Progressions best shortcuts

                                           Progressions

A lot of practice especially in this particular section will expose you to number of patterns. You need to train yourself so that you can guess the correct patterns in exam quickly.

Few tricks to solve series questions

Despite the fact that it is extremely difficult to lay down all possible combinations of series, still if you follow few steps, you may solve a series question easily & quickly.

Step 1: Do a preliminary screening of the series. If it is a simple series, you will be able to solve this easily.

Step 2: If you fail in preliminary screening then determine the trend of the series. Determine whether this is increasing or decreasing or alternating. Step 3: (A) Perform this step only if a series is increasing or decreasing

Use following rules:

I. If rise is slow or gradual, this type of series is likely to have an additional based increase. Successive numbers have been found by adding some numbers

II. If rise is very sharp initially but slows down later on, the series is likely to be formed by adding squared or cubed numbers

III. If the rise of a series is throughout equally sharp, the series is likely to be multiplication based

IV. If the rise is irregular and haphazard, there may be two possibilities. Either there may be a mix of two series or two different kinds of operations may be going on alternately. (The first is very likely when the increase is very irregular: the second is more likely when there is a pattern, even in the irregularity of the series.)

Step 3: (B) to be performed when series is alternating

If the rise is irregular and haphazard, there may be two possibilities. Either there may be a mix of two series or two different kinds of operations may be going on alternately. (The first is very likely when the increase is very irregular: the second is more likely when there is a pattern, even in the irregularity of the series.)