Quantitative Reasoning · Easy · 11 of 17
Number Series puzzle #11 (easy)
Which number comes next? Rule in play: steady addition.
How to approach it
Write the gaps between neighbors under the series: 3, 3, 3, 3. They are all the same. Test your rule on every step from 14 to 26.
Plate 11 / 17 · Easy
Which number comes next?
14, 17, 20, 23, 26, ?
Tap the option you think is right, or show the answer.
Show the answer
The next number is 29 (option 1).
How to solve it
- Find the gap between neighbors: 3, 3, 3, 3.
- Each number is 3 more than the one before.
- So the next number is 26 + 3 = 29.
Why option 1 is right
29 is right: the next number is 26 + 3 = 29, and no other simple rule fits all five numbers shown, so no other option can be reached.
Why the other options are wrong
- 32 is 26 + 6, two steps at once; the series moves 3 at a time, so the next number is 29.
- Getting 30 from 26 takes a step of +4, but the rule's next step is +3, which gives 29, so 30 is 1 too high.
- Getting 28 from 26 takes a step of +2, but the rule's next step is +3, which gives 29, so 28 is 1 too low.
- Getting 27 from 26 takes a step of +1, but the rule's next step is +3, which gives 29, so 27 is 2 too low.
- 23 is 26 - 3, a step the wrong way; every step in the series adds 3.
Every option, feature by feature
| Number | Step from the one before | |
|---|---|---|
| Rule gives | 29 | +3 |
| 1 (answer) | 29 | +3 |
| 2 | 32 (wrong) | +6 (wrong) |
| 3 | 30 (wrong) | +4 (wrong) |
| 4 | 28 (wrong) | +2 (wrong) |
| 5 | 27 (wrong) | +1 (wrong) |
| 6 | 23 (wrong) | -3 (wrong) |
Read the puzzle as a table
| Number | Step from the one before | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | start |
| 2 | 17 | +3 |
| 3 | 20 | +3 |
| 4 | 23 | +3 |
| 5 | 26 | +3 |
What this puzzle trains
- Steady addition: here each number is 3 more than the one before. It trains finding the operation that links each number to the next. Read: numerical reasoning. Drill: number sequence test.
Method and more examples: Number series.
Related
- No. 01Easy number series17 easy puzzles with answers and worked solutions.
- No. 02Number Series puzzles50 puzzles, easy to hard. Which number comes next?
- No. 03Number sequence testTen number series, 30 seconds each. Find the rule.
- No. 04Number seriesThe rules behind number series, and a method that finds them.
25 puzzles · about 12 min
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