1. puz-number-sequences-01: Steady steps upward · Difficulty 1
Each term sits the same distance above the one before it. Which number belongs where the question mark is?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
- 4
- 7
- 10
- 13
- 16
- ?
- 19
- 20
- 22
- 32
Answer:
Puzzles are an untimed educational and entertainment activity. They are not a clinical, diagnostic, standardized, or professionally recognized assessment. Solving puzzles here does not produce an IQ score and cannot be used for Mensa qualification, diagnosis, giftedness identification, educational placement, employment selection, disability applications, accommodations, legal matters, or medical decisions. Puzzle items are never used as unseen scored questions in any Novus Learn assessment.
Work the ladder from the top: the early runs fix one habit each, and the later ones combine those habits. Nothing here is timed and nothing is scored. Write the differences between neighbouring terms underneath the run before you guess, that single move solves a surprising share of them, and read the explanation even when you were right, because it names the method you can reach for next time.
Choose one answer for each item. Keep the authored hints, answer key, and worked explanations separate until you are ready to check your work.
Start here and establish the method before moving up the ladder.
1. puz-number-sequences-01: Steady steps upward · Difficulty 1
Each term sits the same distance above the one before it. Which number belongs where the question mark is?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
2. puz-number-sequences-02: Sevens going down · Difficulty 1
This run falls by the same amount at every step. Which number takes the place of the question mark?
A descending run of five terms.
Answer:
3. puz-number-sequences-03: Twice as big each time · Difficulty 1
The gaps in this run grow, so subtraction will not settle it. Try comparing each term with the one before it by division. What replaces the question mark?
Five terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
4. puz-number-sequences-04: The gap in the middle · Difficulty 1
The blank sits inside the run rather than at the end, and every step is the same size. Which number is missing?
Six terms in order, with the fourth missing.
Answer:
5. puz-number-sequences-05: Straight through zero · Difficulty 1
This run keeps falling by the same amount, and it does not pause when it passes zero. Which number belongs in the blank?
Six terms in order, with the fourth missing.
Answer:
Continue in order; use the worked explanations from earlier rungs when needed.
6. puz-number-sequences-06: Three times over · Difficulty 2
Each term is a fixed multiple of the one before it. Which value replaces the question mark at the end of the run?
Five terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
7. puz-number-sequences-07: Two runs in one line · Difficulty 2
The terms here jump up and down, because this line is really two separate runs written alternately. Which number belongs where the question mark is?
Eight terms in order, with the seventh missing.
Answer:
8. puz-number-sequences-08: Gaps that grow steadily · Difficulty 2
The steps in this run are not equal, but they change in a regular way. Which number completes it?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
9. puz-number-sequences-09: Squares with one missing · Difficulty 2
Every term in this run is a whole number multiplied by itself. Which value is missing from the middle?
Six terms in order, with the fourth missing.
Answer:
10. puz-number-sequences-10: Each term leans on two · Difficulty 2
No single step size or multiplier fits this run. Look instead at what any two neighbouring terms make together. What is the missing value?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
11. puz-number-sequences-11: Double, then one more · Difficulty 2
Each term comes from the one before it by the same two-part instruction. Which number finishes the run?
Five terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
Continue in order; use the worked explanations from earlier rungs when needed.
12. puz-number-sequences-12: Two rows of differences · Difficulty 3
One row of differences will not settle this run. Which number belongs at the end of it?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
13. puz-number-sequences-13: Add five, then double · Difficulty 3
Two operations take turns in this run. Which number comes next?
Seven terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
14. puz-number-sequences-14: Cubes with a little extra · Difficulty 3
These terms grow faster than squares do. Which value completes the run?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
15. puz-number-sequences-15: Position times its neighbour · Difficulty 3
Compare each term with the place it occupies in the run rather than with the term before it. Which number belongs at the end?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
16. puz-number-sequences-16: One run doubles, one climbs · Difficulty 3
Two rules share this line: one governs the terms in the odd places and one the terms in the even places. Which value is missing?
Eight terms in order, with the sixth missing.
Answer:
17. puz-number-sequences-17: One bigger every time · Difficulty 3
The steps in this run grow by one at each stage. Which number sits in the blank?
Seven terms in order, with the fifth missing.
Answer:
Continue in order; use the worked explanations from earlier rungs when needed.
18. puz-number-sequences-18: A multiplier that will not sit still · Difficulty 4
The terms here are multiplied at every step, but not by the same amount each time. Which value comes next?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
19. puz-number-sequences-19: The term feeds itself · Difficulty 4
Nothing constant is added here and no term is a neat multiple of the one before it. Look at the digits of each term. Which number completes the run?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
20. puz-number-sequences-20: A familiar list in disguise · Difficulty 4
Subtracting the same constant from every term uncovers a well-known list of whole numbers. Which value comes next?
Seven terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
21. puz-number-sequences-21: Odd places climb, even places leap · Difficulty 4
The terms in the odd places follow one rule and the terms in the even places follow another. Which number is missing?
Eight terms in order, with the sixth missing.
Answer:
22. puz-number-sequences-22: Looking two terms back · Difficulty 4
Each term is built from the two before it, but not by simply adding them together. What is the next value?
Seven terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
Continue in order; use the worked explanations from earlier rungs when needed.
23. puz-number-sequences-23: Three rows down · Difficulty 5
Two rows of differences are not enough for this run, and the missing term sits inside it. Which value belongs there?
Six terms in order, with the fifth missing.
Answer:
24. puz-number-sequences-24: Digits and places together · Difficulty 5
Each step here depends both on the digits of the term it starts from and on how far along the run that step falls. Which value completes it?
Six terms in order, the last one missing.
Answer:
25. puz-number-sequences-25: Two runs of different character · Difficulty 5
Two runs are interleaved here. One grows out of its own earlier terms; the other depends on the place it occupies. Which number fills the gap?
Ten terms in order, with the sixth missing.
Answer: