Study the following sequence of numbers. Then see if you can determine what the next number in the sequence should be.

100 99.5 98.5 97 95 92.5 89.5

85 is the answer because it goes down by 3.5.

Step-by-step explanation:

100-.5=99.5, 99.5-1=98.5, 98.5-1.5=97, 97-2=95, 95-2.5=92.5, 92.5 - 3 = 89.5, 89.5-3.5=85, then 85-4=81, then so on.

86

Step-by-step explanation:

The pattern follows this rule:

Every time, the difference between current term and the succeeding term is 0.5 more than that of the current term and preceding term.

The difference between the current term and the preceding term is:

89.5 - 92.5 = 3

Hence, the next term of the sequence should be 3.5 less than the current term.

Hence, the next term is 89.5 - 3.5 = 86.