Number Sequence Puzzle 2 - Find the Missing Number

💡Tips for Parents

▸ Why It Matters This second sequence worksheet raises the stakes past simple rule-spotting: instead of one obvious operation repeating, your child now has to track a chain of two operations working together — "add 2, then multiply by 2, repeat" — or notice that a sequence is decreasing rather than growing. This is a meaningfully different mental skill than the first worksheet asked for. Where the first sheet was about identifying a rule, this one is about holding two pieces of a rule in mind at once and applying them in the correct order, exactly the kind of multi-step tracking children will need for multi-step word problems, long division, and eventually multi-step algebraic equations. ▸ Getting Started Have your child write out, step by step, exactly what happens between each pair of consecutive numbers rather than trying to hold the whole pattern in their head: +2, ×2, +2, ×2, and so on, right underneath the sequence. Writing every step down externalizes the pattern so your child can see it instead of having to remember it, which frees up mental energy for spotting what the two operations actually are. Encourage them to write out all the steps before guessing the answer, even once the alternating pattern seems obvious — confirming it holds for the whole sequence, not just the first two gaps, catches sequences designed to break a rule that looked right at first. ▸ If They Get Stuck If your child tries a single operation and it explains some gaps but not others, that's actually useful information — it usually means two operations are alternating rather than one being wrong. Have them check the gaps that didn't fit against a completely different operation, especially subtraction or division if the sequence is shrinking; children naturally default to thinking numbers must be growing, and this set is built specifically to break that default. If the sequence is decreasing and they keep trying addition, gently point out the direction of the numbers before pointing out the operation. ▸ Praise Points Praise the specific insight of noticing two alternating steps rather than one repeating rule: "You noticed this wasn't just one rule over and over — it was two rules taking turns, and you figured out both of them. That's a sharper kind of pattern-spotting than the last worksheet needed." Naming the exact cognitive leap — tracking two things instead of one — helps your child recognize that leap the next time they meet it, whether in a harder sequence or in an unrelated multi-step problem at school.

🎯What This Worksheet Builds

This worksheet raises the bar with multi-step sequences — combinations like "add 2, then multiply by 2, repeat" or numbers that decrease — so children must track more than one operation at a time instead of spotting a single obvious rule.

👉Next Step

After mastering these layered sequences, try a Matrix Reasoning worksheet to apply the same rule-finding skill to visual grids instead of numbers.