In the number series given below, one particular number is wrong. Find out…

Concept: In a ‘find the wrong number’ series, every term after the first is produced from the one immediately before it by a single connecting rule. Solving the item means inferring that rule from the terms that plainly fit it, then applying it in order to locate the one term where the produced value disagrees with the listed value.

1. 6 to 15: 6 × 2 + 3 = 15 — matches the listed value.

2. 15 to 41: 15 × 3 − 4 = 41 — matches the listed value (the multiplier and the added/subtracted amount each rise by 1 from the previous step, alternating between addition and subtraction).

3. 41 to the next term: 41 × 4 + 5 = 169 — the series lists 179 at this position, so this term does not match.

4. 169 to 839: 169 × 5 − 6 = 839 — matches the listed final value, confirming that 169 (not 179) belongs at this position.

Cross-check: working backward from the last term independently, (839 + 6) ÷ 5 = 169 — the same value obtained forward from 41, so the correction is consistent in both directions.

Result: the wrong number in the series is 179; it should be 169.