Each question in this set shows either a sequence of letters, a series of numbers, an alphabet position puzzle, or a mixed letter-and-number code, and each follows its own hidden rule. Work out the rule connecting the terms you are given (a fixed step, a growing gap, a doubling rule, or a rule linking a letter to its position number), then choose the option, A to E, that continues the pattern correctly. Every question is worth 1 mark.
Worked example. Find the letter that continues the sequence: D, G, J, M, ( ? )
A) N B) O C) P D) Q E) R Answer: C) P. Each letter's position increases by 3: D=4, G=7, J=10, M=13. Adding 3 more gives 16, which is P. Option A (N=14) adds only 1; option B (O=15) adds 2; option D (Q=17) adds 4; option E (R=18) adds 5, all missing the true step of 3.
1
Find the letter that continues the sequence: B, D, F, H, ( ? )
A) J
B) I
C) K
D) H
E) L
(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)
2
Find the letter that continues the sequence: A, C, E, G, ( ? )
A) H
B) I
C) J
D) G
E) K
(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)
3
Find the letter that continues the sequence: Z, Y, X, W, ( ? )
A) U
B) W
C) V
D) T
E) X
(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)
4
Find the letter that continues the sequence: C, F, I, L, ( ? )
A) N
B) P
C) M
D) O
E) L
(Total for Question 4 is 1 mark)
5
Find the letter that continues the sequence: P, N, L, J, ( ? )
A) I
B) G
C) K
D) J
E) H
(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)
6
Find the letter that continues the sequence: B, C, E, F, H, I, ( ? )
A) K
B) J
C) L
D) I
E) M
(Total for Question 6 is 1 mark)
7
Find the letter that continues the sequence: W, T, Q, N, ( ? )
A) J
B) K
C) L
D) M
E) H
(Total for Question 7 is 1 mark)
8
Find the letter that continues the sequence: E, G, J, N, ( ? )
A) R
B) T
C) S
D) Q
E) U
(Total for Question 8 is 1 mark)
9
Find the letter that continues the sequence: Z, W, S, N, ( ? )
A) I
B) G
C) J
D) H
E) F
(Total for Question 9 is 1 mark)
10
Find the next number in this series: 3, 6, 9, 12, ( ? )
A) 14
B) 16
C) 18
D) 13
E) 15
(Total for Question 10 is 1 mark)
11
Find the next number in this series: 2, 4, 8, 16, ( ? )
A) 32
B) 24
C) 20
D) 18
E) 30
(Total for Question 11 is 1 mark)
12
Find the next number in this series: 20, 17, 14, 11, ( ? )
A) 9
B) 8
C) 7
D) 10
E) 6
(Total for Question 12 is 1 mark)
13
Find the next number in this series: 1, 4, 9, 16, ( ? )
A) 20
B) 21
C) 25
D) 24
E) 36
(Total for Question 13 is 1 mark)
14
Find the next number in this series: 5, 10, 20, 40, ( ? )
A) 60
B) 70
C) 45
D) 80
E) 50
(Total for Question 14 is 1 mark)
15
Find the next number in this series: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, ( ? )
A) 11
B) 12
C) 10
D) 14
E) 13
(Total for Question 15 is 1 mark)
16
Find the next number in this series: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, ( ? )
A) 13
B) 12
C) 9
D) 15
E) 14
(Total for Question 16 is 1 mark)
17
Find the next number in this series: 100, 90, 81, 73, ( ? )
A) 65
B) 66
C) 64
D) 67
E) 70
(Total for Question 17 is 1 mark)
18
Find the next number in this series: 1, 2, 4, 7, 11, ( ? )
A) 15
B) 17
C) 16
D) 14
E) 18
(Total for Question 18 is 1 mark)
19
Find the next number in this series: 3, 6, 11, 18, 27, ( ? )
A) 36
B) 35
C) 39
D) 38
E) 40
(Total for Question 19 is 1 mark)
20
If A=1, B=2, C=3, and so on through the alphabet, which letter has the position number 20?
A) S
B) U
C) R
D) V
E) T
(Total for Question 20 is 1 mark)
21
Using A=1, B=2, C=3, and so on, what is the position number of the letter M?
A) 13
B) 12
C) 14
D) 11
E) 15
(Total for Question 21 is 1 mark)
22
Which letter is 5 positions after the letter F in the alphabet?
A) J
B) K
C) L
D) I
E) H
(Total for Question 22 is 1 mark)
23
Which letter is 4 positions before the letter P in the alphabet?
A) K
B) M
C) L
D) J
E) N
(Total for Question 23 is 1 mark)
24
Which letter lies exactly halfway between D and L in the alphabet, based on their position numbers?
A) G
B) I
C) F
D) H
E) P
(Total for Question 24 is 1 mark)
25
Add together the position numbers of the letters C and K. Which letter has that resulting position number?
A) M
B) O
C) L
D) P
E) N
(Total for Question 25 is 1 mark)
26
Take the position number of the letter X, double it, then divide the result by 3. Which letter has the resulting position number?
A) P
B) O
C) Q
D) N
E) R
(Total for Question 26 is 1 mark)
27
Start with a letter's position number. Subtract 7, then add 15. The result equals the position number of the letter S. Which was the starting letter?
A) J
B) K
C) L
D) I
E) M
(Total for Question 27 is 1 mark)
28
The letter G comes a certain number of places before M in the alphabet. Which letter comes that same number of places after M?
A) R
B) T
C) S
D) Q
E) U
(Total for Question 28 is 1 mark)
29
Find the term that continues this code sequence, where each term pairs a letter with a number: A1, C3, E5, G7, ( ? )
A) H8
B) J10
C) I8
D) I9
E) H9
(Total for Question 29 is 1 mark)
30
Find the term that continues this code sequence: B2, D4, F6, H8, ( ? )
A) J9
B) I10
C) J11
D) K10
E) J10
(Total for Question 30 is 1 mark)
31
Find the letter that continues this sequence, which is built from two interleaved patterns: B, E, D, G, F, I, ( ? )
A) H
B) G
C) I
D) F
E) J
(Total for Question 31 is 1 mark)
32
Find the term that continues this code sequence: 3C, 6F, 9I, ( ? )
A) 12K
B) 12L
C) 13L
D) 11L
E) 12M
(Total for Question 32 is 1 mark)
33
Find the term that continues this code sequence: A2, C4, E8, G16, ( ? )
A) I16
B) H32
C) I32
D) I30
E) K32
(Total for Question 33 is 1 mark)
34
Find the term that continues this code sequence: Z1, X2, V3, T4, ( ? )
A) S5
B) R4
C) Q5
D) R5
E) R6
(Total for Question 34 is 1 mark)
35
Find the term that continues this code sequence, where each number is the position of the paired letter: A1, D4, I9, P16, ( ? )
A) X25
B) Y24
C) W25
D) Y26
E) Y25
(Total for Question 35 is 1 mark)
36
Find the letter that continues the sequence: B, D, G, K, ( ? )
A) P
B) O
C) Q
D) N
E) M
(Total for Question 36 is 1 mark)
37
Find the term that continues this code sequence: E5, J10, O15, T20, ( ? )
A) X25
B) Y25
C) Y24
D) W25
E) Y20
(Total for Question 37 is 1 mark)
38
Find the letter that continues the sequence, based on the position numbers: A, B, C, E, H, M, ( ? )
A) T
B) V
C) U
D) S
E) W
(Total for Question 38 is 1 mark)
39
Find the next number in this series: 2, 6, 12, 20, 30, ( ? )
A) 40
B) 44
C) 38
D) 42
E) 45
(Total for Question 39 is 1 mark)
40
Find the term that continues this code sequence: B2, D4, H8, N14, ( ? )
A) T20
B) U21
C) W23
D) V20
E) V22
(Total for Question 40 is 1 mark)
Mark scheme · EP.V35 Verbal Reasoning: Letter and Number Sequences Set 2
Question 1
B1 A) J - the letters move up the alphabet in steps of two (B, D, F, H, J); cao
Answer: A) J
Question 2
B1 B) I - the letters move up the alphabet in steps of two (A, C, E, G, I); cao
Answer: B) I
Question 3
B1 C) V - the letters move back through the alphabet one at a time (Z, Y, X, W, V); cao
Answer: C) V
Question 4
B1 D) O - each letter's position increases by three (C=3, F=6, I=9, L=12, O=15); cao
Answer: D) O
Question 5
B1 E) H - each letter's position decreases by two (P=16, N=14, L=12, J=10, H=8); cao
Answer: E) H
Question 6
B1 A) K - the gaps alternate +1, +2, +1, +2, so after I (a +1 step) the next step is +2; cao
Answer: A) K
Question 7
B1 B) K - each letter's position decreases by three (W=23, T=20, Q=17, N=14, K=11); cao
Answer: B) K
Question 8
B1 C) S - the gaps grow by one each time (+2, +3, +4), so the next gap is +5; cao
Answer: C) S
Question 9
B1 D) H - the gaps grow more negative by one each time (-3, -4, -5), so the next gap is -6; cao
Answer: D) H
Question 10
B1 E) 15 - each term increases by 3 (3, 6, 9, 12, 15); cao
Answer: E) 15
Question 11
B1 A) 32 - each term doubles the one before it (2, 4, 8, 16, 32); cao
Answer: A) 32
Question 12
B1 B) 8 - each term decreases by 3 (20, 17, 14, 11, 8); cao
Answer: B) 8
Question 13
B1 C) 25 - the terms are the square numbers 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, 5x5; cao
Answer: C) 25
Question 14
B1 D) 80 - each term doubles the one before it (5, 10, 20, 40, 80); cao
Answer: D) 80
Question 15
B1 E) 13 - each term is the sum of the two terms before it (Fibonacci rule): 5+8=13; cao
Answer: E) 13
Question 16
B1 A) 13 - the terms are the prime numbers in order, and the next prime after 11 is 13; cao
Answer: A) 13
Question 17
B1 B) 66 - the gaps shrink by one each time (-10, -9, -8), so the next gap is -7; cao
Answer: B) 66
Question 18
B1 C) 16 - the gaps grow by one each time (+1, +2, +3, +4), so the next gap is +5; cao
Answer: C) 16
Question 19
B1 D) 38 - the gaps grow by two each time (+3, +5, +7, +9), so the next gap is +11; cao
Answer: D) 38
Question 20
B1 E) T - position 20 in the alphabet is the letter T; cao
Answer: E) T
Question 21
B1 A) 13 - M is the 13th letter of the alphabet; cao
Answer: A) 13
Question 22
B1 B) K - F is position 6, and 6+5=11, which is the letter K; cao
Answer: B) K
Question 23
B1 C) L - P is position 16, and 16-4=12, which is the letter L; cao
Answer: C) L
Question 24
B1 D) H - the average of D's position (4) and L's position (12) is 8, which is the letter H; cao
Answer: D) H
Question 25
B1 E) N - C is position 3 and K is position 11, and 3+11=14, which is the letter N; cao
Answer: E) N
Question 26
B1 A) P - X is position 24; 24x2=48, and 48/3=16, which is the letter P; cao
Answer: A) P
Question 27
B1 B) K - S is position 19, and working backwards (19-15+7=11) gives position 11, which is the letter K; cao
Answer: B) K
Question 28
B1 C) S - G is 6 places before M (7 to 13), so the answer is 6 places after M (13+6=19), which is S; cao
Answer: C) S
Question 29
B1 D) I9 - the letters move on two places each time (A, C, E, G, I) and the numbers increase by two each time (1, 3, 5, 7, 9); cao
Answer: D) I9
Question 30
B1 E) J10 - the letters move on two places each time (B, D, F, H, J) and the numbers increase by two each time (2, 4, 6, 8, 10); cao
Answer: E) J10
Question 31
B1 A) H - the 1st, 3rd and 5th terms (B, D, F) move on two places each time, so the 7th term continues that pattern to H; cao
Answer: A) H
Question 32
B1 B) 12L - the numbers increase by 3 each time (3, 6, 9, 12) and the letters move on three places each time (C, F, I, L); cao
Answer: B) 12L
Question 33
B1 C) I32 - the letters move on two places each time (A, C, E, G, I) and the numbers double each time (2, 4, 8, 16, 32); cao
Answer: C) I32
Question 34
B1 D) R5 - the letters move back two places each time (Z, X, V, T, R) and the numbers increase by one each time (1, 2, 3, 4, 5); cao
Answer: D) R5
Question 35
B1 E) Y25 - the numbers are the square numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, 25 and the letter is always the one in that alphabet position, so the 5th term is Y25; cao
Answer: E) Y25
Question 36
B1 A) P - the gaps grow by one each time (+2, +3, +4), so the next gap is +5; cao
Answer: A) P
Question 37
B1 B) Y25 - the letters move on five places each time (E, J, O, T, Y) and the numbers increase by five each time (5, 10, 15, 20, 25); cao
Answer: B) Y25
Question 38
B1 C) U - the position numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 form the Fibonacci pattern, and the next Fibonacci number after 13 is 21, which is U; cao
Answer: C) U
Question 39
B1 D) 42 - the gaps grow by two each time (+4, +6, +8, +10), so the next gap is +12; cao
Answer: D) 42
Question 40
B1 E) V22 - the letter's position number increases by a growing gap (+2, +4, +6), so the next gap is +8, giving position 22, which is V; cao