Sequence Questions in Timed Trading Assessments

Arithmetic, geometric, second-difference and Fibonacci-style sequences cover almost every pattern question asked in a timed trading assessment.

Sequence questions in timed trading assessments test pattern recognition under a clock, and the four families that cover almost everything asked are arithmetic sequences with a constant difference, geometric sequences with a constant ratio, sequences built from a changing difference that itself follows a pattern, and Fibonacci-style sequences where each term depends on the two before it. Identifying which family a sequence belongs to inside the first three terms is most of the skill, since the arithmetic needed to extend any of the four is simple once the underlying rule is clear.

The sequence 4, 7, 10, 13 adds 3 at every step, and the next term is 13 plus 3, which is 16. Spotting an arithmetic sequence is a matter of checking whether the difference between consecutive terms stays the same, and once it does, extending the sequence any number of steps forward is just repeated addition of that constant difference.

A sequence does not need to increase to be arithmetic. 50, 44, 38, 32 subtracts 6 at every step, and the next term is 32 minus 6, which is 26. Reading the sign of the difference correctly at the start avoids the common error of extending a decreasing sequence in the wrong direction under time pressure.

The sequence 3, 6, 12, 24 multiplies by 2 at every step, and the next term is 24 times 2, which is 48. Geometric sequences are identified by checking whether consecutive terms share a constant ratio rather than a constant difference, and a sequence that grows faster with each step, rather than by a fixed amount, is the signal to check for a ratio instead of a difference.

The ratio does not need to be a whole number. 100, 70, 49, 34.3 multiplies by 0.7 at every step, and recognizing a shrinking geometric sequence, one with a ratio between 0 and 1, matters because the terms decrease but never reach zero, which is a different shape from an arithmetic sequence counting down toward a fixed endpoint.