The 1st, 3rd, and 4th terms of a proportion are 12, 8 and 14 respectively. What is the 2nd term?

Given, the 1st, 3rd and 4th terms of a proportion are 12, 8 and 14 respectively.

Let the second term be 'x'.

So, 12 : x :: 8 :14

We know that the product of extremes = the product of means.

So, $12\times 14=8\times \mathrm{x}$.

$\Rightarrow \mathrm{x}=\frac{168}{8}$

$\Rightarrow \mathrm{x}=21$

Therefore, the second term is 21.