Civil Service Numerical Reasoning Test Number Sequences and Patterns 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the next number in the sequence: 3, 6, 12, 24, __?
- 48 (Correct answer)
- 36
- 42
- 30
Correct answer: 48
Each term doubles the previous one: 3 × 2 = 6, 6 × 2 = 12, 12 × 2 = 24, 24 × 2 = 48.
Question 2: What is the missing number: 2, 5, 10, 17, __, 37?
- 26 (Correct answer)
- 24
- 28
- 22
Correct answer: 26
Differences: +3, +5, +7, +9, +11. Next term = 17 + 9 = 26. The differences increase by 2 each time.
Question 3: What comes next: 100, 95, 85, 70, 50, __?
- 25 (Correct answer)
- 30
- 20
- 35
Correct answer: 25
Differences: −5, −10, −15, −20, −25. Next term = 50 − 25 = 25.
Question 4: What is the missing number: 1, 4, 9, 16, __, 36?
- 25 (Correct answer)
- 20
- 24
- 28
Correct answer: 25
These are perfect squares: 1², 2², 3², 4², 5², 6². The missing term is 5² = 25.
Question 5: What is the next term: 3, 7, 15, 31, __?
- 63 (Correct answer)
- 55
- 61
- 67
Correct answer: 63
Each term = (previous term × 2) + 1. 3→7: (3×2)+1=7. 7→15: (7×2)+1=15. 15→31: (15×2)+1=31. 31→63.
Question 6: What is the missing number: 48, 24, 12, __, 3?
- 6 (Correct answer)
- 8
- 4
- 9
Correct answer: 6
Each term is halved: 48 ÷ 2 = 24, 24 ÷ 2 = 12, 12 ÷ 2 = 6, 6 ÷ 2 = 3.
Civil Service Numerical Reasoning Test Number Sequences and Patterns 1
What is the next number in the sequence: 3, 6, 12, 24, __?