Series

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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.

Patterns Worth Recognising Instantly

PatternSequence
Squares1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100…
Cubes1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, 343…
Primes2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29…
Fibonacci-typeeach term = sum of the previous two
n² + 12, 5, 10, 17, 26, 37…
The routine. Take first differences. If they are constant, the series is arithmetic. If not, check whether the differences themselves form a recognisable sequence — primes and consecutive integers are the usual answers. Only if that fails should you look at ratios or squares/cubes.

Letter & Alpha-Numeric Series

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.

Worked Examples from Real Papers

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q104

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.

TS Police SI 2022 — Q79

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.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q94

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.

TS Police Constable 2022 — Q142

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.

TS Police SI 2022 — Q85

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.

Verify against the term after the gap. When the blank is in the middle, your rule must also produce the term that follows it. In the fraction question above, the 216/37 at the end confirms the cubes and n²+1 reading in one step.

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