Answer: What Comes Next? #413

The answer is B: 2.

The finished pattern: 128, 64, 32, 16, 8, 4, 2.
The finished pattern.

The rule

Halve the number each time (divide by 2). In Python, // divides and gives a whole number.

The pattern as Python code

Here is a tiny Python program that follows the same rule. Type it into IDLE and run it to print the whole pattern, including the answer.

number = 128
for step in range(7):
    print(number)
    number = number // 2

When you run it, Python prints:

128
64
32
16
8
4
2

Pixel says: Try changing a number in the code and run it again. Can you make the pattern go on for 20 steps? Meow!