What Comes Next? #2 | Worksheet - Free Printable

Let’s go row by row and find the pattern in each one. We’ll look at what repeats or changes, then pick the correct next item from the options on the right.

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Row 1: Ducks and Chickens

Pattern:
Yellow duck → Gray chicken → Yellow duck → Gray chicken → Yellow duck → ?

So it alternates: Duck, Chicken, Duck, Chicken, Duck...
Next should be Chicken.

Right side options:
Top: Yellow duck
Bottom: Gray chicken ← This matches!

✔ So for Row 1, answer is Gray chicken

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Row 2: Mugs and Hats

Pattern:
Red mug → Black top hat → Black top hat → Red mug → Black top hat → ?

Wait — let’s list them:

1. Red mug
2. Black hat
3. Black hat
4. Red mug
5. Black hat
6. ?

Hmm… maybe group as pairs?

Try grouping:
( Mug, Hat ), ( Hat, Mug ), ( Hat, ? )

Not clear.

Alternative: Look at positions:

Position 1: Mug
Position 2: Hat
Position 3: Hat
Position 4: Mug
Position 5: Hat
Position 6: ?

Maybe it’s repeating every 3? Let’s see:

Positions 1-3: Mug, Hat, Hat
Positions 4-6: Mug, Hat, ?

If same pattern, position 6 should be Hat

But wait — position 3 was Hat, position 6 should also be Hat? But we have two choices on right:

Top: Black hat
Bottom: Red mug

We need to check if “Mug, Hat, Hat” repeats.

Yes:
Group 1: [Mug, Hat, Hat]
Group 2: [Mug, Hat, ?] → should be Hat to complete the repeat.

So next is Black hat

✔ Row 2 answer: Black hat

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Row 3: Birds with different colors

Sequence:

1. White bird + yellow cone hat
2. White bird + green headband
3. Brown duck + green headband
4. White bird + green headband
5. White bird + yellow cone hat
6. ?

Let’s write symbols:

A = white bird + yellow cone
B = white bird + green headband
C = brown duck + green headband

Sequence: A, B, C, B, A, ?

Looks like a mirror or palindrome:

A, B, C, B, A → next should be... what comes after the middle?

Actually, it’s symmetric around the center (position 3):

Pos 1: A
Pos 2: B
Pos 3: C
Pos 4: B
Pos 5: A
Pos 6: ? → should be B? Or does it restart?

Wait — maybe it’s going backward now? After A at pos 5, next might be B again? But that doesn’t fit symmetry.

Alternatively, think of it as:

Start: A-B-C
Then reverse without first: B-A
Then next would be... start over? Not likely.

Another idea: Maybe it’s paired?

(A,B), (C,B), (A,?) → no.

Wait — look at the actual images:

The sequence is:

1. Bird with cone
2. Bird with headband
3. Duck with headband
4. Bird with headband
5. Bird with cone
6. ?

Notice: Positions 1 and 5 are same (bird + cone)
Positions 2 and 4 are same (bird + headband)
Position 3 is unique (duck + headband)

So it’s symmetric: 1=5, 2=4, 3=center

Then position 6 should match position 0? Doesn’t exist.

Perhaps it’s cycling through a set?

List all items used:

- Bird+cone (appears at 1,5)
- Bird+headband (2,4)
- Duck+headband (3)

After 5 (which is same as 1), maybe it goes back to 2? So 6 = bird+headband?

But look at the options on right:

Top: Bird with colorful tail (not seen before!)
Bottom: Duck with green headband (same as position 3)

Wait — position 3 is duck with green headband. That appears only once so far.

In the sequence: A, B, C, B, A — this looks like a wave: up to center, then down.

After A at position 5, if continuing the downward trend, next should be B (bird+headband). But that’s not an option on the right.

Options are:

Top: New bird — white body, multicolor tail feathers, yellow beak — never appeared before.
Bottom: Duck with green headband — which IS position 3.

Is there a possibility that after A,B,C,B,A, it goes to C again? That would make it periodic: A,B,C,B,A,C,...? Unlikely.

Wait — perhaps I miscounted.

Look again at the image sequence (from left to right):

Image 1: bird with cone
Image 2: bird with headband
Image 3: duck with headband
Image 4: bird with headband
Image 5: bird with cone
Image 6: ???

Now, notice: Image 1 and 5 are identical.
Image 2 and 4 are identical.
Image 3 is alone.

This suggests the pattern is symmetric around image 3.

So:
Positions: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5
Values: A - B - C - B - A

That’s a palindrome.

Then what comes after position 5? If the pattern continues, it might start repeating from the beginning? Or go into negative symmetry?

But since it's "what comes next", and we’ve done 5 items, the 6th should logically be the start of the next cycle? But that would be A again — bird with cone — but that’s not an option.

Options given on right for row 3:

Top: A new bird — white with rainbow tail — not seen anywhere.
Bottom: Duck with green headband — which is exactly image 3.

Ah! Maybe the full pattern is longer? Or perhaps it’s grouped differently.

Another approach: Count how many times each type appears.

Bird+cone: appears twice (pos 1,5)
Bird+headband: appears twice (pos 2,4)
Duck+headband: appears once (pos 3)

To balance, maybe duck+headband appears again? So pos 6 = duck+headband.

And that IS one of the options — bottom one.

Also, visually, the sequence feels like it’s building to a center and returning, but since pos 5 is same as pos 1, pos 6 could be same as pos 2 — but pos 2 is bird+headband, which isn't an option.

Unless... wait, the options on the right are NOT necessarily from the previous sequence — they are choices to circle.

For row 3, the two choices are:

Choice 1 (top): bird with rainbow tail — completely new
Choice 2 (bottom): duck with green headband — already appeared at position 3

Given that position 3 is the only duck, and others are birds, and the pattern has symmetry, perhaps after completing the palindrome (A-B-C-B-A), it starts over with C? That seems forced.

Wait — let’s count total items shown in the row: there are 5 items drawn on the left, and we need to choose the 6th from the two on the right.

Perhaps the pattern is based on color or type repetition.

Another idea: Look at the heads/hats.

Item 1: cone hat
Item 2: headband
Item 3: headband
Item 4: headband
Item 5: cone hat
Item 6: ?

Heads: cone, band, band, band, cone, ?

So cones at 1 and 5, bands at 2,3,4.

If it’s alternating groups, maybe next is band? But again, not matching options.

Perhaps the key is that item 3 is different (duck vs bird), and it appears only once, so to complete a set, it appears again at 6.

Moreover, looking at the answer choices, the bottom one is duck with headband — which matches item 3.

And in many such puzzles, when you have a central unique element, it may reappear later.

I think the intended answer is duck with green headband (bottom option).

✔ Row 3 answer: Duck with green headband

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Row 4: Bags and sombreros

Sequence:

1. Green bag
2. Sombrero
3. Green bag
4. Green bag
5. Sombrero
6. ?

Write as:

G, S, G, G, S, ?

What’s the pattern?

Possibility: Group as (G,S), (G,G), (S,?) — not helpful.

Count occurrences:

G appears at 1,3,4 → three times
S appears at 2,5 → two times

Maybe it’s alternating but with doubles?

Try: G, S, then G, G, then S, ? — so after S, should be G to mirror the start?

Start: G, S
Then: G, G
Then: S, ? → if mirroring, ? should be G

Because first pair ends with S, second pair starts with G,G, third pair starts with S, so should end with G.

Thus, position 6 = G (green bag)

Check options on right:

Top: Sombrero
Bottom: Green bag ← yes!

✔ Row 4 answer: Green bag

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Final Answers per row:

Row 1: Gray chicken
Row 2: Black hat
Row 3: Duck with green headband
Row 4: Green bag

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Final Answer:
Row 1: Gray chicken
Row 2: Black hat
Row 3: Duck with green headband
Row 4: Green bag