240, 120, 40, 10, ? — Aptitude Question
240, 120, 40, 10, ?: Find the next term: 240, 120, 40, 10, ? Answer and worked solution on CodeKairo.
- Topic: Number & Letter Series
- Section: Logical Reasoning
- Difficulty: Medium
- Time target: 60 seconds
Question
Find the next term:
240, 120, 40, 10, ?
Options
- 2
- 4
- 5
- 8
Show the answer and the worked solution
Correct answer: A. 2
Worked solution
- 240 ÷ 2 = 120; 120 ÷ 3 = 40; 40 ÷ 4 = 10.
- Next = 10 ÷ 5 = 2.
Answer: 2.
The idea
The mirror of the rising-multiplier series. Dividing consecutive terms exposes the pattern in one line.
Shortcut. Each term is 240 divided by a factorial: 240 ÷ 1, ÷ 2, ÷ 6, ÷ 24, so the next is 240 ÷ 120 = 2.
Common trap. 5 — writing down the next divisor instead of using it; the step is ÷ 5, and 10 ÷ 5 = 2.