What will come in place of question mark (?) in the given number series?
16 21 29 40 ? 71

Options

A. 61
B. 50
C. 54
D. 62

Answer

To solve the number series: 16, 21, 29, 40, ?, 71, we need to identify the pattern in the differences between the numbers.

**Step 1: Identify the differences between consecutive numbers.**
- The difference between 16 and 21 is:
21 - 16 = 5
- The difference between 21 and 29 is:
29 - 21 = 8
- The difference between 29 and 40 is:
40 - 29 = 11

**Step 2: Observe the pattern in the differences.**
The differences we have so far are: 5, 8, 11.
We can see that the differences are increasing by 3 each time:
- 8 - 5 = 3
- 11 - 8 = 3

**Step 3: Predict the next difference.**
Following the pattern, the next difference should be:
11 + 3 = 14

**Step 4: Calculate the next number in the series.**
To find the next number after 40, we add the next difference (14) to 40:
40 + 14 = 54

**Step 5: Verify the next difference to ensure consistency.**
Now, we need to check the difference between 54 and the next number, which is 71:
71 - 54 = 17

**Step 6: Confirm the pattern.**
We see that the differences are:
- 5 (16 to 21)
- 8 (21 to 29)
- 11 (29 to 40)
- 14 (40 to 54)
- 17 (54 to 71)

This confirms that our assumption is correct, as the differences are consistently increasing by 3.

**Final Answer:**
The number that comes in place of the question mark (?) is **54**.

---