PRACTICE GUIDE IMC TRADING
IMC Trading Number Sequences Practice Test
IMC Trading does not publish the shape of its number sequences screen, and candidates describe it as 20 to 30 questions in 10 to 25 minutes, roughly about 30 to 60 seconds per question, answered by typing the number, with no calculator.
Those are ranges across firms running this format rather than IMC Trading's own figures, so treat them as the shape to train against and check the instruction screen on the day for the marking rule.
Outcry is not affiliated with IMC Trading 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 IMC Trading’s own.
What it screens
A market maker founded in Amsterdam, trading on exchanges worldwide with desks in Chicago, Sydney and Mumbai.
- ✓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 IMC Trading
A market maker founded in Amsterdam, trading on exchanges worldwide with desks in Chicago, Sydney and Mumbai. What that means for the screen is that the questions tend to be drawn from the work rather than from a textbook, so the format below is the shape to train against rather than a syllabus.
Candidates also report 4 other screens at IMC Trading, covered separately on this site. Where a firm runs several, they usually sit in one round rather than spread across the process, so the pacing of the whole set matters more than any single section.
The format
IMC Trading does not publish this screen's shape, and it varies between firms, so these are the ranges candidates report rather than exact figures.
| Questions | 20 to 30 |
|---|---|
| Time | 10 to 25 minutes |
| Per question | about 30 to 60 seconds |
| Negative marking | Varies by firm and year |
| Answer style | Typed next term |
| Where it sits | Usually the same sitting as the arithmetic screen |
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 IMC Trading’s.
Arithmetic and geometric runs
A constant difference or a constant ratio, sometimes with the first term chosen to hide it.
Example 1
-4, 99, -1, 79, 2, ?
Answer 59
Interleaved sequences: odd positions rise slowly from near zero, evens drop rapidly.
Example 2
-1, 6, -5, -1, 6, ?
Answer -5
Each term is -1× previous minus the one before it.
Example 3
3, 5, -8, 3, 5, ?
Answer -8
Each term is -1× previous minus the one before it.
Second-order differences
The differences themselves form a pattern - the give-away for a quadratic rule.
Example
All traders are risk-takers. No risk-takers are cautious people. What follows?
- No traders are cautious people
- Some traders are cautious people
- No cautious people are risk-takers only if some traders are
- All risk-takers are traders
Answer No traders are cautious people
Every trader sits inside risk-takers, and that set is disjoint from cautious people, so none can overlap.
Interleaved sequences
Two rules taking alternate turns, which reads as noise until you split the list.
Example 1
10, 25, 55, 115, 235, ? What comes next?
Answer 475
Double and add 5: 235 × 2 + 5 = 475.
Example 2
8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ? What comes next?
Answer 256
Each term multiplies by 2, so 128 × 2 = 256.
Example 3
43, 49, 55, 61, 67, ? What comes next?
Answer 73
Each term adds 6, so 67 + 6 = 73.
Operation chains
Each term built from the last by a repeating operation cycle rather than one rule.
Example 1
24, 67, 29, 75, 34, ? What comes next?
Answer 83
Two sequences alternate. Odd positions 24, 29, 34 add 5. Even positions 67, 75 add 8, so the next is 83.
Example 2
9, 22, 48, 100, 204, ? What comes next?
Answer 412
Double and add 4: 204 × 2 + 4 = 412.
Example 3
36, 50, 64, 78, 92, ? What comes next?
Answer 106
Each term adds 14: 92 + 14 = 106.
Ratio runs that are not geometric
Terms whose ratios themselves move, which reads as geometric until the third term breaks it.
Example 1
34, 37, 40, 43, 46, ? What comes next?
Answer 49
Each term adds 3, so 46 + 3 = 49.
Example 2
9, 24, 54, 114, 234, ? What comes next?
Answer 474
Double and add 6: 234 × 2 + 6 = 474.
Example 3
10, 25, 55, 115, 235, ? What comes next?
Answer 475
Double and add 5: 235 × 2 + 5 = 475.
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
These are usually scored alongside the arithmetic section rather than reported separately, so a standalone cutoff is rarely visible. Candidates describe the sequences round as the one that responds fastest to practice, because the rule families are few.
How to train for it
- 01Memorise the small squares, cubes, primes and factorials to sight-recognition. Deriving them is what costs the time.
- 02Give 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.
- 03Check the rule against the last term before you answer. A rule that fits the first three and fails the fourth is the most common way to lose one of these.
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 IMC Trading
Common questions
- Is the IMC Trading number sequences test multiple choice?
- Reported as typed next term. Formats move, so treat this as the shape rather than a guarantee.
- How long is the IMC Trading number sequences test?
- Candidates report 20 to 30 questions in 10 to 25 minutes, roughly about 30 to 60 seconds per question.
- Is there negative marking on the IMC Trading number sequences test?
- It varies by firm and by year. Where a paper does mark negatively, skipping beats guessing; where it does not, answer everything. Check the instruction screen before you start - it is always stated there.
- How do I practise for it free?
- Every drill linked on this page is free to play, with no account, inside a daily run cap. Questions are generated fresh each run, so there is nothing to memorise between attempts.
Hiring now: current IMC Trading quant openings, refreshed daily.