Find the missing number in the series: 4, 7, 25, 10, __________, 20, 16, 19.
Step-by-step Solution:
This sequence does not follow a simple arithmetic pattern. The trick is to recognize that it is not one, but three separate series that are interleaved together.
If we take every third number from the original sequence, we can untangle it into three simpler series:
The missing number is the middle term of Series B.
- To find the missing middle term in Series B, we can take the average of the two known terms, 7 and 19:
(7 + 19) / 2 = 26 / 2 = 13.
- We can verify this. If the series is 7, 13, 19, the difference between terms is a constant +6 (7+6=13, and 13+6=19). This forms a consistent pattern.
Final Answer: The missing number is 13.