Find the wrong term

Given series:

3, 10, 27, 4, 16, 64, 5, 25, 125

Solution (detailed)

Observe the series by grouping every third term (i.e. look at the terms in columns if you write them in 3 columns):

Column-1 (positions 1,4,7): 3, 4, 5 — these are consecutive integers.
Column-2 (positions 2,5,8): 10, 16, 25 — these should be squares of 3,4,5, i.e. \(3^2,4^2,5^2 = 9,16,25\).
Column-3 (positions 3,6,9): 27, 64, 125 — these are cubes of 3,4,5, i.e. \(3^3,4^3,5^3\).

So the intended pattern is (reading row-wise):

\(3,\;3^2,\;3^3,\;\;4,\;4^2,\;4^3,\;\;5,\;5^2,\;5^3\)

Comparing with the given series, the second term is 10 but it should be \(3^2=9\).

Conclusion

The wrong term is 10 (should be 9).
Answer: Option (B) 10.