Series Completion Test

5
Series Completion Test
Introduction :
This chapter consists of questions in which series of numbers or alphabetical letters or both are given, which are
generally called the terms of the series. These terms follow a certain pattern throughout the series.
Type - I : Based on numbers Type - II : Based on alphabet

Type - I : Based on numbers

Number Series is one of the most important topics in NTSE. This involves picking an odd one out, finding analogies,
number series or finding the missing number. The questions do not involve heavy maths only great observation. So
with great practice you can pick up patterns fast and without solving.
Described below are some important patterns seen among questions from this topic in NTSE. Basic number series can
be formed by applying some operation on the previous number or applying operations on a series existing naturally
like whole numbers, even or odd numbers, natural numbers etc.

Introduction :
For better understading, we classify this into the following categories.
1. Difference series 2. Product series
3. Squares / Cubes series 4. Combination series
5. Miscellaneous series 6. Triangular Pattern Series

Difference Series :
The differece series can be further, classified as follows:
(A) Number series with a constant difference ; Here the difference between two consecutive numbers is always
constant. For Ex., the numbers of the series 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 ..... are such that the difference between two
consecutive terms is constant. Here this difference is 3.
(B) Number series with increasing /decreasing difference : Here the difference between consecutive terms is not
constant. It either decreases or increases, e.g. the series 10, 15, 19, 22, 24 ....

Here the difference between 1st and 2nd terms, 2nd and 3rd terms, 3rd and 4th terms and so on are 5, 4, 3, 2 respectively.
Since the difference between 22 and 24 is 2, the next difference should be 1. So, the number that comes after
24 should be 25.

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Series Completion Test

Product Series :
Consider the series 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96.

Here, each number in the series is multiplied by 2 to get the next term. So, the term that comes after 96 is 192.
Similarly we can have a series where numbers are obtained by dividing the previous term with a constant number,
e.g. consider the series 81, 27, 9, 3..... Here, each term is obtained by dividing the previous term by 3 (or in other words
by multiplying the previous term by 1/3).
1
Therefore next term will be 3 × =1
3
Consider the series 5, 25, 100, 300.......

Here, the first term is multiplied by 5 to get the second term. The second term is multiplied by 4 to get the third term.
The third term is multiplied by 3 to get the fourth term. Therefore to get the fifth term, we have to multiply fourth term
by 2, i.e.the fifth term is 600. Here each term is multiplied by decreasing factor (or it could also be an increasing factor)
to get the next term.

Squares/Cubes Series :
There can be a series where all the terms are related to the square of numbers or cube of numbers. There can be many
variations in such series. For Ex., each term of the series may be the square of a natural number su ch
as 1, 4, 9, 16 ....

Here the term that follows 16 will be square of 5, i.e. 25.

The terms of the series may be the square of odd number, e.g. 1, 9, 25, 49 ..... or even numbers e.g. 4, 16, 36, 64......
The series based on squares and cubes must be increasing at very high rate.

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 Series Completion Test

Square Numbers & Cube Numbers :

Square Numbers: Cube Numbers:

Combination Series :

This is a type of series where more than one arithmetic operation is performed.
Let us take an Ex.. 1, 3, 7, 2, 6, 10, 3, 9, 13 ......
Here the first term is multiplied by 3 to get the second term. To get the third term we add 4 to the second term. To get
the 4th term, we add 1 to the first term. After this the cycle will be repeated.
This terms 5th term = 2 × 3 = 6
6th term = 6 + 4 = 10
7th term = 2 + 1 = 3 and so on.
Consider another series, 1, 2, 6, 21, 88 ....
Here, we can observe that 88 is close to the 4 times of 21 or it is 21 × 4 + 4. Similarly 21 is 6 × 3 + 3, 6 is 2 × 2 + 2 and 2
is 1 × 1 + 1.

Miscellaneous Series :

Take the series 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 ...... It is a series of odd numbers. So the next term will be 15. There can be many
variations in miscellaneous series e.g. 2, 12, 30, 56, 90, 132 .....
This is series of product of two series, as 1 × 2, 3 × 4, 5 × 6, 7 × 8, 9 × 10, 11 × 12. We can explain this series as product
of odd number and even number series.

Triangular Pattern Series :

Sometimes, the differences between the consecutive terms of a series, again form a series. The differences between
the consecutive terms of the new series so formed, again form a series. This pattern continues till we attain a uniform
difference between the consecutive terms of the series.

Example :
Find the missing term in the series:
3, 20, 63, 144, 275, ?
(A) 354 (B) 468 (C) 548 (D) 554

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Series Completion Test

Sol. As discussed above, we may label the given series I and the form series II to IV as shown below:
Series I: 3 20 63 144 275 ?
Series II: 17 43 81 131 ?
Series II: 26 38 50 ?
Series IV: 12 12
Clearly, the pattern in series III is 12.
So, missing term in series III = 50 + 12 = 62;
missing term in series II = 131 + 62 = 193;
missing term in series I = 275 + 193 = 468.
Thus, the missing term is 468. Hence, the answer is (B).
Many of the questions in multiplication follows a rule n1  (last number)  n2

Example : 4, 9, 24, 69, Here n1  n2  3, So next number will be 3  69  3  204.

Jumping in Natural Order :

Numbers appear in the natural order/but some numbers are skipped in between.

Example : 2, 7, 12, 17,

Missing number will be 22 as we are jumping 5 natural numbers in between two numbers in the series

Jumping in Reverse Order :

This is same as above only skipping happens in reverse order.

Number Series Tricks :

Wrong Number Series :
Sometimes, a question is asked to find out the wrong number in a series. This is a bit difficult task. This is because
from the point where you get a wrong number, all other succeeding numbers would also be look wrong. See the
following Ex..

Examples :
1. Find the wrong number in the following series. 15, 46, 63, 71, 75, 77, 78

Sol. In this question, If you start from the beginning, firstly the difference is 31, then the difference is 17,
then the difference is 8. So there is no logic. If you start backwards, you can see that firstly, 1is added,
then 2 is added, then 4 is added, then 8, 16 and 32 should have been added. So you have got the right
clue. So 15+32 the first number should be 47 and afterwards, the series becomes + 16, +8, +4 and so on.

2. Find the wrong number in the following series. 10, 21, 43, 85, 175
Sol. In this question, the logic involved is (Previous number)  2  1 only. But the error lies where instead of
43 (Previous number)  2  1 =87, 85 has been given. So 85 is the wrong number..

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 Series Completion Test

3. Find the wrong number in the series:

7, 28, 63, 124, 215, 342, 511
(A) 7 (B) 28 (C) 124 (D) 342
Sol. Clearly, the correct sequence is
23 - 1, 33 - 1, 43 - 1, 53 - 1, 63 - 1, 73 - 1, 83 - 1.
So, 28 is wrong and should be replaced by (3 3 - 1) i.e. 26.
Hence the answer is (B).
4. Find the wrong number in the series:
3, 8, 15, 24, 34, 48, 63
(A) 15 (B) 24 (C) 34 (D) 48 (E) 63
Sol. The difference between consecutive terms of the given series are respectively 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 and 15
Clearly, 34 is a wrong number and must be replaced by (24 + 11) i.e. 35.
Hence, the answer is (C).
5. Identify the wrong number in the series:
69, 55, 26, 13, 5
(A) 5 (B) 13 (C) 26 (D) 55
Sol. Clearly, in the given series, each term is one more than the product of the digits of the preceding term.
Thus, (6  9) + 1 = 55, (5  5) + 1 = 26, (2  6) + 1 = 13. by (1  3) + 1 i.e. 4.
Hence, the answer is (A).

Replacing the Wrong Number :

Sometimes, the question is related to not only finding the number but also the number which should replace the wrong
number identified. You can see the following Ex..
6. In the following series, a wrong number is given. Find out that wrong number, and decide which option should
replace that wrong number. 1, 4, 8, 9, 25, 16, 64
Sol. In this sequence, two consecutive series are going simultaneously relating to perfect cubes and perfect
squares respectively, Firstly 1 cube is given, then 2 cube is given, then 3 cube should have been there
which should be 27, but 25 is written at that place. And then there is the cube of 4, i.e. 64. And the series
given is alternately square of 2, then square of 3 and then square of 4 and so on.

7. In the following series, a wrong number is given. Find out the wrong number, and decide which option should
replace that wrong number.

Sol. In this question the series is related to +2, +3, +4 and then there is +4 again, then +7, it seems odd. Instead
of second + 4 there should be + 5. This means 14 + 5 = 19, should be there instead of 18. And thereafter,
the series would become + 6 and + 7 and it would be right logical series. So 19 is the answer.

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Series Completion Test

Twin Series :
This is a newly included type of series in which two series are given, and below that the starting point of another
series is given. Now you are supposed to analyze the logic from the first series and apply the same logic to form the
second series.
8. In the following question a series is given and it is followed by the starting point of another series. After this, a
question is given, you have to complete the second series by applying the same logic as in the first given series,
and then you have to answer the question.

5 8 12 17 23 30
9 a b c d e

Which number should come in place of c?

Sol. In this question, it can be analyzed that the difference between the numbers is 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7. So you
have to apply the same logic and start the series with 9. The first number after 9 would be 9 + 3 = 12
(This would replace letter a), the second number would be 12 + 4 = 16 (this would replace letter b) and the
third number would be 16 + 5 = 21 (this would replace the letter c). You need not to go further because the
question is related to c only.

9. In the following question, a series is given and it is followed by the starting point of another series. After this a
question is given, you have to complete the second series by applying the same logic as in the first given series,
and then you have to answer the question.
8 9 13 22 38 63
12 a b c d e
Which number should come in place of d?
Sol. In this question, the squares of the natural numbers are added. Firstly1 is added, then 4, then 9 and so on.
You have to apply the same logic and add 1, 4, 9 and 16 to get the value of d. After adding 1, you’ll get
13 which is the value of a, then after adding 4 you’ll get 17, which is the value of b, after an addition of
9 you’ll get 26 which is the value of c. After this add 16 and get 42, which is the value of d.
10. In the following question, a series is given and it is followed by the starting point of another series. After this a
question is given, you have to complete the second series by applying the same logic as in the first given series,
and then you have to answer the question.

2 3 5 7 11 13
23 a b c d e
Which number should come in place of b?
Sol. In this case, it can be seen that the series is of prime numbers. As the second series is starting from 23,
the next prime number is 29 (which is at the place of a), thereafter the next prime number is 31 (which
would be at the place of b) and is the right answer.

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 Series Completion Test

Some other Common types of Number Series involve the following types of Logic :
1. Prime Numbers :
3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, ? Ans. 19

2. Successive addition, Deletion, Multiplication etc.

4, 6, 10, 16, 24, 34, ...?...60 Add + 2, + 6, + 8, +10, ... Ans. 46

3. Adding different numbers at regular intervals :

17, 23, 29, 35, ...?...., 47 Adding 6 each time Ans. 41
8, 23, 44, ....., 104, 143 Adding 15, 21, 27, etc. Having a fixed gap of 6 each Ans. 71

4. Adding/deleting prime/odd/even numbers in the preceding terms :

1, 2, 5, 10, 17, ...? ....37 Adding odd numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 Ans. 26

5. Terms regularly multiplied/divided by natural/odd/even numbers

The next number, as is clear from the above Examples, should be 480 x 6 = 2880

6. Square/Cube of a number Plus/Minus any natural number

Ex. : 2, 10, 30, 68, ... ? ..., 222 13  1, 23  2,33  3, 43  4..... Ans. 130
Ex. : 0, 2, 6, 12, ... ? ...., 30 12  1, 22  2,32  3, 42  4, 52  5 And. 20
Sometimes a double series combining numbers and letters may also be given. The logic involved in such cases is
also the same as discussed earlier. Questions on wrong or misfit number in the series involve the same kind of
logic which was discussed before. Look at this one:

We have to find the number which is a misfit in the series. As illustrated above, the last number in the series
should have been 6240, which is not there. Therefore 6250 is correct answer.
11. In the following number sequence how many 4’s are there that are immediately preceded by 6 and immediately
followed by 5 : 342654364564538746821764586459745
Sol. In the given number sequence

645 645 645 645

3426543 387468217 8 9745
1 2 3 4

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Series Completion Test

Type - II : Based on alphabet

Letter Series :
Letter series just mean finding the next letter in the series or wrong/misfit letter in the given series. Solving these
questions means just thinking about the English Alphabet in an objective manner.

When solving such questions, always keep handy the alphabet sequence (in natural and reverse order) and their
position. Described below are some important patterns seen among questions from this topic in NTSE.

Jumping in Natural Order :

Letters appear in the natural order but some letters are skipped in between e.g. ACE, natural order sequence kipping
1 letter in between.
The number of letters skipped have its own pattern. E.g. 2 each, 3 each or 1, 2, 3 (i.e. increasing natural numbers)
or 1, 3, 5, 7 ..... (i.e. increasing odd numbers)
Examples :
1. B, D, F, H, J,? (alphabet series)
(A) L (B) O (C) M (D) K

Sol.(A) The series follows the pattern of moving the letters two steps forward

Jumping in Reverse Order :

This is same as above only skipping happens in reverse order. i.e. ECA, skips 1 letter in reverse order.
Sometimes some common letters are placed and the above mentioned pattern is seen around those e.g. JOPK, BOPC,
QOPR
2. X, O, I, F, ? (Alphabet series)
(A) D (B) F (C) B (D) E

Sol.(B) Next number will be F

The series follows the sequence of the difference decreasing by 3 i.e.
Combination of two series is also done, where two patterns
exist one between the odd positioned latters and another
between even positioned letters.

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 Series Completion Test

Repeating Series :
In this type of series letters of the alphabet are used to make a set of letters which are repeated. The candidate has to
find the set of letters which will fit the blanks left in the given series in such a manner that one section of the series is
further repeated in the same manner.
3. Which of the following groups of letters will complete the given series?
ba-b-aab-a-b
(A) baab (B) abba (C) abaa (D) babb

Sol.(B) Try by putting letters into the blank one by one and and stop where you see pattern not getting
created. Putting abba into the series we get baabbaabbaab (repeating series)
4. aab–aaa–bba–
(A) baa (B) abb (C) bab
(D) aab (E) bbb

Observe the above Letter Series :

(i) The first blank space should be filled in by ‘b’ so that two a’s are followed by two b’s.
(ii) The second blank space should be filled in by either ‘a’ in which case four ‘a’ s are followed by two ‘b’s.
(iii) The last space must be filled in by ‘a’.
(iv) Possible answers are b a a of b b a. Since the alternatives contain only ‘b a a’, (A) is the answer.
(v) In case ‘b a a’ and b b a’ had appeared as possible alternatives, then we would choose one which is a more
prominent pattern.
a a b b/a a a b b b/a a
Would be a better choice so that the answer in that case would be b b a.

5. a–aab–aaaab–
(A) aaa (B) aab (C) aba
(D) baa (E) bab

Possible series could be :

aaaabaaaaabb or abaabbaaaabb
Of the two possible answers i.e., a, a, b and b, b, b only the fiest appears as an alternative and is therefore the only
choice.
6. abb––ab–b–bba–a
(A) babba (B) bbbab (C) abaab
(D) bbabb (E) babab
Sol.(B)
7. ab––a–dcacb–acd-
(A) dcbdb (B) cdbbd (C) dabdb
(D) cdbbd (E) cdbdb
The following pattern fits well
Answer is alternative (E).

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Series Completion Test

Miscellaneous :
Vowels and Consonants – Letter series can be made of vowels and consonants arranged in a certain pattern. e.g. first
letter is a vowel followed by three consecutive letters, or a group contains one consonant and two repeating vowels.
Letter patterns-Letters can be defined by their pattern. e.g. Between CS, EV, OU only EV is formed by straight lines.
Between TVL FEH, KCW only KCW has letter that is curved
Below is given a series of letter-groups with one term missing as shown by (?). This term is given as one of the
alternatives among the five groups of letter given under it. Let us examine a few questions and try to find the missing
term.
8. APZLG, CQYNR, ERXPP, GSWRN, ITVTL, (?)
(A) KUUVJ (B) KVUUJ (C) JUVUR
(D) LATER (E) TABLE
Let us examine letters in the Ist place in each letter group. We have A, C, E, G, I. These are letters coming with
a gap of one letter. Hence the missing term should start with K.
Letters in the second place are
P, Q, R, S, T Nest should be U.
Letters in the third place are
Z, Y, X, W, V There are continuous letters in the reverse order. Hence next letter should be U.
With two letters only we could say that the answer is (1). The third letter confirms the same.

9. ZYYZR, ABVUM, ?, BCUTL, XWABT, CDTSK

(A) YXZAS (B) ZYABT (C) XWYZR
(D) YXZAB (E) ZXYBS
A careful look will show that there are two series of groups of letters namely.
(i) ZYYZR, (?), XWABT
(ii) ABVUM, BCUTL, CDTSK
In the first series, let us see the realtion of letters in different positions.
Position Rule (?)
I Z?X 1 letter backwardY
II Y?W 1 letter backwardX
III Y?A 1 letter forward Z
IV Z?B 1 letter forward A
V R?T 1 letter forward S
Hence the missing letter group is YXZAS i.e. (I) is the answer.

10. ACEGI, JLNPR, SUWYA, (?), KMOQS

(A) LBGHI (B) ADJFH (C) YWXAC
(D) BDFHJ (E) CFILO
A-C-E-G-I, i.e. There is a gap of one letter in the first group. Second group starts with J, i.e. immediately after
the last letter I in the first gruop, and there is a gap of one J-L-N-P-R. Following this pattern the answer is
BDFHJ i.e. (4)

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 Series Completion Test

MORE SOLVED EXAMPLES [NUMBER SERIES]

1. 2 5 8 11 14 17
Analysis :
In this problem, each term is obtained by adding 3 to its previous term. In other words, the difference between any two
consecutive terms remains constant and it is 3.
In shortcut, the pattern is indicated as under

Ans. 20

2. 3 4 6 9 13 18
Analysis :
In this problem, the difference between two consecutive terms is constantly increasing by 1.
In shortcut, the pattern is indicated as under.

Ans. 24
Note : From now onwards, we use only shortcut method to explain the pattern followed.

3. 4 8 16 32 64 _____
Analysis :

Ans. 128

4. 729 243 81 27 ___ 3

Analysis :

Ans. 9

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5. 2 5 11 23 47 95
Analysis :

In the above pattern, the difference between two consecutive terms is doubling in each step. From the above, it is
clear that the same problem can be tackled in two different methods. Hence, different patterns can be identified for the
same problem in certain cases.
Ans. 191

6. 1 2 5 16 65 ___
Analysis :

Ans. 326

7. 1 2 6 21 88 ___
Analysis :

Ans. 445

8. 126 62 30 14 ___ 2
Analysis :

Ans. 6

9. 2 3 5 7 11 13 ___
Analysis :
In this problem, the terms are consecutive prime numbers. The next prime after 13 is 17. Hence, the missing term is 17.
Ans. 17

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 Series Completion Test

10. 2 5 11 17 23 31 ___
Analysis :
In this problem, the terms are alternate prime numbers. 37 and 41 are the next two prime numbers after 31. By skipping
37, we should take 41 as the correct missing number.
Ans. 41

11. 1 4 9 16 25 ___
Analysis :
All the terms in the above problem are perfect squares of natural numbers. Hence, the missing number is 36. In
shortcut method, the pattern is indicated as under :

Ans. 36

12. 5 10 17 26 __ 50
Analysis :

Ans. 37

13. 2 6 12 20 30 42 ___
Analysis :

The above problem can be tackled by a few different methods also.

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Series Completion Test

Ans. 56

14. 2 9 28 65 126 ___

Analysis :

Ans. 217

15. 2 12 36 80 150 ___

Analysis :

Ans. 252

16. 11 13 17 25 32 ___ 47
This is a tricky problem. If we analyse the first four terms, it appears as if the difference between two consecutive
terms keeps on doubling in each stage. However, this pattern does not hold between the two consecutive terms keeps
on doubling in each stage. However, this pattern does not hold between the two consecutive terms 25 and 32.
Hence, we should think of some different pattern.
Take any term. Find the sum of digits of the term and add it to the same term. We get the next term. This pattern
continues throughout the series. By applying this pattern, we can find the missing term as 37.

Ans. 37

17. 13 16 22 26 38 62 __ 102
Analysis :
In this problem, product of the digits of a term is added to the term to get the next term.

Ans. 74

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18. 4 5 9 18 34 ___ 95
Analysis :

Ans. 59
19. 2 3 4 6 12 ___ 156
Analysis :

Ans. 36

20. 2 3 10 15 26 35 ___
Analysis :

Ans. 50

21. 2 6 15 64 315 ___

Analysis :

Ans. 1896

22. 1 2 3 3 5 5 7 7 9 11 ___ ___

Analysis :
We could not notice any common pattern in the above series. On close observation, We notice that it is a combination
of two series. We Shall take the terms only at odd-numbered positions and analyse the pattern first.

Now, we shall take the numbers at even-numbered positions and analyse the pattern.
2 3 5 7 11 ___

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The term are consecutive prime numbers. Hence the missing number in this series is 13, which is the next prime
number.
This type of series is called twin series or comination/mixed series.
Ans. 11, 13

23. 1 2 2 3 6 5 24 8 120 ___

Analysis :
This problem is again a combination series. Let us take the alternate terms and analyse the pattern first. The terms at
odd-numbered position follow the pattern given as follows :

The terms at even-numbered positions can be analysed as under

Hence, the missing number is 12

Ans. 12

24. 4 12 15 60 64 320 325 ___

Analysis :

Ans. 1950

25. 61 52 63 94 46 ___
Analysis :
This is a tricky problem. Closely observe each term of the series. On interchanging the digits of each term, we get a
number which is a perfect square of a natural number.
The first term is obtained by interchanging the digits of 4 2 . The second term is obtained by interchanging the digits
of 52 . and so on.
So, we can get the missing term by interchanging the digits of 9 2 . Hence, 18 is the missing number.
Ans. 18

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 Series Completion Test

MORE SOLVED EXAMPLES [LETTER SERIES]

TYPE 1 :
Find the missing terms in the following letter series.
1. A C F J ___
(A) K (B) M (C) N (D) O
Analysis : It is an alphabetical progression. Between A and C, one letter B is skipped, between C and F, two letters D
and E are skipped. Between F and J, three letters (G, H and I) are skipped. Hence, after J we should skip four letters K,
L, M and N to get the correct answer. So, The missing letter is O.
The pattern can be indicated as under:

Ans. (D)
2. S C T B V A ___ Z C
(A) X (B) Y (C) Z (D) A
Analysis : It is a mixed series. The letters at the odd-numbered positions form one series and the letters at the
even-numbered positions form another series.
Consider the letter series S T V ___ C. In this series, between S and T, no letter is skipped.
Between T and V, one letter U is skipped. Hence, after V, we should skip two letters W and X to find the missing letter.
Therefore, the answer is Y.
After Y, if we skip three letters (i.e., Z, A and B), we get the letter C which is the next letter of the series.
The other series is C B A Z. These are all consecutive letters in the reverse order. The pattern can be
indicated as follows:

Ans. (B)
3. JAZ LEX NIV PMT ___
(A) QUR (B) RQR (C) RUS (D) SUR
Analysis : In this problem, each term contains three letters. One letter is skipped forward between the first letters of
the consecutive terms. Three letters are skipped forward between the second letters of the consecutive terms. One
letter is skipped backward between the third letters of the consecutive terms. The pattern followed is indicated here.

On applying the same pattern, the missing term is found to be RQR.

Ans. (B)

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Series Completion Test

4. L O J Q H S ___
(A) F (B) V (C) X (D) U
Analysis : It is a mixed series. Letters O, Q and S are in the right order with one letter skipped in between them. Letters
L, J and H are in the reverse order with one letter skipped in between them.

On applying the above pattern, we notice that the missing term is F.

Ans. (A)

5. AKU FPZ ___ PZJ UEO ZJT

(A) JTD (B) KUE (C) KVE (D) JUE
Analysis : Each term contains three letters. Observe the number of letters skipped between the respective letters of
each term. We notice that four letters are skipped between respective letters of consecutive terms.

Thus, the missing term is KUE.

Ans. (B)

6. BAU DET GIS KOR ___

(A) PUQ (B) PSQ (C) OTQ (D) QTS
Analysis : Find the pattern followed by the respective letters of the terms.

By following the shown pattern, the first and third letters of the missing term are P and Q respectively. Observe that
the second letter of each term is a vowel. The next vowel U should be the second letter of the missing term. Hence, the
missing term is PUZ
Ans. (A)

7. M W F S T T ___
(A) V (B) X (C) S (D) M
Analysis : This is a tricky question. Each term of the given series is the first letter of alternate days in a week.
M: Monday; W: Wednesday; F: Friday; S: Sunday; T: Tuesday; T: Thursday.
So, the next letter should be S, which is the first letter of saturday.
Ans. (C)

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 Series Completion Test

TYPE 2 :
In this type, a letter series is given with some blank spaces in between. Each blank space represents a letter. Students should
observe the series and find out the pattern followed by the letters. Five options are given, in which each option contains as
many letters as there are blank spaces in the series. However, only the letters from one of the options fits into the blank spaces
in the same order. Students have to analyse the pattern of letters in the series and select the appropriate option.
1. a __ c __ b __ a b __ a __ c a __ c
(A) accbab (B) acbbca (C) abaccb (D) baccbb
Analysis : By inspection, we notice that the set of letters ‘a b c’ repeats five times in the series. If the letters b, a, c, c,
b and b are placed in the blanks in the same order, the pattern gets completed. Therefore, the correct alternative is (4).
Ans. (D)

2. a __ __ a a __ c __ a b __ a
(A) bccab (B) bacac (C) abcbc (D) acabc
Analysis : In this Ex., the set of letters ‘a b c a’ is repeated thrice.
Ans. (C)

3. __ b __ b c a __ a __ a b __
(A) acccb (B) accbc (C) abcbc (D) acabc
Analysis : Here, the series is a b c b c a c a b a b c. The set of three letters is appearing in a cyclic manner. Therefore,
the series can be completed by filling the blanks with a c c b c.
Ans. (B)

4. a __ m __ n n c __ o d __ p
(A) mbop (B) lbcd (C) maod (D) mnop
Analysis : In this Ex., same letters are not repeated. By observation, we notice that the series is a
mmbnn coodpp
And. (A)

5. y __ y __ y y __ __ y y y __ y y __ y
(A) yyyyyx (B) xxyxxy (C) yyx xx y (D) x yx yx y
Analysis : The series is y x y y y y x y y y y x y y y y
Thus, in each successive term, ‘x’ moves one position forward and ‘y’ occupies its place. Finally, in the fourth term,
x disappears.
Ans. (D)

6. k k __ k k k __ k k k k __ k k k k __ p
(A) ppkk (B) kkpp (C) pppp (D) pppk
Analysis : The series is k k p kkkp kkkkp kkkkkp
We notice that the number of ‘k’ is increasing by one in each successive term
Ans. (D)

Course for NTSE 69 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

7. a b __ c __ c __ a __ a b __ a __ c c
(A) bbccab (B) aabcba (C) cbacbb (D) bacbbc
Analysis : The series is a b c c bcaa ca bb a bcc
Ans. (C)

8. a b __ a __ b __ c c __ a a b b b __ __ c
(A) abcabb (B) cabacc (C) cabcbc (D) cbbcaa
Analysis : Here, the number of times the letters repeat in successive terms is increasing.
Thus, the series is a b c aabbcc aaabbbccc
Ans. (B)
9. g g __ __ h h k k __ g g h __ k k g __ k
(A) ghkhh (B) ghkhg (C) kgkgh (D) hgkgh
Analysis : The series is g g g, h h h, k k k, g g, h h, kk, g, h, k
Ans. (A)
10. m n __ __ n m __ n p p __ m __ n p p __ m
(A) npmnpm (B) ppnmnm (C) mmppnn (D) ppmnmn
Analysis : In this series, the set of letters ‘m n p’ and ‘p n m’ appear alternately.
mnp pnm mnp pnm mnp pnm
Ans. (D)

PRACTICE EXERCISES

PRACTICE EXERCISE - 1

Directions [1-48] : Choose the correct alternative that will 5. 125, 80, 45, 20, ?
continue the same pattern and replace the question mark in (A) 5 (B) 8
the given series. (C) 10 (D) 12
1.  120, 99, 80, 63, 48, ? 6. 1, 1, 4, 8, 9, 27, 16, ?
(A) 35 (B) 38 (A) 32 (B) 64
(C) 39 (D) 40 (C) 81 (D) 256
2. 589654237, 89654237, 8965423, 965423, ? 7.  1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 18, ?, 54
(A) 58965 (B) 65423 (A) 18 (B) 27
(C) 89654 (D) 96542 (C) 36 (D) 81
3. 3, 10, 101,? 8. 6, 13, 25, 51, 101, ?
(A) 10101 (B) 10201 (A) 201 (B) 202
(C) 10202 (D) 11012 (C) 203 (D) 205
4. In the series 2, 6, 18, 54, ...... what will be the 8th 9. 5,6,9, 15, ?, 40
term ? (A) 21 (B) 25
(A) 4370 (B) 4374 (C) 27 (D) 33
(C) 7443 (D) 7434

Course for NTSE 70 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

10.  1, 3, 4, 8, 15, 27, ? 22. 22, 24, 28, ?, 52, 84

(A) 37 (B) 44 (A) 36 (B) 38
(C) 50 (D) 55 (C) 42 (D) 46
11.  3, 4, 7, 7, 13, 13, 21, 22, 31, 34, ? 23. 3, 15, ?, 63, 99, 143
(A) 42 (B) 43 (A) 27 (B) 35
(C) 51 (D) 52 (C) 45 (D) 56
12. 198, 194, 185, 169, ? 24. 90, 180, 12, 50, 100, 200, ?, 3, 50, 4, 25, 2, 6, 30, 3
(A) 92 (B) 112 (A) 150 (B) 175
(C) 136 (D) 144 (C) 225 (D) 250
13. 2, 3, 5,7,11,?, 17 25. 48, 24, 96, 48, 192, ?
(A) 12 (B) 13 (A) 76 (B) 90
(C) 14 (D) 15 (C) 96 (D) 98
14. 6, 12, 21, ?, 48 26.  2,15,41,80,?
(A) 33 (B) 38 (A) 111 (B) 120
(C) 40 (D) 45 (C) 121 (D) 132
15. Which term of the series 5, 10, 20, 40, ..... is 1280? 27. 6, 11, 21, 36, 56, ?
(A) 10th (B) 9th (A) 42 (B) 51
(C) 8th (D) None of these (C) 81 (D) 91
16. 2, 5, 9, ?, 20, 27 28. 563, 647, 479, 815, ?
(A) 14 (B) 16 (A) 672 (B) 386
(C) 18 (D) 24 (C) 279 (D) 143
17.  2, 3, 3, 5, 10, 13, ?, 43, 172, 177 29. 13, 35, 57, 79, 911, ?
(A) 23 (B) 38 (A) 1110 (B) 1112
(C) 39 (D) 40 (C) 1113 (D) 1315
18.  9, 27, 31, 155, 161, 1127, ? 30. 1, 4, 10, 22, 46, ?
(A) 316 (B) 1135 (A) 64 (B) 86
(C) 1288 (D) 2254 (C) 94 (D) 122
19.  2, 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 10, 11, ? 31.  66, 36, 18, ?
(A) 9 (B) 10 (A) 3 (B) 6
(C) 11 (D) 12 (C) 8 (D) 9
20. Which of the following will not be a number of the 32. In the series 3, 9, 15, ...... what will be the 21st
series 1, 8, 27, 64, 125,.....? term?
(A) 256 (B) 512 (A) 117 (B) 121
(C) 729 (D) 1000 (C) 123 (D) 129
21. 13, 32, 24, 43, 35, ?, 46, 65, 57, 76 33. 28, 33, 31, 36, ?, 39
(A) 45 (B) 52 (A) 32 (B) 34
(C) 54 (D) 55 (C) 38 (D) 40

Course for NTSE 71 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

34. 1, 9, 25, 49, 81, ? 46.  10, 100, 200, 310, ?

(A) 100 (B) 112 (A) 400 (B) 410
(C) 121 (D) 144 (C) 420 (D) 430
35.  1, 9, 25, 49, ?, 121 47. 11, 10, ?, 100, 1001, 1000, 10001
(A) 64 (B) 81 (A) 101 (B) 110
(C) 91 (D) 100 (C) 111 (D) None of these
36. 2, 2, 5, 13, 28, ? 48.  2, 7, 27, 107, 427, ?
(A) 49 (B) 50 (A) 1262 (B) 1707
(C) 51 (D) 52 (C) 4027 (D) 4207
37. 0, 2, 8, 14, ?, 34
PRACTICE EXERCISE - 2
(A) 20 (B) 23
(C) 24. (D) 25 Directions [1-15]: Find out the wrong number in the given
38.  1, 5, 14, 30, 55, 91, ? sequence of numbers.
(A) 130 (B) 140 1.  582, 605, 588, 611, 634, 617, 600
(C) 150 (D) 160 (A) 634 (B) 611
39. In the series 10, 17, 24, 31, 38,.....which of the (C) 605 (D) 600
following will be a number of the series ? 2. 22, 33, 66, 99, 121, 279, 594
(A) 48 (B) 346 (A) 33 (B) 121
(C) 574 (D) 1003 (C) 279 (D) 594
40. 240, ?, 120, 40, 10, 2 3. 8, 13, 21, 32, 47, 63, 83
(A) 180 (B) 240 (A) 47 (B) 63
(C) 420 (D) 480 (C) 32 (D) 83
41.  2, 3, 8, 27, 112, ? 4. 1, 8, 27, 64, 124, 216, 343
(A) 226 (B) 339 (A) 8 (B) 27
(C) 452 (D) 565 (C) 64 (D) 124
42. 6, 17, 39, 72, ? 5.  1, 2, 6, 15, 31, 56, 91
(A) 83 (B) 94 (A) 31 (B) 91
(C) 116 (D) 127 (C) 56 (D) 15
43. 20, 20, 19, 16, 17, 13, 14, 11, ?, ? 6.  52, 51, 48, 43, 34, 27, 16
(A) 10, 10 (B) 10, 11 (A) 27 (B) 34
(C) 13, 14 (D) 13, 16 (C) 43 (D) 48
44. 24, 60, 120, 210, ? 7. 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
(A) 300 (B) 336 (A) 10 (B) 11
(C) 420 (D) 525 (C) 12 (D) 9
45.  625, 5, 125, 25, 25, ?, 5 8.  105, 85, 60, 30, 0, -45, -90
(A) 5 (B) 25 (A) 0 (B) 85
(C) 125 (D) 625 (C) -45 (D) 60

Course for NTSE 72 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

9.  5, 16, 6, 16, 7, 16, 9 5. _ tu _ rt _ s _ _ usrtu _

(A) 9 (B) 7 (A) rtusru (B) rsutrr
(C) 6 (D) None of these (C) rsurtr (D) rsurts
10.  125, 127, 130, 135, 142, 153, 165 6. _ _aba _ _ ba _ ab
(A) 130 (B) 142 (A) abbba (B) abbab
(C) 153 (D) 165 (C) baabb (D) bbaba
11. 46080, 3840, 384, 48, 24, 2, 1 7. c _ bbb _ _ abbbb _ abbb _
(A) 1 (B) 2 (A) aabcb (B) abccb
(C) 24 (D) 384 (C) abacb (D) baebb
12.  6, 13, 18, 25, 30, 37, 40 8. _ bbca _ bcca _ ac _ a _ cb
(A) 25 (B) 30 (A) abeba (B) acbab
(C) 37 (D) 40 (C) bacab (D) bcaajb
13.  36, 54, 18, 27, 9, 18.5, 4.5 9. a _ bbc _ aab _ cca _ bbcc
(A) 4.5 (B) 18.5 (A) bacb (B) acba
(C) 54 (D) 18 (C) abba (D) caba
14.  56, 72, 90, 110, 132, 150 10. ac _ cab _ baca _ aba _ acac
(A) 72 (B) 110 (A) aacb (B) aebe
(C) 132 (D) 150 (C) babb (D) bcbb
15. 25, 36, 49, 81, 121, 169, 225 11. _ aa _ ba _ bb _ ab _ aab
(A) 36 (B) 49 (A) aaabb (B) babab
(C) 121 (D) 169 (C) bbaab (D) bbbaa
12. c _ bba _ cab _ ac _ ab _ ac
PRACTICE EXERCISE - 3
(A) abebe (B) acbcb
Directions [1 - 25]: In each of the following letter series, (C) babec (D) bcacb
some of the letters are missing which are given in that order 13. ba _ cb _ b _ bab _
as one of the alternatives below it. Choose the correct (A) acbb (B) bacc
alternative. (C) bcaa (D) cabb
1. _ stt _ tt _ tts _ 14. _ bc _ ca _ aba _ c _ ca
(A) tsts (B) ttst (A) abcbb (B) bbbec
(C) sstt (D) tsst (C) bacba (D) abbec
2. gfe _ ig _ eii _ fei _ gf_ ii 15. ab _ _ baa _ _ ab _
(A) eifgi (B) figie (A) aaaaa (B) aabaa
(C) ifgie (D) ifige (C) aabab (D) baabb
3. _ a _ b _ abaa _ bab _ abb 16. ab _ aa _ bbb _ aaa _ bbba
(A) aaabb (B) ababb (A) abba (B) baab
(C) babab (D) babba (C) aaab (D) abab
4. abca _ bcaab _ ca _ bbc _ a 17. _ nmmn _ mmnn _ mnnm _
(A) ccaa (B) bbaa (A) nmmn (B) mnnm
(C) abac (D) abba (C) nnmm (D) nmnm

Course for NTSE 73 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

18. a _ n _ b _ _ ncb _ _ ncb 4. Z, S, W, O, T, K, Q, G, ?, ?

(A) abbbec (B) abebeb (A) N, C (B) N, D
(C) bacbab (D) bcabab (C) O, C (D) O, D
19. a _ ba _ b _ b _ a _ b 5. bedf?hj?l
(A) abaab (B) abbab (A) im (B) mi
(C) aabba (D) bbabb (C) in (D) jm
20. cccbb _ aa _ cc _ bbbaa _ c 6. A, G, L, P, S, ?
(A) aebe (B) baca (A) U (B) W
(C) baba (D) acba (C) X (D) Y
21.  bca _ b _ aabc __ a __ caa 7. ajs, gpy, ?, sbk, yhq
(A) acab (B) bcbb (A) dmv (B) mve
(C) cbab (D) ccab (C) oua (D) qzi
22. ab __ d __ aaba __ na _ badna _ b 8. AB, DEF, HIJK, ?, STUVWX
(A) andaa (B) babda (A) LMNO (B) LMNOP
(C) badna (D) dbanb (C) MNOPQ (D) QRSTU
23. m _ nm _ n _ an _ a _ ma _ 9. Y, B, T, G, O, ?
(A) aamnan (B) ammanm (A) N (B) M
(C) aammnn (D) amammn (C) L (D) K
24. _bcc _ ac _ aabb _ ab _ cc 10. C, Z, F, X, I, V, L, T, O, ?, ?
(A) aabca (B) abaca (A) O, P (B) P, Q
(C) bacab (D) bcaca (C) R, R (D) S, R
25. _ op _ mo _ n _ _ pnmop _. 11. A, B, B, D, C, F, D; H, E, ?, ?
(A) mnpmon (B) mpnmop (A) E, F (B) F, G
(C) mnompn (D) mnpomn (C) F, I (D) J, F
(E) J, K
PRACTICE EXERCISE - 4
12. Z, X, S, I, R, R, ?, ?
Directions: In each of the following questions, various terms (A) G,I (B) J, I
of an alphabet series are given with one or more terms missing (C) J,K (D) K,M
as shown by (?). Choose the missing terms out of the given
13. AYBZC, DWEXF, GUHVI, JSKTL, ?
alternatives.
(A) MQORN (B) MQNRO
1.  WFB, TGD, QHG, ? (C) NQMOR (D) QMONR
(A) NIJ (B) NIK
14. T, R, P, N, L, ?, ?
(C) NJK (D) OIK
(E) PJK (A) J, G (B) J, H
(C) K, H (D) K, I
2. AZ, GT, MN, ?, YB
(A) JH (B) SH 15. PMT, OOS, NQR, MSQ, ?
(C) SK (D) TS (A) LUP (B) LVP
(C) LVR (D) LWP
3. H, I, K, N, ?
(A) O (B) Q
(C) R (D) S

Course for NTSE 74 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

16. A, B, N, C, D, O, E, F, P, ?, ?, ? 26. Z, U, Q, ?, L
(A) G, H, I (B) G, H, J (A) I (B) K
(C) G, H, Q (D) J, K, L (C) M (D) N
17. GH, JL, NQ, SW, YD, ? 27. M, N, O, L, R, I, V, ?
(A) EJ (B) FJ (A) A (B) E
(C) EL (D) FL (C) F (D) H
18. R, U, X, A, D, ? (E) Z
(A) F (B) G 28.  B, D, F, I, L, P, ?
(C) H (D) I (A) R (B) S
19. AYD, BVF, DRH, ?, KGL (C) T (D) U
(A) FMI (B) GMJ 29. ATTRIBUTION, TTRIBUTIO, RIBUTIO, IBUTI, ?
(C) GLJ (D) HLK (A) IBU (B) UT
20. AZ, CX, FU, ? (C) UTI (D) BUT
(A) IR (B) IV (E) None of these
(C) JQ (D) KP
30. DHL, PTX, BFJ, ?
21. ADVENTURE, DVENTURE, DVENTUR, ?, VENTU (A) CGK (B) KOS
(A) DVENT (B) VENTURE (C) NRV (D) RVZ
(C) VENTUR (D) DVENTU
31. A, CD, GHI, ?, UVWXY
(E) None of these
(A) LMNO (B) MNO
22. A, D, H, M, ?, Z (C) MNOP (D) NOPQ
(A) T (B) G
32. Z, Y, X, U, T, S, P, O, N, K, ?, ?
(C) N (D) S
(A) H,G (B) H, I
23. PERPENDICULAR, ERPENDICULA, RPENDICUL, ? (C) I,H (D) J, I
(A) PENDICUL (B) PENDIC
33. U, B, I, P, W, ?
(C) ENDIC (D) ENDICU
(A) D (B) F
(E) None of these
(C) Q (D) Z
24. Z, ?, T, ?, N, ?, H, ?, B
34.  AI, BJ, CK, ?
(A) W, Q, K, E (B) W, R, K, E
(A) DL (B) .DM
(C) X, Q, K, E (D) X, R, K, E
(C) GH (D) LM
25. ejo tyd ins xch ?
(A) nrw (B) mrw
(C) msx (D) nsx
(E) nsw

Course for NTSE 75 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

Test - 1 11. Look at this series: 31, 29, 24, 22, 17, ...What number
should come next?
1. Look at this series: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ...What number (A) 15 (B) 14
should come next? (C) 13 (D) 12
(A) 11 (B) 12
12. Look at this series: 21, 9, 21, 11, 21, 13,... What number
(C) 13 (D) 14
should come next?
2. Look at this series: 58, 52, 46, 40, 34,...What number (A) 14 (B) 15
should come next?
(C) 21 (D) 23
(A) 26 (B) 28
13. Look at this series: 53, 53, 40, 40, 27, 27,... What
(C) 30 (D) 32
number should come next?
3. Look at this series: 40, 40, 47, 47, 54,...What number (A) 12 (B) 14
should come next? (C) 27 (D) 53
(A) 40 (B) 44
14. Look at this series: 2, 6, 18, 54, ...What number should
(C) 54 (D) 61
come next?
4. Look at this series: 544, 509, 474, 439,...What number
(A) 108 (B) 148
should come next? (C) 162 (D) 216
(A) 404 (B) 414
15. Look at this series: 1,000, 200, 40,...What number
(C) 420 (D) 445
should come next?
5. Look at this series: 201, 202, 204, 207,...What number (A) 8 (B) 10
should come next?
(C) 15 (D) 20
(A) 205 (B) 208
16. Look at this series: 7, 10, 8, 11, 9, 12, ...What number
(C) 210 (D) 211
should come next?
6. Look at this series: 8, 22, 8, 28, 8, ...What number (A) 7 (B) 10
should come next? (C) 12 (D) 13
(A) 9 (B) 29
17. Look at this series: 14, 28, 20, 40, 32, 64,... What
(C) 32 (D) 34
number should come next?
7. Look at this series: 80, 10, 70, 15, 60,...What number (A) 52 (B) 56
should come next? (C) 96 (D) 128
(A) 20 (B) 25
18. Look at this series: 1.5, 2.3, 3.1, 3.9,...What number
(C) 30 (D) 50
should come next?
8. Look at this series: 36, 34, 30, 28, 24,...What number (A) 4.2 (B) 4.4
should come next? (C) 4.7 (D) 5.1
(A) 20 (B) 22
19. Look at this series: 5.2, 4.8, 4.4, 4,...What number
(C) 23 (D) 26
should come next?
9. Look at this series: 22, 21, 23, 22, 24, 23,... What
(A) 3 (B) 3.3
number should come next?
(C) 3.5 (D) 3.6
(A) 22 (B) 24
1 1
(C) 25 (D) 26 20. Look at this series: 2, 1, , , ...What number
2 4
10. Look at this series: 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12,...What number
should come next?
should come next?
(A) 1/3 (B) 1/8
(A) 7 (B) 10
(C) 2/8 (D) 1/16
(C) 14 (D) 15

Course for NTSE 76 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

Test - 2 10. 1, 10, 7, 20, 13, 30, 19

(A) 26, 40 (B) 29, 36
1. 84, 78, 72, 66, 60, 54, 48
(C) 40, 25 (D) 25, 31
(A) 44, 34 (B) 42, 36
(E) 40, 50
(C) 42, 32 (D) 40, 34
(E) 38, 32 11. 10, 20, 25, 35, 40, 50, 55
(A) 70, 65 (B) 60, 70
2. 3 8, 13, 18, 23, 28, 33
(C) 60, 75 (D) 60, 65
(A) 39, 44 (B) 38, 44
(E) 65, 70
(C) 38 ,43 (D) 37, 42
(E) 33, 38 12. 40, 40, 31, 31, 22, 22, 13
(A) 13, 4 (B) 13, 5
3. 20, 20, 17, 17, 14, 14, 11
(C) 4, 13 (D) 9, 4
(A) 8, 8 (B) 11, 11
(E) 4 ,4
(C) 11, 14 (D) 8, 9
(E) 11, 8 13. 17, 17, 34, 20, 20, 31, 23
(A) 26, 23 (B) 34, 20
4. 18, 21, 25, 18, 29, 33, 18
(C) 23, 33 (D) 27, 28
(A) 43, 18 (B) 41, 44
(E) 23, 28
(C) 37, 18 (D) 37, 41
(E) 38, 41 14. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 4, 8
(A) 9, 10 (B) 4, 8
5. 9, 11, 33, 13, 15, 33, 17
(C) 10, 4 (D) 9, 4
(A) 19, 33 (B) 33, 35
(E) 8, 9
(C) 33, 19 (D) 15, 33
(E) 19, 21 15. 61, 57, 50, 61, 43, 36, 61
(A) 29, 61 (B) 27, 20
6. 2 8, 14, 20, 26, 32, 38
(C) 31, 61 (D) 22 ,15
(A) 2, 46 (B) 44, 50
(E) 29, 22
(C) 42, 48 (D) 40, 42
(E) 32, 26 16. 9, 16, 23, 30, 37, 44, 51
(A) 59, 66 (B) 56, 62
7. 28, 25, 5, 21, 18, 5, 14
(C) 58, 66 (D) 58, 65
(A) 11, 5 (B) 10, 7
(E) 54, 61
(C) 11, 8 (D) 5, 10
(E) 10, 5 17. 8, 22, 12, 16, 22, 20, 24
(A) 28, 32 (B) 28 ,22
8. 9, 12, 11, 14, 13, 16, 15
(C) 22, 28 (D) 32, 36
(A) 14, 13 (B) 18, 21
(E) 22, 26
(C) 14, 17 (D) 12, 13
(E) 18, 17 18. 6, 20, 8, 14, 10, 8, 12
(A) 14, 10 (B) 2, 18
9. 75, 65, 85, 55, 45, 85, 35
(C) 4, 12 (D) 2 ,14
(A) 25, 15 (B) 25, 85
(E) 14 ,14
(C) 35, 25 (D) 85, 35
(E) 25, 75 19. 11, 16, 21, 26, 31, 36, 41
(A) 47, 52 (B) 46, 52
(C) 45, 49 (D) 46, 51
(E) 46, 52

Course for NTSE 77 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

20. 8, 11, 21, 15, 18, 21, 22 9. 3 8 10 15 17 22 24

(A) 25, 18 (B) 25, 21 (A) 26, 28 (B) 29, 34
(C) 25, 29 (D) 24, 21 (C) 29, 31 (D) 26, 31
(E) 22, 26 (E) 26, 32
10. 17, 14, 14, 11, 11, 8, 8
Test - 3 (A) 8, 5 (B) 5, 2
(C) 8, 2 (D) 5, 5
1. 44, 41, 38, 35, 32, 29, 26 (E) 5, 8
(A) 24, 21 (B) 22, 19 11. 13, 29, 15, 26, 17, 23, 19
(C) 23, 19 (D) 29, 32 (A) 21, 23 (B) 20, 21
(E) 23, 20 (C) 20, 17 (D) 25, 27
2. 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 26, 30 (E) 22, 20
(A) 36, 40 (B) 33, 37 12. 16, 26, 56, 36, 46, 68, 56
(C) 38, 42 (D) 34, 36 (A) 80, 66 (B) 64, 82
(E) 34, 38 (C) 66, 80 (D) 78, 68
3. 34, 30, 26, 22, 18, 14, 10 (E) 66, 82
(A) 8, 6 (B) 6, 4 13. 7, 9, 66, 12, 14, 66, 17
(C) 14 ,18 (D) 6, 2 (A) 19, 66 (B) 66 ,19
(E) 4, 0 (C) 19, 22 (D) 20, 66
4. 2, 44, 4, 41, 6, 38, 8 (E) 66, 20
(A) 10, 12 (B) 35, 32 14. 3, 5, 35, 10, 12, 35, 17
(C) 34, 9 (D) 35, 10 (A) 22, 35 (B) 35, 19
(E) 10, 52 (C) 19, 35 (D) 19 ,24
5. 32, 29, 26, 23, 20, 17, 14 (E) 22, 24
(A) 11, 8 (B) 12, 8 15. 36, 31, 29, 24, 22, 17, 15
(C) 11, 7 (D) 32, 29 (A) 13, 11 (B) 10, 5
(E) 10, 9 (C) 13, 8 (D) 12, 7
6. 14, 14, 26, 26, 38, 38, 50 (E) 10, 8
(A) 60, 72 (B) 50, 62 16. 42, 40, 38, 35, 33, 31, 28
(C) 50, 72 (D) 62, 62 (A) 25, 22 (B) 26, 23
(E) 62, 80 (C) 26, 24 (D) 25, 23
7. 8, 12, 9, 13, 10, 14, 11 (E) 26, 22
(A) 14, 11 (B) 15, 12 17. 11, 14, 14, 17, 17, 20, 20
(C) 8, 15 (D) 15, 19 (A) 23, 23 (B) 23, 26
(E) 8, 5 (C) 21, 24 (D) 24, 24
8. 4, 7, 26, 10, 13, 20, 16 (E) 24, 27
(A) 14, 4 (B) 14, 17 18. 17, 32, 19, 29, 21, 26, 23
(C) 18, 14 (D) 19, 13 (A) 25, 25 (B) 20, 22
(E) 19, 14 (C) 23, 25 (D) 25, 22
(E) 27, 32

Course for NTSE 78 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

19. 10, 34, 12, 31, 14, 28, 16 8. Look at this series: 0.15, 0.3, __, 1.2, 2.4, . . .What
(A) 25, 18 (B) 30, 13 number should ûll the blank?
(C) 19, 26 (D) 18, 20 (A) 4.8 (B) 0.006
(E) 25, 22 (C) 0.6 (D) 0.9
20. 32, 31, 32, 29, 32, 27, 32 1 1
9. Look at this series: , ,1, —,9,... What number
(A) 25, 32 (B) 31, 32 9 3
(C) 29, 32 (D) 25, 30 should ûll the blank?
(E) 29, 30
2
(A) (B) 3
3
Test - 4
(C) 6 (D) 27
1. Look at this series: 8, 43, 11, 41, __, 39, 17,... What 10. Look at this series: U32, V29, __, X23, Y20, . . .What
number should ûll in the blank? number should ûll the blank?
(A) 8 (B) 14
(A) W26 (B) W17
(C) 43 (D) 44
(C) Z17 (D) Z26
2. Look at this series: 15, __, 27, 27, 39, 39,... What
11. Look at this series: J14, L16, __, P20, R22, . . .What
number should ûll the blank?
number should ûll the blank?
(A) 51 (B) 39
(C) 23 (D) 15 (A) S24 (B) N18
(C) M18 (D) T24
3. Look at this series: 83, 73, 93, 63, __, 93, 43, . . .What
number should ûll the blank? 12. Look at this series: F2, __, D8, C16, B32, . . .What
(A) 33 (B) 53 number should ûll the blank?
(C) 73 (D) 93 (A) A16 (B) G4
4. Look at this series: 4, 7, 25, 10, __, 20, 16, 19,... (C) E4 (D) E3

What number should ûll the blank? 13. Look at this series: V, VIII, XI, XIV, __, XX,...What
(A) 13 (B) 15 number should ûll the blank?
(C) 20 (D) 28 (A) IX (B) XXIII
5. Look at this series: 72, 76, 73, 77, 74, __, 75,...What (C) XV (D) XVII
number should ûll the blank? 14. Look at this series: XXIV, XX, __, XII, VIII, . . .What
(A) 70 (B) 71 number should ûll the blank?
(C) 75 (D) 78
(A) XXII (B) XIII
6. Look at this series: 70, 71, 76, __, 81, 86, 70, 91,...What (C) XVI (D) IV
number should ûll the blank?
15. Look at this series: VI, 10, V, 11, __, 12, III,...What
(A) 70 (B) 71
number should ûll the blank?
(C) 80 (D) 96
(A) II (B) IV
7. Look at this series: 664, 332, 340, 170, __, 89,...What
(C) IX (D) 14
number should ûll the blank?
(A) 85 (B) 97
(C) 109 (D) 178

Course for NTSE 79 Module - 1

Series Completion Test

Test - 5

LETTER AND SYMBOL SERIES

1. QPO NML KJI _____ EDC 7. QAR RAS SAT TAU _____
(A) HGF (B) CAB (A) UAV (B) UAT
(C) JKL (D) GHI (C) TAS (D) TAT
2. JAK KBL LCM MDN _____ 8. DEF DEF2 DE 2 F2 _____ D 2 E 2 F3
(A) OEP (B) NEO
(A) DEF3 (B) D3EF3
(C) MEN (D) PFQ
(C) D 2 E3 F (D) D2 E 2 F2
3. B2CD ______ BCD4 B5CD BC6 D
(A) B2 C 2 D (B) BC3 D 9. SCD TEF UGH ____ WKL
(A) CMN (B) UJI
(C) B2 C3 D (D) BCD7
(C) VIJ (D) IJT
4. ELFA GLHA ILJA _____ MLNA
10. FAG GAF HAI IAH ____
(A) OLPA (B) KLMA
(A) JAK (B) HAL
(C) LLMA (D) KLLA
(C) HAK (D) JAI
5. P5QR P4 QSP3QT ______ PQV 11. BCB DED FGF HIH ___
(A) PQW (B) PQV2 (A) JKJ (B) HJH
(C) P2 QU (D) PQ3 U (C) IJI (D) JHJ

6. CMM EOO GQQ _____ KUU 12. ZA5 Y4 BXC6 W3D ______
(A) GRR (B) GSS (A) E4V (B) V2 E
(C) ISS (D) ITT (C) VE 5 (D) VE 7

Course for NTSE 80 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

ANSWER TO PRACTICE EXERCISE

1. A 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. A 6. B 7. B
8. C 9. B 10. C 11. B 12. D 13. B 14. A
15. B 16. A 17. C 18. B 19. B 20. A 21. C
1 22. A 23. B 24. A 25. C 26. D 27. C 28. D
29. C 30. C 31. C 32. C 33. B 34. C 35. B
36. D 37. C 38. B 39. B 40. B 41. D 42. C
43. A 44. B 45. C 46. D 47. A 48. B

1. A 2. C 3. A 4. D 5. B 6. B 7. B
2 8. A 9. A 10. D 11. C 12. D 13. B 14. D
15. A

1. D 2. C 3. D 4. C 5. D 6. B 7. B
8. B 9. B 10. A 11. C 12. B 13. B 14. A
3
15. B 16. B 17. C 18. D 19. D 20. B 21. A
22. A 23. C 24. C 25. A

1. B 2. B 3. C 4. A 5. A 6. A 7. B
8. C 9. C 10. C 11. D 12. A 13. B 14. B
4 15. A 16. C 17. D 18. B 19. B 20. C 21. C
22. D 23. E 24. A 25. B 26. D 27. B 28. C
29. C 30. C 31. C 32. D 33. A 34. A

Course for NTSE 81 Module - 1

Series Completion Test
ANSWERS TEST - 1
1.(B) This is a simple addition series. Each number
increases by 2.
2.(B) This is a simple subtraction series. Each number is 6
less than the previous number.
3.(C) This is an alternation with repetition series in which
each number repeats itself and then increases by 7.
4. (A) This is a simple subtraction series. Each number is
35 less than the previous number.
5.(D) In this addition series, 1 is added to the first number;
2 is added to the second number; 3 is added to the
third number; and so forth.
6.(D) This is a simple addition series with a random
number, 8, interpolated as every other number. In
the series, 6 is added to each number except 8, to
arrive at the next number.
7.(A) This is an alternating addition and subtraction series.
In the first pattern, 10 is subtracted from each number
to arrive at the next. In the second, 5 is added to
each number to arrive at the next.
8.(B) This is an alternating number subtraction series.
First, 2 is subtracted, then 4, then 2, and so on.
9.(C) In this simple alternating subtraction and addition
series; 1 is subtracted, then 2 is added, and so on.
10.(D) This alternating addition series begins with 3; then
1 is added to give 4; then 3 is added to give 7; then
1 is added, and so on.
11.(A) This is a simple alternating subtraction series, which
subtracts 2, then 5.
12.(C) In this alternating repetition series, the random
number 21 is interpolated every other number into
an otherwise simple addition series that increases
by 2, beginning with the number 9.
13.(B) In this series, each number is repeated, then 13
issubtracted to arrive at the next number.
14.(C) This is a simple multiplication series. Each number
is 3 times more than the previous number.
15.(A) This is a simple division series. Each number is
divided by 5.
Course for NTSE 82
16.(B) This is a simple alternating addition and subtraction
series. In the first pattern, 3 is added; in the second,
2 is subtracted.
17.(B) This is an alternating multiplication and subtracting
series: First, multiply by 2 and then subtract 8.
18.(C) In this simple addition series, each number increases
by 0.8.
19.(D) In this simple subtraction series, each number
decreases by 0.4.
20.(B) This is a simple division series; each number is one-
half of the previous number.
ANSWERS TEST - 2
1.(B) In this simple subtraction series, each number is 6
less than the previous number.
2.(C) In this simple addition series, each number is 5
greater than the previous number.
3.(E) This is a simple subtraction with repetition series. It
begins with 20, which is repeated, then 3 is
subtracted, resulting in 17, which is repeated, and
so on.
4.(D) This is a simple addition series with a random
number, 18, interpolated as every third number. In
the series, 4 is added to each number except 18, to
arrive at the next number.
5.(A) In this alternating repetition series, a random number,
33, is interpolated every third number into a simple
addition series, in which each number increases by
2.
6.(B) This is a simple addition series, which begins with 2
and adds 6.
7.(A) This is an alternating subtraction series with the
interpolation of a random number, 5, as every third
number. In the subtraction series, 3 is subtracted,
then 4, then 3, and so on.
8.(E) This is a simple alternating addition and subtraction
series. First, 3 is added, then 1 is subtracted, then 3
is added, 1 subtracted, and so on.
9.(B) This is a simple subtraction series in which a random
number, 85, is interpolated as every third number. In
the subtraction series, 10 is subtracted from each
number to arrive at the next.
Module - 1

10.(C) Here, every other number follows a different pattern.
In the first series, 6 is added to each number to arrive
at the next. In the second series, 10 is added to each
number to arrive at the next.
11.(E) This is an alternating addition series, in which 10 is
added, then 5, then 10, and so on.
12.(A) This is a subtraction series with repetition. Each
number repeats itself and then decreases by 9.
13.(E) This is an alternating subtraction series with
repetition. There are two different patterns here. In
the first, a number repeats itself; then 3 is added to
that number to arrive at the next number, which also
repeats. This gives the series 17, 17, 20, 20, 23, and
so on. Every third number follows a second pattern,
in which 3 is subtracted from each number to arrive
at the next: 34, 31, 28.
14.(D) This is an alternating addition series with a random
number, 4, interpolated as every third number. In the
main series, 1 is added, then 2 is added, then 1, then
2, and so on.
15.(E) This is an alternating repetition series, in which a
random number, 61, is interpolated as every third
number into an otherwise simple subtraction series.
Starting with the second number, 57, each number
(except 61) is 7 less than the previous number.
16.(D) Here is a simple addition series, which begins with 9
and adds 7.
17.(C) This is an alternating repetition series, with a random
number, 22, interpolated as every third number into
an otherwise simple addition series. In the addition
series, 4 is added to each number to arrive at the
next number.
18.(D) This is an alternating addition and subtraction series.
In the first pattern, 2 is added to each number to
arrive at the next; in the alternate pattern, 6 is
subtracted from each number to arrive at the next.
19.(D) In this simple addition series, each number is 5 more
than the previous number.
20.(B) This is an alternating addition series, with a random
number, 21, interpolated as every third number. The
addition series alternates between adding 3 and
adding 4. The number 21 appears after each number
arrived at by adding 3.
Course for NTSE 83
Series Completion Test
ANSWERS TEST - 3
1.(E) This is a simple subtraction series, in which 3 is
subtracted from each number to arrive at the next.
2.(E) This simple addition series adds 4 to each number
to arrive at the next.
3.(D) This is a simple subtraction series, in which 4 is
subtracted from each number to arrive at the next.
4.(D) Here, there are two alternating patterns, one addition
and one subtraction. The first starts with 2 and
increases by 2; the second starts with 44 and
decreases by 3.
5.(A) In this simple subtraction series, the numbers
decrease by 3.
6.(B) In this simple addition with repetition series, each
number in the series repeats itself, and then
increases by 12 to arrive at the next number.
7.(B) This is an alternating addition & subtraction series,
in which the addition of 4 is alternated with the
subtraction of 3.
8.(E) Two patterns alternate here, with every third number
following the alternate pattern. In the main series,
beginning with 4, 3 is added to each number to arrive
at the next. In the alternating series, beginning with
26, 6 is subtracted from each number to arrive at the
next.
9.(C) This is an alternating addition series that adds 5,
then 2, then 5, and so on.
10.(D) In this simple subtraction with repetition series, each
number is repeated, then 3 is subtracted to give the
next number, which is then repeated, and so on.
11.(B) Here, there are two alternating patterns, with every
other number following a different pattern. The first
pattern begins with 13 and adds 2 to each number to
arrive at the next; the alternating pattern begins with
29 and subtracts 3 each time.
12.(C) Here, every third number follows a different pattern
from the main series. In the main series, beginning
with 16, 10 is added to each number to arrive at the
next. In the alternating series, beginning with 56, 12
is added to each number to arrive at the next.
Module - 1
Series Completion Test

13.(A) This is an alternating addition series with repetition,
in which a random number, 66, is interpolated as
every third number. The regular series adds 2, then
3, then 2, and so on, with 66 repeated after each
“add 2” step.
14.(C) This is an alternating addition series, with a random
number, 35, interpolated as every third number. The
pattern of addition is to add 2, add 5, add 2, and so
on. The number 35 comes after each “add 2” step.
15.(E) This is an alternating subtraction series, which
subtracts 5, then 2, then 5, and so on.
16.(C) This is an alternating subtraction series in which 2
is subtracted twice, then 3 is subtracted once, then
2 is subtracted twice, and so on.
17.(A) This is a simple addition series with repetition. It
adds 3 to each number to arrive at the next, which is
repeated before 3 is added again.
18.(C) Here, there are two alternating patterns. The first
begins with 17 and adds 2; the second begins with
32 & subtracts 3.
19.(A) Two patterns alternate here. The first pattern begins
with 10 and adds 2 to each number to arrive at the
next; the alternating pattern begins with 34 and
subtracts 3 each time.
20.(A) This is an alternating repetition series. The number
32 alternates with a series in which each number
decreases by 2.
ANSWERS TEST - 4
1.(B) This is a simple alternating addition and subtraction
series. The first series begins with 8 and adds 3; the
second begins with 43 and subtracts 2.
2.(D) In this simple addition with repetition series, each
number in the series repeats itself, and then
increases by 12 to arrive at the next number.
3.(B) This is a simple subtraction series in which a random
number, 93, is interpolated as every third number. In
the subtraction series, 10 is subtracted from each
number to arrive at the next.
4.(A) Two series alternate here, with every third number
following a different pattern. In the main series, 3 is
added to each number to arrive at the next. In the
alternating series, 5 is subtracted from each number
to arrive at the next.
5.(D) This series alternates the addition of 4 with the
subtraction of 3.
6.(A) In this series, 5 is added to the previous number;
the number 70 is inserted as every third number.
7.(D) This is an alternating division and addition series:
First, divide by 2, and then add 8.
8.(C) This is a simple multiplication series. Each number
is 2 times greater than the previous number.
9.(B) This is a multiplication series; each number is 3 times
the previous number.
10.(A) In this series, the letters progress by 1; the numbers
decrease by 3.
11.(B) In this series, the letters progress by 2, and the
numbers increase by 2.
12.(C) The letters decrease by 1; the numbers are multiplied
by 2.
13.(D) This is a simple addition series; each number is 3
more than the previous number.
14.(C) This is a simple subtraction series; each number is 4
less than the previous number.
15.(B) This is an alternating addition and subtraction series.
Roman numbers alternate with Arabic numbers. In
the Roman numeral pattern, each number decreases
by 1. In the Arabic numeral pattern, each number
increases by 1.

Course for NTSE 84 Module - 1

 Series Completion Test

ANSWERS TEST - 5 8.(D) In this series, the letters remain the same: DEF. The
1.(A) T h is seri es con sist s of l ett er s i n a r ever se subscript numbers follow this series: 1,1,1; 1,1,2;
alphabetical order. 1,2,2; 2,2,2; 2,2,3.

2.(B) This is an alternating series in alphabetical order. 9.(C) There are two alphabetical series here. The first
The middle letters follow the order ABCDE. The first series is with the first letters only: STUVW. The
and third letters are alphabetical beginning with J. second series involves the remaining letters: CD,
The third letter is repeated as a first letter in each EF, GH, IJ, KL.
subsequent three-letter segment. 10.(A) The middle letters are static, so concentrate on the
3.(B) Because the letters are the same, concentrate on the first and third letters. The series involves an
number series, which is a simple 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 series, alphabetical order with a reversal of the letters. The
and follows each letter in order. first letters are in alphabetical order: F, G, H, I, J. The
second and fourth segments are reversals of the first
4.(D) The second and forth letters in the series, L and A,
and third segments. The missing segment begins
are static. The first and third letters consist of an
with a new letter.
alphabetical order beginning with the letter E.
11.(A) This series consists of a simple alphabetical order
5.(C) The first two letters, PQ, are static. The third letter
with the first two letters of all segments: B, C, D, E,
is i n al ph abet ical order, begi nn in g wi th R.
F, G, H, I, J, K. The third letter of each segment is a
The number series is in descending order beginning
repetition of the first letter.
with 5.
12.(D) There are three series to look for here. The first letters
6.(C) The first letters are in alphabetical order with a letter
are alphabetical in reverse: Z, Y, X, W, V. The second
skipped in between each segment: C, E, G, I, K. The
letters are in alphabetical order, beginning with A.
second and third letters are repeated; they are also
The number series is as follows: 5, 4, 6, 3, 7.
in order with a skipped letter: M, O, Q, S, U.
7.(A) In this series, the third letter is repeated as the first
letter of the next segment. The middle letter, A,
remains static. The third letters are in alphabetical
order, beginning with R.

Course for NTSE 85 Module - 1