Alphabet and Number Test

For examinations, the general mental ability test is a significant one. One of the concepts often asked about is the alphabet and number test. 

In the present section, we will be going over the latter half of the concept. This section aims to clear any doubts that you might have regarding number series and their application in tests. At the end of this, we hope that you will better understand the problem.

Number series

Problems given in the number test deal with series and logical puzzles. The question can have a series of numbers, asking the student to answer what comes next in the given sequence. This will require the student to study the instructions and understand the relation between the numbers in the series.

Once that relation has been discovered, the student can calculate the next number in the series and pick it out from the given options. The number test questions can be either logic-oriented or quantitative in the exam. To understand the two types of questions, we will take the help of an example.

E.g.1 – 

How many Fives are present in the given number sequence that is preceded immediately by 3 or 4 but not followed by eight or nine?

3 5  4 5 3  7 4 5 4 8 6 7 5 8 8 3 5 6 7 5 6 5 7 

Questions like these fall under the logical reasoning category. You have to use your logical reasoning faculties to arrive at the correct answer. They test how good you are at the perception of data.

The second type of number test can be more analytical, and it will require you to use mathematical tools to determine the relationship between the given numbers. A prevalent type for such questions would be the use of the exponential series. The given series of numbers increase exponentially, and the student has to answer correctly about the following number in the series.

E.g.2 –

1, 2, 9, 64, _

Find the next number that will come in the space in the question given above.

To pass the number test, you have to understand the basic math behind the question. Each of the numbers in the series from the above example is increasing in a predetermined fashion, and you have to work out the solution.

The solution for the second example would be 625.

This is how:

10 = 1

21 = 2

32 = 9

43 = 64

Since the number that naturally follows 4 is 5, the answer will be:

54 = 625

Questions like these form a majority of the paper in a number test.

How to ace the test

One of the best ways to ace the number test is to go through many solved number series questions. The more solved examples you will follow, the more exposure you will get to the probable questions in the examination. 

Another excellent way to prepare for the examination is to practice number test questions. You can buy an exercise book and start going through it. This way, you will also be able to pinpoint the areas where you require work. You can always look up the solution online anywhere you stumble.

Practise makes perfect

It is alright if you did not know the answer to the questions we asked above; you could get better through practice. The first step is to get started. If you want to clear one of the many exams that ask number questions, you must start preparing accordingly.

Set aside a limited amount of time daily to practice the concept, and as you progress, you will realise that you know the questions well. 

Conclusion

General mental ability forms the basic qualification of any test that an applicant will eventually take, and the number test will be a part of it. This emphasis on the knowledge and understanding of numbers is due to the omnipresence of maths in our daily life. The knowledge of mathematics and a sense of logical reasoning will help you out in other walks of life too. In any profession, one has to make decisions based on numbers. One has to follow the complex representation of data and understand the economics of things; these will be impossible without the help of numbers.