Recently, a reader of our blog asked the following question:

Hi

May I request your help in solving this number pattern?

7/8, 2/3, 1/2, 4/11, 1/4, ? , ?

Thanks and best regards

This is indeed a tricky and curious question. Scroll down after our recommended book to find out the answer…

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Puzzles to Puzzle You

For many, mathematics is a scary subject that they have been taught to hate right from their childhood. The subject is often termed as hard and tedious, and people hardly take the time to delve into its formulae and theories. Mathematics can be fun, though, when approached in the right way. This puzzle book shows its readers delightful ways in which they can tease their brains and make them work, through solving some very interesting maths problems. Puzzles to Puzzle You features exciting and intriguing mathematical puzzles that will help readers sharpen their maths skills in a fun way. The puzzles here are devised and presented by Shakuntala Devi, the well-known mathematical genius from India. Matching wits with the genius and trying to solve the puzzles can be a very interesting and productive activity, especially for students, children, and professionals.

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Here is the answer:

7/8, 2/3, 1/2, 4/11, 1/4

when put in another form is:

7/8, 6/9, 5/10, 4/11, 3/12

As we can see, the numerator is constantly decreasing by 1, while the denominator is increasing by 1.

Hence the next two terms are: 2/13, 1/14 respectively. 🙂