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Question

What should come in place of the question mark '?' in the following number series?

12, 6, 0, -6, ?, -18

This question was previously asked in
SSC CGL 2025 Tier 2 Paper 1 Question Paper (19-Jan-2026)
The correct answer is
-12

Number Series Logic

Analyze the given number series: 12, 6, 0, -6, ?, -18.

We need to identify the pattern connecting the terms.

  • Difference between the first and second term: $12 - 6 = 6$
  • Difference between the second and third term: $6 - 0 = 6$
  • Difference between the third and fourth term: $0 - (-6) = 6$

The series is decreasing by a constant value.

Finding the Missing Term

The pattern is an arithmetic progression where each term is obtained by subtracting 6 from the previous term.

Let the missing term be 'x'.

  • The fourth term is -6.
  • To find the fifth term (x), subtract 6 from the fourth term: $x = -6 - 6$
  • Calculation: $x = -12$
  • To verify, check the difference between the calculated fifth term (-12) and the sixth term (-18): $-12 - (-18) = -12 + 18 = 6$. The pattern holds true.

Therefore, the missing number in the series is -12.

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Similar Questions

  1. Which number breaks the pattern? 

    3, 6, 11, 20, 33, 70

  2. What should come in place of the question mark '?' in the following number series?
    $45, 40, 50, ?, 55, 30$
  3. Complete the series.
    $25, 36, 49, 64, 81, ?$
  4. What should come at the place of question mark? : $98, 90, 82, 74, ?, 58$
  5. In the following question, select the missing number from the given series.

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  6. What is the next number in the series?
    1, 3, 9, 27, ___
  7. Complete the series.
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  9. The series given below contains a sequence of numbers. Accordingly identify the incorrect combination.
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  10. Find the WRONG number in the given series.
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Important Questions from Number Series

  1. What will come in place of question mark (?) in the following number series?

    2, 5, 11, 23, 44, 77, ?

  2. What will come in place of question mark (?) in the following number series?

    31, 32, 36, ?, 61, 86

  3. What will come in the place of question mark (?) in the following number series?

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  4. What should come in place of the question mark ‘?’ in the following number series?

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  5. A series is given with one term wrong. Select that wrong term from the given alternatives.

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