Question

Each of the three figures below shows three 3 digit numbers, one below the other. Find the odd one out.

(1)	(2)	(3)
583	658	482
146	314	157
729	962	639

• A. Only (1)
• B. Only (2)
• C. Only (3)
• D. None of these

Hint:

Check whether the bottom number in each figure equals the sum of the two numbers above it.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Since three figures are given and one is meant to break a shared rule, the fastest way in is to test each option against the answer choices directly, ruling figures in or out one at a time instead of guessing the rule first.

1. Option (a), only figure (1) is odd: add the top two numbers of figure (1), $583 + 146 = 729$, which is exactly the bottom number shown. Figure (1) fits a clean addition rule, so it does not look like the odd one out. This rules out option (a).
2. Option (c), only figure (3) is odd: add the top two numbers of figure (3), $482 + 157 = 639$, which again matches the bottom number exactly. Figure (3) also fits the same addition rule, so it is not the odd one out either. This rules out option (c).
3. Option (b), only figure (2) is odd: add the top two numbers of figure (2), $658 + 314 = 972$. The bottom number actually printed in figure (2) is 962, which does not match 972. Figure (2) breaks the very rule that figures (1) and (3) both satisfy.
4. Option (d), none of these: since figure (2) clearly does break the shared addition rule while the other two do not, there is a genuine odd one out, so this option cannot be correct.

Let's summarize:

• Figures (1) and (3) both satisfy bottom number equals sum of the top two numbers.
• Figure (2) fails this same check by a difference of 10.

Therefore, figure (2) is the odd one out, and the correct choice is option (b), only (2).