Study Materials › Reasoning › Series
Series questions reward pattern recognition, not calculation. Both 2022 papers carried number, letter and mixed alpha-numeric series. The winning habit is mechanical: write the differences underneath the sequence before you try to think about it.
| Pattern | Sequence |
|---|---|
| Squares | 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100… |
| Cubes | 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343… |
| Primes | 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29… |
| Fibonacci-type | each term = sum of the previous two |
| n² + 1 | 2, 5, 10, 17, 26, 37… |
Convert letters to numbers immediately. A letter series is a number series in disguise.
Treat each track separately. A term like B19N carries three independent sequences — first letter, number, last letter. Solve them one at a time.
2, 4, 7, 12, 19, 30, ?
Differences: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 — the prime numbers.
The next prime is 13, so the answer is 30 + 13 = 43.
Note: a difference sequence that starts 2, 3, 5, 7 is nearly always primes, not a
"+1, +2, +2" pattern — check the next term before committing.
B3E, C5G, E7K, G11M, ?
Three tracks, and all three turn out to be primes:
First letters: B(2), C(3), E(5), G(7) → next is 11 = K.
Numbers: 3, 5, 7, 11 → next is 13.
Last letters: E(5), G(7), K(11), M(13) → next is 17 = Q.
Answer: K13Q.
B19N, E14P, ______, K7T, N5V
First letters: B(2), E(5), ?, K(11), N(14) — increasing by 3, so the missing one is 8 = H.
Numbers: 19, 14, ?, 7, 5 — the differences are −5, −4, −3, −2, giving
19, 14, 10, 7, 5.
Last letters: N(14), P(16), ?, T(20), V(22) — increasing by 2, so 18 = R.
Answer: H10R.
Z, X, 22, 20, R, P, 14, 12, J, ______, ______
Convert the letters to positions and the whole thing becomes one sequence:
Z = 26, X = 24, then 22, 20, then R = 18, P = 16, then 14, 12, then J = 10…
It is simply decreasing by 2 throughout, written alternately as two letters then two numbers.
Continuing: 8 falls in a letter slot → H; then 6 falls in a number slot → 6.
Answer: H, 6.
Note: the trap is answering "8, 6" or "H, F" — both appear in the options. The positions
alternate in pairs, so you must track which form the next slot takes.
1/2, 8/5, 27/10, 64/17, ______, 216/37
Split the fraction into two series.
Numerators: 1, 8, 27, 64, ?, 216 — the cubes 1³, 2³, 3³, 4³, so the missing one is 5³ = 125.
Denominators: 2, 5, 10, 17, ?, 37 — these are n² + 1, so the missing one is 5² + 1 = 26.
Answer: 125/26.
Method: never treat a fraction series as one sequence. Numerator and denominator are always
independent.
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