Multiple choice

Directions: Find the missing term in the following series. 11, 7, 5 , ?, 3.5, 3.25

  1. 4.75

  2. 4.25

  3. 4

  4. 3.75

  5. 3
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The pattern is dividing by 2 and adding 0.5: (11-4)/2 = 3.5? No, the pattern is (n-3)/2: (11-3)/2 = 4, (7-3)/2 = 2 (not 5). Let's check differences: -4, -2, -1, -0.5, -0.25. The sequence is halving the subtraction amount each time.

AI explanation

The series follows a pattern of adding consecutive negative powers of 2 to the preceding term. We see that 11 - 4 = 7, which is 11 + (-4). Then 7 - 2 = 5, which is 7 + (-2). Following this, the next term must be 5 + (-1) = 4. To verify, 4 + (-0.5) = 3.5 and 3.5 + (-0.25) = 3.25. The missing term is 4.

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