To find the third number in the sequence given that the first number is -4 and the fifth number is 8, we need to determine the pattern or rule that governs the sequence.
One possible pattern is that the sequence is an arithmetic sequence, where each term is obtained by adding a common difference (d) to the previous term.
Let's calculate the common difference using the first and fifth numbers:
Common difference (d) = 8 - (-4)
= 8 + 4
= 12
Now, we can find the third number by adding the common difference to the first number:
Third number = First number + 2 * Common difference
= -4 + 2 * 12
= -4 + 24
= 20
Therefore, the third number in the sequence is 20.