In questions where you are asked to find the missing number or in questions where there are grouped number sets, you are likely to be given a number series in a line or in a box.

You will be required to:

1. Identify the relationship (this relationship or pattern will hold true for all the numbers) between the numbers, and,
2. Use that relationship to find the missing number or the grouped number set.

Here are rules to uncovering the pattern :

If the number series is going up , that is, if each number is greater than the previous number.

Logically, this suggests that addition or multiplication is involved . This is because addition and multiplication results in numbers that are larger than previous numbers. They may be involved with a combination of other operators such as subtraction and division. Therefore, in identifying a relationship, think first about addition and/or multiplication as your first step.

If the number series is going down , that is, if each number is less than the previous number.

Logically, this suggests that subtraction or division is involved . This is because subtraction and division results in numbers that are smaller than previous numbers. They may be involved with a combination of other operators such as addition and multiplication. Therefore, in identifying a relationship, think first about subtraction and/or division as your first step.

If the number series is alternating , for example, if a number is less than the previous number and then the number that follows is greater than the previous.

Logically, this suggests that there may be more than one relationship that applies. It is likely that the relationship that holds together numbers going up are derived from addition and/or multiplication and numbers going down are derived from subtraction and/or division . If we examine the example below.

2 5 4 7 6 9 8

You can see that from 2 to 5, the pattern is adding up by three units (2 + 3 = 5) and then from 5 to 4, you are subtracting by one unit (5 – 1 = 4). You should test this on a few other numbers in the series and if they hold true, the relationship identified would be 'add three units and then minus one unit'. This pattern would then be repeated for the other numbers.

Let's go through some examples now:

No.	Question	Options
1	The numbers in each pair of brackets follow the same rule.Find the missing number.[16, 33] [7, 15] [?, 55] [2, 5]	A 26 B 27 C 56 D 111
2	The numbers in each pair of brackets follow the same rule.Find the missing number.[6, 17] [11, 32] [22, 65] [2, ?]	A 5 B 6 C 7 D 8
3	The numbers in each pair of brackets go together following the same rule. Find the missing number.[13, 52] [96, 384] [140, ?]	A 540 B 560 C 580 D 600
4	The numbers in each pair of brackets go together following the same rule. Find the missing number.[4, 6] [18, ?] [42, 63]	A 27 B 33 C 36 D 39

Key Rules to remember:

• Find the pattern
  • Numbers going up? Addition/multiplication, combination likely involved.
  • Numbers going down? Subtraction/division, combination likely involved.
• Apply the pattern

Now it's time to do your assignment.

1. Download the assignment questions here.
2. Print it out or if you want to do it electronically, save it.
3. Complete the questions to it.
4. Then check the solutions on the video below. The answer key is also on the final page of your downloaded assignment questions.

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