# Find the next number in this sequence?

Well I have tried a few moves but don't get anywhere! The second number is the first by removing the bottom left stick. Also the fourth is the third by moving also the bottom left stick to the right. I don't know what to do next.

• Pretty sure its going to be a 1, but don't know why – Beastly Gerbil Nov 4 '17 at 18:56

It is the number of nodes, and the last number is "one"

• @Samuel if this is correct don't forget to mark this answer as correct by clicking the tick under the vote buttons! :) – Beastly Gerbil Nov 4 '17 at 19:39
• It took me a while to understand, but for anyone else who doesn't understand it's the number of joins in each, so the 8 has 6 joins, the 9 has 5 joins, the 1 has 4 and so forth – Tas Nov 5 '17 at 7:55
• @Tas thanks for your explanation. However there is a correction. 2 has 4 joints but not 1. – Mea Culpa Nay Nov 7 '17 at 3:47

It is the number of edges in a path of maximal length.

1 if you look at the pattern in which ones are removed and moved you will see that one is removed for 9. Then the opposite is removed for two. Next one is slid over to make three, then the bottom one is removed for seven. So according to the pattern, you would remove the top one to make one because it is the opposite of the bottom.