The following list gives the first 6 values of a sequence that follows a numerical pattern.
-2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 9...
Which is most likely the 10th value in the sequence?
A. 23
B. 37
C. 60
D. 97
looks like a Fibonacci sequence, where each term (after the first two) is the sum of the previous two terms.
Now just write the next 4 terms.
The answer is C. 60 right?
To determine the pattern in the given sequence and find the most likely 10th value, we need to analyze the given values and look for any consistent pattern or rule. Let's examine the sequence step by step:
-2, 3, 1, 4, 5, 9...
Looking at the first few values, it seems that the pattern is not immediately obvious. Therefore, we need to try different approaches to find the underlying pattern.
One way to determine the pattern is to calculate the differences between consecutive terms in the sequence:
3 - (-2) = 5
1 - 3 = -2
4 - 1 = 3
5 - 4 = 1
9 - 5 = 4
By calculating the differences, we get a new sequence: 5, -2, 3, 1, 4.
From this new sequence, we can see that the differences alternate between positive and negative values. Additionally, the magnitude of these differences seems to increase by one with each step. This suggests that the pattern involves alternating signs and incrementing values.
Applying this pattern to the differences, we can predict the next difference:
4 + 1 = 5
Now, let's use this predicted difference to find the next value in the original sequence. Starting from the last given value (9) and adding the predicted difference (5), we get:
9 + 5 = 14
Therefore, the most likely 10th value in the sequence is 14.
Comparing this result to the given choices:
A. 23
B. 37
C. 60
D. 97
The closest value to 14 among the given choices is A. 23.