PRACTICE GUIDE AKUNA CAPITAL
Akuna Capital Sequences Test Practice
Outcry’s Akuna Capital sequences test practice section has 24 questions in 12 minutes. These numbers describe the linked mock; the source check below distinguishes published details from practice settings.
80 typed arithmetic questions in 8 minutes and 24 sequences in 12 minutes are the practice configuration. The −1 wrong-answer rule is Outcry’s, not verified firm policy.
Outcry is not affiliated with Akuna Capital and has no access to their assessment content. This guide describes an assessment format that candidates report publicly; the questions here are generated by Outcry and are not Akuna Capital’s own.
What it screens
A Chicago options market maker with a strong C++ and derivatives-pricing focus.
- ✓First and second differences, ratios, and alternating patterns
- ✓Interleaved sequences (two rules taking turns)
- ✓Squares, cubes, primes and factorials recognised on sight
- ✓Committing to an answer with seconds left
Where it sits at Akuna Capital
Akuna’s current public careers material does not verify this mock’s exact maths/sequences counts, clocks or deductions.
Practice stage: Math & sequences practice · round unconfirmed. 80 typed arithmetic questions in 8 minutes and 24 sequences in 12 minutes are the practice configuration. The −1 wrong-answer rule is Outcry’s, not verified firm policy.
The format
These are the settings used by Outcry’s Akuna Capital practice sitting. They are not automatically the employer’s published format; see the linked assessment’s source check.
| Questions | 24 |
|---|---|
| Time | 12 minutes |
| Per question | 30 seconds |
| Negative marking | Yes - a wrong answer costs a mark |
| Answer style | Typed numeric answer, no calculator |
| Where it sits | Math & sequences practice · round unconfirmed |
What it tests, with a worked example
Every example below is generated by Outcry, drawn from the same question generators the timed drills run. None of them is Akuna Capital’s.
Second-order differences
The differences themselves form a pattern - the give-away for a quadratic rule.
Example 1
How many numbers from 1 to 150 are divisible by 3 or by 5?
Answer 70
50 multiples of 3, 30 of 5, and 10 counted twice as multiples of 15: 50 + 30 − 10 = 70.
Example 2
What comes next: 1, 8, 27, 64, 125, ?
Answer 216
Cubes from 1: next is 6³ = 216.
Example 3
What comes next: 15, 21, 28, 36, 45, ?
Answer 55
Triangular numbers - the gaps go up by one each time. Next is 45 + 10 = 55.
Interleaved sequences
Two rules taking alternate turns, which reads as noise until you split the list.
Example 1
11, 30, 68, 144, 296, ? What comes next?
Answer 600
Double and add 8: 296 × 2 + 8 = 600.
Example 2
34, 37, 40, 43, 46, ? What comes next?
Answer 49
Each term adds 3, so 46 + 3 = 49.
Example 3
9, 24, 54, 114, 234, ? What comes next?
Answer 474
Double and add 6: 234 × 2 + 6 = 474.
Operation chains
Each term built from the last by a repeating operation cycle rather than one rule.
Example 1
11, 13, 17, 19, 23, ? What comes next?
Answer 29
Consecutive primes from 11. After 23 comes 29.
Example 2
1, 8, 27, 64, 125, ? What comes next?
Answer 216
Cubes from 1³. Next is 6³ = 216.
Example 3
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, ? What comes next?
Answer 24
Twice the last minus the one before: 2 × 20 - 16 = 24.
Ratio runs that are not geometric
Terms whose ratios themselves move, which reads as geometric until the third term breaks it.
Example 1
9, 25, 57, 121, 249, ? What comes next?
Answer 505
Double and add 7: 249 × 2 + 7 = 505.
Example 2
19, 27, 37, 49, 63, ? What comes next?
Answer 79
The gaps are 8, 10, 12, 14 and grow by 2. Next gap 16, so 63 + 16 = 79.
Example 3
11, 30, 68, 144, 296, ? What comes next?
Answer 600
Double and add 8: 296 × 2 + 8 = 600.
Position-dependent rules
The rule uses the index rather than the previous term, so differences never settle.
Example
Which one does not belong: 83, 16, 81, 49?
- 81
- 83
- 49
- 16
Answer 83
81, 49, 16 are all perfect squares. 83 is not.
Sequences with a planted decoy
An opening that fits two rules, where the fourth term is what decides between them.
Example 1
3, -6, 12, -24, 48, -96, ?
Answer 192
Each term is -2 times the one before it. -96 × -2 = 192.
Example 2
3, 7, 15, 31, 63, 127, ?
Answer 255
Each term is 2 times the last, plus 1. 2 × 127 + 1 = 255.
Example 3
2, 7, 8, -5, -34, -53, ?
Answer -4
Each term is 2 × the previous term, minus 3 × the one before that. 2 × -53 + 102 = -4.
What a good score looks like
Use this mock’s score and worked review to identify skills to practise. No Outcry score guarantees a pass or a hiring outcome; a current employer threshold for this practice paper has not been verified.
How to train for it
- 01Practise splitting a list into odd and even positions the moment the differences look random. That one move solves every interleaved item.
- 02Memorise the small squares, cubes, primes and factorials to sight-recognition. Deriving them is what costs the time.
- 03Give yourself a fixed budget per item and abandon at it. One sequence you refuse to let go of costs more than the three you never reach.
TRAIN IT HERE
The drills that match each section
Sequence Sprint
Timed next-term sequences, exactly the assessment format.
Arithmetic Drill
The raw calculation speed that sequence tests assume you already have.
SIT THE FULL BATTERY
All the sections back to back on one clock, marked the way the real screen marks them, with a by-skill breakdown at the end. Included with any pass.
Also reported at Akuna Capital
Common questions
- Is this Akuna Capital’s official sequences test test?
- No. Outcry generates its own questions. Akuna’s current public careers material does not verify this mock’s exact maths/sequences counts, clocks or deductions. 80 typed arithmetic questions in 8 minutes and 24 sequences in 12 minutes are the practice configuration. The −1 wrong-answer rule is Outcry’s, not verified firm policy.
- How long is this sequences test practice section?
- 24 questions in 12 minutes in the Outcry mock. These are practice settings unless the source check explicitly confirms them.
- How is the practice marked?
- Correct answers earn 1 mark unless the question states another weight. Wrong answers lose 1; unanswered items lose 0, including timeouts. These rules apply to this mock.
- Where can I check the employer’s process?
- See the public source check on the linked assessment. Your role-specific invitation governs the actual format, permitted tools and scoring.
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