
A ¾¾¾ ® C ¾¾¾ +3
® F ¾¾¾ ® J ¾¾¾ ® O ¾¾¾ ® U
So, the missing terms are O and U. Hence, the answer is (3).
Ex.2 Which term comes next in the sequence: AC, FH, KM, PR,?
(1) UW (2) VW (3) UX (4) TV
Sol. Clearly, the first and second letters of each term are moved five steps forward to obtain the corresponding
letters of the next term.
Thus, the first letter of the missing term must be five steps ahead of P i.e. U, while the second letter must be five
steps ahead of R i.e. W.
So, the missing term is UW. Hence, the answer is (1).
Ex.3 Find the next term in the series : BMO, EOQ, HQS,?
(1) KSU (2) LMN (3) SOV (4) SOW
Sol. Clearly, we observe the following pattern :
+3 +3 +3
The first letters follow the pattern + 3 i.e. B ¾¾¾ ® E ¾¾¾ ® H ¾¾¾ ® K
+2 +2 +2
The second letters follow the pattern + 2 i.e. M ¾¾¾ ® O ¾¾¾ ® Q ¾¾¾ ® S
+2 +2 +2
The third letters follow the pattern + 2 i.e. O ¾¾¾ ® Q ¾¾¾ ® S ¾¾¾ ® U
Thus, the missing term is KSU. Hence, the answer is (1).
Ex.4 Which term comes next in the series: YEB, WFD, UHG, SKI,?
(1) QOL (2) QGL (3) TOL (4) QNL
Sol. Clearly, we observe the following pattern in the first, second and third letters of the given series:
1st letter : Y ¾¾¾
–2
® W ¾¾¾
–2
® U ¾¾¾
–2
® S ¾¾¾
–2
® Q
+4
+1
2nd letter : E ¾¾¾ +2
® F ¾¾¾ +3
® H ¾¾¾ ® K ¾¾¾
® O
CBSE-2022\Module\Advance\8th\Mental Ability\01_Verbal\07_Series.p65
+2 +3 +2 +3
3rd letter : B ¾¾¾ ® D ¾¾¾ ® G ¾¾¾ ® I ¾¾¾ ® L
Thus, the missing term is QOL. Hence, the answer is (1).
Ex.5 Which term will replace the question mark in the series:
ABD, DGK, HMS, MTB, SBL,?
(1) ZKU (2) ZKW (3) ZAB (4) XKW
Sol. Clearly, the individual letters of the terms of the given series follow the pattern shown below:
+4 +5 +6
+3
1st letter : A ¾¾¾ ® D ¾¾¾ ® H ¾¾¾ ® M ¾¾¾ ® S ¾¾¾
+7
® Z
+5 +6 +9
2nd letter : B ¾¾¾ ® G ¾¾¾ ® M ¾¾¾
+7 +8
® T ¾¾¾ ® B ¾¾¾ ® K
+9 +10 +11
+7
3rd letter : D ¾¾¾ ® K ¾¾¾ +8
® S ¾¾¾ ® B ¾¾¾ ® L ¾¾¾ ® W
Thus, the missing term is ZKW. Hence, the answer is (2).
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Mental Ability
ALLEN
EXERCISE
Directions (Q.1 to Q.30) : In each of the following questions, various terms of an alphabet series are given
with one or more terms missing as shown by (?). Choose the missing terms out of the given alternatives.
1. R, U, X, A, D,?
(1) F (2) G (3) H (4) I
2. T, R, P, N, L,?,?
(1) J, G (2) J, H (3) K, H (4) K, I
3. B, D, F, I, L, P,?
(1) R (2) S (3) T (4) U
4. U, B, I, P, W,?
(1) D (2) F (3) Q (4) Z
5. H, I, K, N,?
(1) O (2) Q (3) R (4) S
6. Z,?, T,?, N,?, H,?, B
(1) W, Q, K, E (2) W, R, K, E (3) X, Q, K, E (4) X, R, K, E
7. A, G, L, P, S,?
(1) U (2) W (3) X (4) Y
8. A, D, H, M,?, Z
(1) T (2) G (3) N (4) S
9. A, I, P, V, A, E,?
(1) E (2) F (3) G (4) H
10. Z, U, Q,?, L
(1) I (2) K (3) M (4) N
11. Z, W, S, P, L, I, E,?
(1) B (2) D (3) F (4) K
12. Z, Y, X, U, T, S, P, O, N, K,?,?
(1) H,G (2) H, I (3) I, H (4) J, I
13. Y, W, T, P, K, E, X,?,?
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ALLEN
18. M, N, O, L, R, I, V,?
(1) A (2) E (3) F (4) H
19. Z, S, W, O, T, K, Q, G,?,?
(1) N, C (2) N,D (3) O, C (4) O,D
20. AB, DEF, HIJK,?, STUVWX
(1) LMNO (2) LMNOP (3) MNOPQ (4) QRSTU
21. AI, BJ, CK,?
(1) DL (2) DM (3) GH (4) LM
22. AZ, GT, MN,?, YB
(1) JH (2) SH (3) SK (4) TS
23. GH, JL, NQ, SW, YD,?
(1) EJ (2) FJ (3) EL (4) FL
24. AZ, CX, FU,?
(1) I R (2) I V (3) JQ (4) KP
25. DF, GJ, KM, NQ, RT,?
(1) UW (2) YZ (3) XZ (4) UX
26. ajs, gpy,?, sbk, yhq
(1) dmv (2) mve (3) oua (4) qzi
27. PMT, OOS, NQR, MSQ,?
(1) LUP (2) LVP (3) LVR (4) LWP
BRAIN TEASERS
ANSWERS
Que. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ans. 2 2 3 1 3 1 1 4 4 4
Que. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Ans. 1 4 2 3 4 3 3 2 1 3
Que. 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Ans. 1 2 4 3 4 2 1 1 1 1
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Mental Ability
ALLEN
3 Alpha-numeric series
This type of questions is just a jumbled form of questions of Type I and Type II, which you have just read. Here,
the terms of the given series are a combination of letters and numerals, which move according to a set pattern.
Solved examples
(1) N2676S
(2) N2676T
(3) T2670N
(4) T2676N
+3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
2nd letter: A ¾¾¾ ® D ¾¾¾ ® G ¾¾¾ ® J ¾¾¾ ® M ¾¾¾ ® P ¾¾¾ ® S
The series formed by the numerals i.e. 1,2,6,21,88,445, ..... follows the pattern × 1 + 1, × 2 + 2, × 3 + 3,
× 4 + 4, × 5 + 5, .....
Ex.2 Find the term which does not fit into the series given below :
Thus, the term J10R does not fit in the given series. The correct term is J9R. Hence, the answer is (2).
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Class VIII
ALLEN
EXERCISE
Directions (Q.1 to Q.10) : In each of the following questions, a letter-number series is given with one or more
terms missing as shown by (?). Choose the missing term out of the given alternatives.
(1) K-12, M-13 (2) L-12, M-14 (3) L-12, N-14 (4) K-12, M-14
5. 2, A, 9, B, 6, C,13, D,?
BRAIN TEASERS
ANSWERS
Qu e. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
An s . 3 4 4 1 2 3 3 3 3 3
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Mental Ability
ALLEN
4 Continuous pattern series
This type of questions usually consists of a series of small letters which follow a certain pattern. However, some
letters are missing from the series. These missing letters are then given in a proper sequence as one of the
alternatives. The candidate is required to choose this alternative as the answer.
Solved examples
5. In case, we had both the possible answers in the alternatives, we would have chosen the one that forms a more
prominent pattern, which is aabb/aaabbb/aa. Thus, our answer would have been 'bba'.
EXERCISE
Directions (Q.1 to Q.20) : In each of the following letter series, some of the letters are missing which are
given in that order as one of the alternatives below it. Choose the correct alternative.
1. _ _ aba _ _ ba _ ab
(1) abbba (2) abbab (3) baabb (4) bbaba
2. ab _ _ baa _ _ ab _
(1) aaaaa (2) aabaa (3) aabab (4) baabb
3. m _ nm _ n _ an _ a _ ma _
(1) aamnan (2) ammanm (3) aammnn (4) amammn
4. a _ ba _ b _ b _ a _ b
(1) abaab (2) abbab (3) aabba (4) bbabb
5. _ stt _ tt _ tts _
(1) tsts (2) ttst (3) sstt (4) tsst
CBSE-2022\Module\Advance\8th\Mental Ability\01_Verbal\07_Series.p65
6. _ op _ mo _ n _ _ pnmop _
(1) mnpmon (2) mpnmop (3) mnompn (4) mnpomn
7. _ nmmn _ mmnn _ mnnm_
(1) nmmn (2) mnnm (3) nnmm (4) nmnm
8. _ tu _ rt _ s _ _ usrtu _
(1) rtusru (2) rsutrr (3) rsurtr (4) rsurts
9. ba _ cb _ b _ bab_
(1) acbb (2) bacc (3) bcaa (4) cabb
10. bca _ b _ aabc _ a _ caa
(1) acab (2) bcbb (3) cbab (4) ccab
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Class VIII
ALLEN
11. _ aa _ ba _ bb _ ab _ aab
(1) aaabb (2) babab (3) bbaab (4) bbbaa
12. a _ n _ b _ _ ncb _ _ ncb
(1) abbbcc (2) abcbcb (3) bacbab (4) bcabab
13. c _ bbb _ _ abbbb _ abbb_
(1) aabcb (2) abccb (3) abacb (4) bacbb
14. c _ bba _ cab _ ac _ ab _ ac
(1) abcbc (2) acbcb (3) babcc (4) bcacb
15. cccbb _ aa _ cc _ bbbaa _ c
(1) acbc (2) baca (3) baba (4) acba
16. _ a _ b _ abaa _ bab _ abb
(1) aaabb (2) ababb (3) babab (4) babba
BRAIN TEASERS
CBSE-2022\Module\Advance\8th\Mental Ability\01_Verbal\07_Series.p65
ANSWERS
Que. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Ans. 2 2 3 4 4 1 3 4 2 1
Que. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Ans. 3 4 2 2 2 4 1 3 2 1
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Mental Ability
ALLEN
EXERCISE
QUESTIONS RELATED TO VARIOUS OLYMPIADS
1. What should come in place of the question mark (?) in the following number series?
50, 26, 14,?, 5, 3.5
(1) 6 (2) 8 (3) 10 (4) 12
2. Find the missing characters from the given series.
A, CD, GHI,?, UVWXY
(1) LMNO (2) MNO (3) MNOP (4) NOPQ
3. Choose a number from the options that will continue the same pattern and replace the question mark in the
given series.
6, 13, 25, 51, 101,?
(1) 201 (2) 202 (3) 203 (4) 205
4. Which number would replace the question mark in the series?
7, 12, 19,?, 39
(1) 39 (2) 28 (3) 26 (4) 24
5. Sonam keeps a chart of how many kms she runs each day. If the pattern continues, how many days will Sonam
take to run 6 kms?
Runing chart
Day 1 2 3 4
Distance 1 3 1
1 1 2 2
(in kms) 2 4 4
ANSWERS
Que. 1 2 3 4 5
Ans. 2 3 3 2 2
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Class VIII
Important Notes
ALLEN
CBSE-2022\Module\Advance\8th\Mental Ability\01_Verbal\07_Series.p65