PRACTICE GUIDE TMG
TMG Number Sequences Practice Test
This guide offers number sequences preparation for readers interested in TransMarket Group. The general practice ranges below are not a verified assessment specification for that employer.
Those are ranges across firms running this format rather than TransMarket Group's own figures, so treat them as the shape to train against and check the instruction screen on the day for the marking rule.
These are Outcry preparation topics, not a verified current firm assessment specification. Check your role-specific invitation for the test, timing, tools and recruitment stage.
Outcry is not affiliated with TransMarket Group 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 TransMarket Group’s own.
What it screens
A quantitative proprietary trading and technology firm.
- ✓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 TransMarket Group
A quantitative proprietary trading and technology firm. The topics here are Outcry preparation suggestions, not a verified firm syllabus or recruiting stage.
Outcry also has 3 other topic guides for readers interested in TransMarket Group. Their presence does not mean applicants must sit that many tests or that they belong to one recruiting round.
The format
These are general practice ranges, not a verified current assessment specification for TransMarket Group. Check the employer’s invitation for the actual format.
| 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 | Preparation topics · employer 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 TransMarket Group’s.
Arithmetic and geometric runs
A constant difference or a constant ratio, sometimes with the first term chosen to hide it.
Example 1
-11, -4, 4, 13, 23, ?
Answer 34
First differences increase by 1 each time, forcing the sequence to cross zero.
Example 2
-4, 99, -1, 79, 2, ?
Answer 59
Interleaved sequences: odd positions rise slowly from near zero, evens drop rapidly.
Example 3
-1, 6, -5, -1, 6, ?
Answer -5
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 1
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.
Example 2
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.
Example 3
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.
Interleaved sequences
Two rules taking alternate turns, which reads as noise until you split the list.
Example 1
9, 24, 54, 114, 234, ? What comes next?
Answer 474
Double and add 6: 234 × 2 + 6 = 474.
Example 2
10, 25, 55, 115, 235, ? What comes next?
Answer 475
Double and add 5: 235 × 2 + 5 = 475.
Example 3
8, 16, 32, 64, 128, ? What comes next?
Answer 256
Each term multiplies by 2, so 128 × 2 = 256.
Operation chains
Each term built from the last by a repeating operation cycle rather than one rule.
Example 1
4, 8, 12, 16, 20, ? What comes next?
Answer 24
Twice the last minus the one before: 2 × 20 - 16 = 24.
Example 2
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 3
9, 22, 48, 100, 204, ? What comes next?
Answer 412
Double and add 4: 204 × 2 + 4 = 412.
Ratio runs that are not geometric
Terms whose ratios themselves move, which reads as geometric until the third term breaks it.
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.
Position-dependent rules
The rule uses the index rather than the previous term, so differences never settle.
Example 1
What comes next: 1, 3, 7, 15, 31, ?
Answer 63
One less than a power of two: 2^6 − 1 = 63. Equivalently double and add 1.
Example 2
What comes next: 5, 10, 30, 120, 600, ?
Answer 3600
The multiplier grows: ×2, ×3, ×4, ×5, so next is ×6: 600 × 6 = 3600.
Example 3
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.
What a good score looks like
No current employer cutoff is verified for these general practice ranges. Use the worked examples to identify what to study and check your role-specific invitation for the actual assessment rules.
How to train for it
- 01Learn to take first and second differences automatically, before trying anything cleverer. It resolves most items on its own.
- 02Practise splitting a list into odd and even positions the moment the differences look random. That one move solves every interleaved item.
- 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 TransMarket Group
Common questions
- Is the TMG number sequences test multiple choice?
- This guide uses typed next term for practice. The employer’s current answer format was not verified here.
- How long is the TMG number sequences test?
- This guide uses general practice ranges of 20 to 30 questions in 10 to 25 minutes. They are not a verified current employer format.
- Is there negative marking on the TMG 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?
- The warm-up drills are free with no account, and every pass opens the rest of the drills linked on this page. Questions are generated fresh each run, so there is nothing to memorise between attempts.