Direction In each series, look for the degree and direction of change between the numbers. In other words, do the numbers increase or decrease, and by how much-
56.

2 44 4 41 6 38 8
A. 10 12
 B. 35 32
C. 34 9
 D. 35 10
Answer and Explanation
Answer: D

Explanation: 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.




57.

17 32 19 29 21 26 23
A. 25 25
 B. 20 22
C. 23 25
 D. 25 22
Answer and Explanation
Answer: C

Explanation: Here, there are two alternating patterns. The first begins with 17 and adds 2; the second begins with 32 and subtracts 3.




58.

17 14 14 11 11 8 8
A. 8 5
 B. 5 2
C. 8 2
 D. 5 5
Answer and Explanation
Answer: D

Explanation: 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.




59.

10 34 12 31 14 28 16
A. 25 18
 B. 30 13
C. 19 26
 D. 18 20
Answer and Explanation
Answer: A

Explanation: 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.




60.

11 14 14 17 17 20 20
A. 23 23
 B. 23 26
C. 21 24
 D. 24 24
Answer and Explanation
Answer: A

Explanation: 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.