What should come in place of question mark (?) in the following number series?
185, 149, 119, 94, 73, ?

Options

A. 54
B. 55
C. 58
D. 56

Answer

To find the missing number in the series 185, 149, 119, 94, 73, ?, we will analyze the differences between the consecutive numbers.

### Step 1: Calculate the differences between the numbers in the series.

1. **From 185 to 149**:
Difference = 185 - 149 = 36

2. **From 149 to 119**:
Difference = 149 - 119 = 30

3. **From 119 to 94**:
Difference = 119 - 94 = 25

4. **From 94 to 73**:
Difference = 94 - 73 = 21

### Step 2: Identify the pattern in the differences.

Now, let's list the differences we calculated:
- 36, 30, 25, 21

Next, we observe the pattern in the differences:
- The difference between 36 and 30 is 6.
- The difference between 30 and 25 is 5.
- The difference between 25 and 21 is 4.

### Step 3: Continue the pattern.

Following the pattern, the next difference should decrease by 3 (the pattern of differences is decreasing by 1 each time):
- The next difference = 21 - 3 = 18.

### Step 4: Calculate the missing number.

Now, we will subtract this difference from the last known number in the series:
- Missing number = 73 - 18 = 55.

### Conclusion:

The missing number in the series is **55**.