# What is the missing item that completes the pattern?

There is one missing item to make the pattern logically complete

• I can't tell for sure what defines an "item" here. For instance, is the single unfilled circle a separate "item" from the three unfilled circles below it and the two filled circles below them, or is the entire collection an "item"? Jan 22, 2016 at 15:32
• Please don't use the tag "logic-puzzle" unless formal deduction is involved.
– Deusovi
Jan 22, 2016 at 16:21
• @MontyHarder Glad it's not just me - even if the "items" are discrete, I can't tell what direction the "sequence" is supposed to be - vertical? horizontal? clockwise? etc. Jan 22, 2016 at 16:22

## 2 Answers

The amount of black and white dots are supposed to be equal. In that case there is currently 12 white dots and 18 black dots. The pattern is that there are (including the missing one) 8 different set of dots each with a different number of dots from 1 to 8.

The missing one must be 6 dots long. To make the amount of black and white dots equal, you need 6 white dots. So the missing one will be a set of 6 white dots.

And:

It will be vertical because dots with even number of dots are vertical and an odd number of dots is horizontal.

So:

• The pattern suggests that even are vertical and odd are horizontal, though. Jan 22, 2016 at 20:59
• Yeah, I realized I didn't make that very clear... should maybe have been interchange directions in the series of increasing number of dots. Oh, well. Jan 22, 2016 at 22:19
• @JoeBeastlyGerbil Dude this has already been answered Jan 23, 2016 at 3:52
• @Daedric I Know, but 1. The first answer hasn't been accepted and 2. I'm trying to explain it in more detail Jan 23, 2016 at 10:00

@ $$\circ\\\circ\\\circ\\\circ\\\circ\\\circ$$

Because:

The sets of dots interchange in vertical/horizontal. Number of dots in each set increases by one (so the set containing six dots is missing). The number of black and white dots are of equal amount (18 of each, this seems to be the most logical answer).

• Nice spoiler. :) Jan 22, 2016 at 15:44
• I'm unsure on whether the black & white dots create 2 different additional series of dots (there would be 2 and 7 missing for white and 3 for black) but otherwise this seems correct imo Jan 22, 2016 at 16:18
• On each column there are 4 whites. :) Jan 22, 2016 at 18:31