Aptitude Odd Man Out and Series

Odd Man Out and Series topic is one of the easiest topics in the Logical reasoning section. Majorly Number system, Arithmetic Progression, Geometric progression, squares, square root, cubes, cubes and binomial theorem are used. It’s crucial to properly understand the Odd Man Out and Series idea in order to master it. This entails understanding how to recognize the object that stands out from the others in Odd Man Out questions and how to locate the subsequent object in a particular sequence in Series questions. 

The following article covers a lot of questions on aptitude tests to aid in the improvement of your conceptual comprehension. Creating a methodical way to answering these questions is also beneficial. This could entail examining the distinctions between the things or seeking for patterns or commonalities in the objects.

To ace this topic one needs to have a basic understanding of Series, A.P, G.P, and so on.

Series : 

A series is made up of concepts or components that follow a particular pattern, but this pattern cannot be generalized broadly. It’s critical to determine the precise link between the numbers that make up the series in order to comprehend this pattern. You can figure out the precise structure of a series by performing operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and transposition of terms.

For Example:

1, 4, 7, 10, 13…………. In this series there is a pattern of +3.

Arithmetic Series : 

An arithmetic series is a mathematical sequence in which the next term is obtained by adding or subtracting a set value from each term. It may be described as a series of integers where any two adjacent number’s differences always remain constant.

For example: 

10, 20, 30, 40, 50,……….

Geometric Progression :

A geometric series is a mathematical progression in which each term is obtained by multiplying the preceding term by a constant, or the common ratio. A geometric series is, in other words, a set of integers where any two successive terms have a fixed ratio.

For Example: 

1, 4, 16, 64, 256,…………….,

Odd number / Even number / Prime number series : 

Let’s learn these types of series by an example.

Odd Number series – 1, 3, 5, 7, 9………… and so on.

Even Number series – 2, 4, 6, 8, 10…………. and so on.

Prime number series – 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13……………… and so on.

Perfect Square/cubes series : 

Let’s learn these types of series by an example.

Perfect square – 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, ………………. and so on

Perfect cubes – 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, 216, ……………. and so on.

Tips and Tricks to Solve Odd man and Out series Questions : 

For the odd man out series: 

1. Find connections between the things on the provided list.
2.  Using the similarities, identify the object that doesn’t belong with the others.
3. Any patterns, numbers, or connections between the things should be noted.
4. Discard any things that don’t fit the pattern or have a common characteristic.
5. To reduce the number of potential solutions, use logic and deduction.

Practice Questions on Odd Man Out and Series: 

Find the odd man out from the following Questions : 

Q 1. 1, 5, 15, 24, 29, 35, ?

a. 15

b. 24

c. 29

d. 35

Solution :

Out of all the numbers from the series, 24 is the only even number so option (b) will be the correct choice.

Q 2. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, 22 ?

a. 15

b. 10

c. 4

d. 20

Solution :

Out of all the numbers from the series, 15 is the only odd number so option (a) will be the correct choice.

Q 3. 1, 8, 27, 64, 81, 125, ?

a. 27

b. 64

c. 81

d. 125

Solution :

As we can observe except 81 all the numbers form a series of perfect cubes. Hence option (c) will be the correct choice.

Q 4. 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 65, 81, 100.

a. 25

b. 36

c. 49

d. 65

Solution :

As we can observe except 65 all are perfect squares.

Q 5. 5, 10, 15, 20, 24, 30, 35, 40.

a. 15

b. 24

c. 30

d. 40

Solution :

As we can see all the numbers are a multiple of 5 except 24. Hence option (b) will be the correct choice.

Q 6. 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 28, 32, 36, 40.

a. 16

b. 20

c. 25

d. 28

Solution :

As we can see all the numbers are a multiple of 4 except 25. Hence option (c) will be the correct choice.

Q 7. 10, 27, 44, 61, 78, 95, 111, 129.

a. 111

b. 78

c. 95

d. 129

Solution :

 As we can see from the series it’s an AP series of common differences 17. So out of all the numbers, 111 is the odd man out here. Hence option (a) will be the correct choice.

Q 8. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 129, 256.

a. 64

b. 129

c. 256

d. 16

Solution :

As we can it’s a GP of common difference 2. Out of all the numbers, 129 will be the odd man out here. Hence option (b) will be the correct choice.

Q 9. 15, 19, 23, 27, 31, 35, 40. 43.

a. 23

b. 27

c. 35

d. 40

Solution : 

We can answer this by using two methods – 

1 – 40 is the only even number so 40 will be the odd man out here.

2 – As we can observe it is an AP of common difference 4. So 40 is not the next term after 35. Hence option (d) will be the correct choice.

Q 10. 4, 12, 36, 108, 325, 972.

a. 36

b. 325

c. 108

d. 972

Solution :

As we can see this is a GP of common difference 4. 325 will be the odd man out here. Hence option (b) will be the correct choice.