Multiple choice

Find out the wrong number in the series 4, 5, 15, 49, 201, 1011, 6073

  1. 5

  2. 15

  3. 49

  4. 201

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The series follows the pattern: multiply by increasing integers starting from 1, then add increasing integers starting from 1. Specifically: 4×1+1=5, 5×2+5=15, 15×3+4=49, 49×4+5=201, 201×5+6=1011, 1011×6+7=6073. The pattern for additions from 5 onwards is +5, +4, +5, +6, +7. If the second term were correct, we'd have: 5×2+5=15. But the starting value is 5 when it should follow 4×1+1=5 as the base. The issue is that 5 appears twice - as both the second term and part of the calculation. The term 5 should be the starting point for the pattern to work consistently.